Pepkor case study – 2024 Semester 1
Pepkor and PEP
Pepkor has the largest retail store footprint in Southern Africa, with more than 5 400 stores
that operate across 11 African countries. Pepkor began life more than 100 years ago and
quickly built a reputation of giving South Africans the right products at the right price and at
their convenience.
Pepkor started with one Bradlows store in central Johannesburg in 1901. Pepkor opened
Ackermans in 1916 and opened the first PEP store in 1965 in De Aar, Northern Cape. Pepkor’s
brand diversity and growth did not stop there. Currently, there are more than 2 200 PEP, PEP
Home and PEP Cell stores, making PEP the biggest single-brand retailer in Africa. PEP’s
purpose is to make it possible for its customers to look and feel good at affordable prices.
Pepkor knows that its customers are sensitive to increased living costs and therefore adds
value by providing discount prices on everyday products to make customers’ lives easier. The
PEP brand and its blue and yellow logo became a firm part of South Africa’s history and
culture, and today there is a PEP in virtually every town in South Africa.
Sikhula KunYe (growing together)
PEP people are known as ‘Dynamos’ and are famous for greeting one another with a high five.
This custom is no accident – it stems from PEP’s unique Sikhula KunYe (growing together)
culture, which unites everyone who works at the business, regardless of age, gender or job
function. Pepkor (as the holding company of PEP) is committed to promoting diversity and
inclusion and continues to make improvements in both areas. Pepkor aims to achieve a
competitive advantage through its diverse workforce and actively addresses staff
engagement, company culture, training, job security, remuneration and transformation. This is
done through induction programmes for new staff where the company culture is communicated
and newcomers are told about all Pepkor’s strengths and successes over the years. Regular
training programmes for employees, forums and conferences, weekly staff meetings and
regular printed and digital communication are also part of staff engagement. Pepkor values
diversity as part of building a strong brand and a dedicated workforce and welcomes diversity
as part of creating a strong corporate culture. Pepkor managers believe in having
heterogeneous teams and diverse suppliers, and this practice has proven to increase
innovation among the company’s employees. Pepkor is also believes in good corporate
citizenship and have established the PEP academy.
PEP Academy
Pepkor believes in giving back to the local communities it serves, and its flagship corporate
social responsibility (CSR) project is the PEP Academy. In 2020 there were 27 PEP academies
that operated within existing schools across four provinces, helping to build a stronger early
learning foundation for about 4 500 Grade 4 and 5 learners. From 2008 to 2019, the PEP
Academy helped about 21 000 learners and hundreds of teachers and school managers. PEP
has also partnered with Thandulwazi, a programme of the St Stithians Foundation, to extend
its teacher development programme to the province of Limpopo. In 2020, 50 teachers from
the Modimolle area were offered early childhood education support in partnership with Unisa.
It is clear that education lies at the core of Pepkor’s and subsequently, PEP’s social
responsibility. PEP Africa’s Central Office team comprises autonomous, organised and well-
functioning individuals who can complete complex tasks and solve disagreements among
themselves. They identify a different educational institution to contribute to every year. On
, Mandela Day in 2022, the team spent 67 minutes making sensory boards for an early
childhood development centre. Thandi Kekana volunteered to be responsible for the project
in 2022. She was considered perfect for this role as she is self-driven and outgoing. In addition,
she has a passion for children and for the Mandela Day initiative. Her responsibilities included
the planning, execution and control of the project. She started by developing a document
stipulating the project guidelines, scope statements and work breakdown structures. She also
ensured that the team adhered to PEP Africa’s policies and monitored the project’s progress
throughout.
Pepkor Holdings Limited management
The top management of Pepkor Holdings Limited (Pepkor), who are situated at the company’s
head office, include the chief executive officer, Leon Lourens, the chief financial officer, Riaan
Hanekom, the head of strategic services, Danie du Toit, and the head of human resources,
Estelle Morkel. They are a dynamic group of people, each bringing his or her own strengths
to Pepkor’s top management. As a team, they interact to share information and make
decisions that will help each member perform within his or her own area of responsibility.
In the clothing and general merchandise section, Stefan Voges is in charge of the PEP-brand
in Africa, with Jaap Hamman as the head of PEP South Africa. Lerato Ledwaba is the regional
manager for PEP stores in Gauteng. Sarah Dlamini is an experienced and dynamic store
manager at the PEP Lynnwood branch. She manages all the employees at her store, ensuring
they behave ethically when dealing with customers. She is a dynamic individual who thrives
on pressure and who goes to great lengths to keep her employees motivated and focused.
Sarah also sets the budgets for the store and determines the salaries of her three supervisors.
The first supervisor, Thabo Mashego, is a dynamic individual who is well liked for his outgoing
nature and who sets an example for the employees who report to him. The other two
supervisors, Nolan Naidoo and Lyla Louw, are highly competent and are motivated to advance
their careers at PEP. Lyla has a marketing degree and is hoping to work her way up to the
position of marketing manager. She assists Sarah in setting up store displays and advertising
the store effectively throughout the local community. All three supervisors make decisions
regarding employee shifts at the store.
Adapted from:
PEP Africa. 2022. Mandela Day 2022. Available at: https://na.linkedin.com/posts/pep-africa_mandela-day-2022-
pep-africas-central-office-activity-6955459297845620736-Wgfg?trk=public_profile_like_view (accessed 19
September 2023).
PEP. 2020. PEP facts. Available at: https://www.pepstores.com/page/pep-facts (accessed 25 July 2020).
Pepkor. 2020. Who we are. Available at: https://www.Pepkor.co.za/about-us/who-we-are/ (accessed 25 July
2020).
Pepkor. 2020. Retail segments: clothing and general merchandise. Available at: https://www.Pepkor.co.za/retail-
segments/clothing-and-general-merchandise/pep/ (accessed 25 July 2020).
Pepkor Holdings Limited. 2019a. Integrated report 2019. Available at: https://www.Pepkor.co.za/wp-
content/uploads/2020/05/Integrated-report-FY19_WEB.pdf. (accessed 25 July 2020).
Pepkor Holdings Limited. 2019b. Corporate social responsibility report 2019. Available at:
https://www.Pepkor.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Corporate-social-responsibility-report-FY19_WEB.pdf.
(accessed 25 July 2020).
Disclaimer
We try our best to include real-world information and facts in the case studies we use. However, in order
to assess your knowledge of a variety of topics covered in the syllabus, fictional information has been
included in this case study. Access the company’s website and download its integrated reports for factual
background information on the company, including its milestones and how it operates.
Pepkor and PEP
Pepkor has the largest retail store footprint in Southern Africa, with more than 5 400 stores
that operate across 11 African countries. Pepkor began life more than 100 years ago and
quickly built a reputation of giving South Africans the right products at the right price and at
their convenience.
Pepkor started with one Bradlows store in central Johannesburg in 1901. Pepkor opened
Ackermans in 1916 and opened the first PEP store in 1965 in De Aar, Northern Cape. Pepkor’s
brand diversity and growth did not stop there. Currently, there are more than 2 200 PEP, PEP
Home and PEP Cell stores, making PEP the biggest single-brand retailer in Africa. PEP’s
purpose is to make it possible for its customers to look and feel good at affordable prices.
Pepkor knows that its customers are sensitive to increased living costs and therefore adds
value by providing discount prices on everyday products to make customers’ lives easier. The
PEP brand and its blue and yellow logo became a firm part of South Africa’s history and
culture, and today there is a PEP in virtually every town in South Africa.
Sikhula KunYe (growing together)
PEP people are known as ‘Dynamos’ and are famous for greeting one another with a high five.
This custom is no accident – it stems from PEP’s unique Sikhula KunYe (growing together)
culture, which unites everyone who works at the business, regardless of age, gender or job
function. Pepkor (as the holding company of PEP) is committed to promoting diversity and
inclusion and continues to make improvements in both areas. Pepkor aims to achieve a
competitive advantage through its diverse workforce and actively addresses staff
engagement, company culture, training, job security, remuneration and transformation. This is
done through induction programmes for new staff where the company culture is communicated
and newcomers are told about all Pepkor’s strengths and successes over the years. Regular
training programmes for employees, forums and conferences, weekly staff meetings and
regular printed and digital communication are also part of staff engagement. Pepkor values
diversity as part of building a strong brand and a dedicated workforce and welcomes diversity
as part of creating a strong corporate culture. Pepkor managers believe in having
heterogeneous teams and diverse suppliers, and this practice has proven to increase
innovation among the company’s employees. Pepkor is also believes in good corporate
citizenship and have established the PEP academy.
PEP Academy
Pepkor believes in giving back to the local communities it serves, and its flagship corporate
social responsibility (CSR) project is the PEP Academy. In 2020 there were 27 PEP academies
that operated within existing schools across four provinces, helping to build a stronger early
learning foundation for about 4 500 Grade 4 and 5 learners. From 2008 to 2019, the PEP
Academy helped about 21 000 learners and hundreds of teachers and school managers. PEP
has also partnered with Thandulwazi, a programme of the St Stithians Foundation, to extend
its teacher development programme to the province of Limpopo. In 2020, 50 teachers from
the Modimolle area were offered early childhood education support in partnership with Unisa.
It is clear that education lies at the core of Pepkor’s and subsequently, PEP’s social
responsibility. PEP Africa’s Central Office team comprises autonomous, organised and well-
functioning individuals who can complete complex tasks and solve disagreements among
themselves. They identify a different educational institution to contribute to every year. On
, Mandela Day in 2022, the team spent 67 minutes making sensory boards for an early
childhood development centre. Thandi Kekana volunteered to be responsible for the project
in 2022. She was considered perfect for this role as she is self-driven and outgoing. In addition,
she has a passion for children and for the Mandela Day initiative. Her responsibilities included
the planning, execution and control of the project. She started by developing a document
stipulating the project guidelines, scope statements and work breakdown structures. She also
ensured that the team adhered to PEP Africa’s policies and monitored the project’s progress
throughout.
Pepkor Holdings Limited management
The top management of Pepkor Holdings Limited (Pepkor), who are situated at the company’s
head office, include the chief executive officer, Leon Lourens, the chief financial officer, Riaan
Hanekom, the head of strategic services, Danie du Toit, and the head of human resources,
Estelle Morkel. They are a dynamic group of people, each bringing his or her own strengths
to Pepkor’s top management. As a team, they interact to share information and make
decisions that will help each member perform within his or her own area of responsibility.
In the clothing and general merchandise section, Stefan Voges is in charge of the PEP-brand
in Africa, with Jaap Hamman as the head of PEP South Africa. Lerato Ledwaba is the regional
manager for PEP stores in Gauteng. Sarah Dlamini is an experienced and dynamic store
manager at the PEP Lynnwood branch. She manages all the employees at her store, ensuring
they behave ethically when dealing with customers. She is a dynamic individual who thrives
on pressure and who goes to great lengths to keep her employees motivated and focused.
Sarah also sets the budgets for the store and determines the salaries of her three supervisors.
The first supervisor, Thabo Mashego, is a dynamic individual who is well liked for his outgoing
nature and who sets an example for the employees who report to him. The other two
supervisors, Nolan Naidoo and Lyla Louw, are highly competent and are motivated to advance
their careers at PEP. Lyla has a marketing degree and is hoping to work her way up to the
position of marketing manager. She assists Sarah in setting up store displays and advertising
the store effectively throughout the local community. All three supervisors make decisions
regarding employee shifts at the store.
Adapted from:
PEP Africa. 2022. Mandela Day 2022. Available at: https://na.linkedin.com/posts/pep-africa_mandela-day-2022-
pep-africas-central-office-activity-6955459297845620736-Wgfg?trk=public_profile_like_view (accessed 19
September 2023).
PEP. 2020. PEP facts. Available at: https://www.pepstores.com/page/pep-facts (accessed 25 July 2020).
Pepkor. 2020. Who we are. Available at: https://www.Pepkor.co.za/about-us/who-we-are/ (accessed 25 July
2020).
Pepkor. 2020. Retail segments: clothing and general merchandise. Available at: https://www.Pepkor.co.za/retail-
segments/clothing-and-general-merchandise/pep/ (accessed 25 July 2020).
Pepkor Holdings Limited. 2019a. Integrated report 2019. Available at: https://www.Pepkor.co.za/wp-
content/uploads/2020/05/Integrated-report-FY19_WEB.pdf. (accessed 25 July 2020).
Pepkor Holdings Limited. 2019b. Corporate social responsibility report 2019. Available at:
https://www.Pepkor.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Corporate-social-responsibility-report-FY19_WEB.pdf.
(accessed 25 July 2020).
Disclaimer
We try our best to include real-world information and facts in the case studies we use. However, in order
to assess your knowledge of a variety of topics covered in the syllabus, fictional information has been
included in this case study. Access the company’s website and download its integrated reports for factual
background information on the company, including its milestones and how it operates.
