The famed clothing retailers Edgars and Jet may not reopen after the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.
Sales have dropped 45% since that statement and the March revenue will be R400 million below the retailer’s forecasts, chief executive officer Grant Pattison said in a statement to suppliers sent to Bloomberg News.
This comes after Cyril Ramaphosa ordered stores (including clothing retailers) to close down, leaving only essential services like grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, and filling stations to continue with the business.
Edcon Holdings Ltd. may need to consider a local form of bankruptcy and will hold talks with the government about any possible state assistance, the CEO said. The company employs 18,000 people and its suppliers employ many more.
Just before the lockdown, Edcon’s CEO Grant Pattison delivered the sobering news that the company is unable to pay its suppliers, many of which are SMMES, as it only has sufficient liquidity to pay salaries at this time. He also said that Edcon, which is one of southern Africa’s largest non-food retailers, may not be able to open at the end of South Africa’s national lockdown to fight the coronavirus outbreak.
“The failure to meet the March sales targets, and the expected drop in collections of the debtor’s book, will mean that the business only has sufficient liquidity to pay salaries, which it deems a priority during these extremely uncertain times. As a result, Edcon is unable to honour any other accounts payable during this period,” Pattison explained.
source: Bloomberg
In other news, Sandton City has down stores in the mall including Mandela Square amid coronavirus.
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