EDGARS QUARTERLY BUZZ #3

QUARTERLY

NEW STORE OPENED Kelso Bedforview

Send your comments or queries to: EdgarsBuzz@Edcon.co.za

TREND OVERVIEW Summer must-haves

31 JULY 2017

ISSUE03

#KNYSNAFIRES Edgars cares

Message from CE: Andrew Levermore

STRATEGY UPDATE The South African retail market continues to be rather unforgiving and many of our competitors’ most recent results reflect these difficult trading conditions. Credit downgrades and a second consecutive quarter of GDP decline sees the country move officially into recession.

In this environment, we are not growing as fast as we would have wished and we have to review our plans.

In context, we have several departments that are showing very good growth and we need to continue to support these with stock investment and marketing, while other departments may not be delivering as well as we had hoped, requiring us to be a little more cautious.

That said, though, we continue our journey to turn Edgars around. There are a number of initiatives that are bearing fruit – our stand-alone Kelso stores in both Cape Town’s Tyger Valley Shopping Centre and Germiston’s Bedford Centre are producing promising sales; this while the Kelso product inside Edgars stores, too, continues to show growth. We are preparing some trial stand-alone stores for our Free 2BU and JX Premium brands, to guage what potential those formats might hold.

Another exciting development to look forward to is the extention of our private brands into new product categories – look out for these launching soon.

Our ladieswear business has improved significantly as the assortment consistently falls in line with strategy, and our major private brands are trading well compared to last year.

Childrenswear too is seeing some positive growth, as the brands consistently put exciting, fresh fashion into stock.

Our NPS scores are hovering close to the 50% mark, which is really good! There are a lot of stores out there doing a great job – keep it up! Delivering great customer service is one of our emerging differentiators and it will require all of our efforts and focus to continue the positive momentum.

Continuing to drive our turnaround success requires sustained application and energy, which is felt both in stores and at our head office.

Well done, Edgars team, and thank you!

Andrew New store opens in Bedfordview

KELSO LAUNCH Johannesburg – Kelso, the brand by now synonymous with fashionable finishes, gorgeous silhouettes and modern ladies’ fashion offerings, opened its second stand-alone store at the Bedford Centre in Bedfordview, Germiston, on 25 May 2017.

“Following the success of the Tyger Valley stand-alone store, we are thrilled at opening our second Kelso store right here in Gauteng,” says Sunil Jain, GM for Ladieswear. “The concept store brings the brand to life in new and exciting ways – with a range of trends inspiring standout head-to-toe looks and in-store consultants readily at hand to help our fashionfocused customers find new items within the Kelso brand to love and covet.”

The store, with its pleasant and inviting atmosphere that immerses customers in a unique Kelso shopping experience, offers a curated selection of great-value apparel, jewellery and footwear. “Being part of one of SA’s best fashion retailers means we can leverage the resources and experience that went into creating Edgars’s already beloved stores. We’re thrilled to offer our customers an amazing shopping experience at our new concept stores,” concludes Sunil.

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Best-performing NPS store Aletta Hattingh

INTERVIEW Your store currently has a remarkable NPS score of 64%. What would you say you have done differently to achieve this?

It is very important to start the day on a positive and energised note. The highlight of our day is the morning huddle, during which we share NPS results, best practices and other important information. We reward individual efforts and show appreciation, as a person who feels appreciated will always do more than what’s expected. These sessions create a positive vibe that customers notice and appreciate.

Store Manager: Edgars Mall of the North

How do you keep your customers smiling and your staff motivated?

Is there anything you would change/improve on in your store?

The energy starts at the front door with a warm welcome from our security officers as our customers enter our well-presented, clean store to enjoy their ultimate shopping experience.

We put our customers first, making them feel important and valued. Although dealing with customer complaints is the hardest part of the day, we work on resolving each issue quickly and efficiently, and aim to provide feedback with a smile. We strive to create a happy workplace by including all our staff in day-to-day decisions and activities. I believe every staff member is equally important. That’s how we are able to appreciate and motivate each other to be a winning team.

There is always room for improvement. You can never be too skilled at making a customer feel appreciated when visiting your store. An important part of customer service is developing the skills to handle customer complaints. The way in which we tackle every customer complaint and how we provide the customer with what they want or need is important. We recently received letters from Nedbank and ABSA complimenting us on our customer service, which is a great incentive to do even better.

Trend overview: Michelle Meyer: Executive Manager Chain Visual & Design

SUMMER MUST-HAVES Sport Star is all about subtle sporty influences and sport-inspired silhouettes like sweatshirts, leggings, joggers, cool sneakers, backpacks and anything that creates that laid-back sporty feel. Fashion denim is a key item to complete this look, with destruction, shading, badges and hem details giving denim a hot new look.

The shirt is also a key item for the season, in plain and upstyled versions. And don’t forget about the slogan tee, which is now a wardrobe staple for all fashionistas.

Romantic Revolution is the season’s feminine look with an explosion of ruffles on everything!

We’ll see lots of beautiful pastel colours, feminine styling, embroidery and embellishments on apparel as well as footwear. Look out for feminine sandals in pretty colours and with frill details. This trend can be worn as a topto-toe feminine look, or can be teamed with sporty elements like sneakers and ripped denim for an edgier look. Even the shirt gets a romantic makeover with ruffle details and embroidery.

Culture Clash is a colourful mix of prints, global styling and bold embroidery, setting the scene for a very fashionable high summer. It’s about drawing inspiration from a vast variety of global cultural influences, allowing them to come together to create a unique, fun and eclectic look for summer.

The key items to own for this look are peasant tops worn with denim shorts and off-the-shoulder dresses with embroidery details. To complete the look, bring in a bit of fun with statement earrings, leather-look sandals and colourful bags.

Tropicana is a theme with true holiday spirit, featuring bright, fun colours across all categories. The key items here are anything in floral and tropical prints, with lots of fun embellishment. The dress is also key for this look, as it’s the perfect item to take you from the beach/ pool to the bar. Be bold and mix colour from head to toe.

KEY ITEMS FOR SUMMER The dress The romantic top – anything with ruffles The off-the-shoulder top/dress The summer shirt The slogan tee

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The sweatshirt Anything in floral print Cropped fashion denims Sneakers in plain white/coloured satin/embellished Colourful footwear

The active wear lowdown, summer 2017

PRO-ACTION

The growing focus on athletic luxury sees us give more attention to the feel of fabrics, both in and out of the gym. With this in mind, we have focused on investing in high-quality fabrics for the core programs, and these form the base of our new range of active wear essentials.

When it comes to active wear, the focus is always on offering practical and functional product that the customer can rely on to take her into the new season. We hope to excite the customer this summer with prints, colours and silhouettes that are trend-relevant for summer 2017.

The season starts with clean, strong colours with a healthy balance of black and grey where core essentials are concerned. There is a series of delightful striped graphic elements that we’ll keep revisiting throughout the season, but slogan prints are minimalist and graphics are geo-inspired.

As we progress into high summer, we’ll see more tropical greens and pinks filtering through to add a little extra punch. Colours then become more transitional as we head into December and January, featuring cool sorbet accents to create on-trend visual interest in active wear.

Team engagement: ‘Let’s Connect’ event feedback

EVOLVING EDGARS With employee engagement being one of our key focus areas, we kicked off this financial year with our Edgars ‘Let’s Connect’ event on the 12th of April.

The event saw the Edgars head office team members come together to take part in a series of engaging activities, aimed at building team spirit. We drummed, sang, clapped and danced, and we did it together. Together, we made music – which serves as a reminder that each of us plays an important and valuable part in the Edgars team.

To further support communication within the Edgars team, our Edgars leadership team prepared strategy-update videos,

to keep us informed of the plans for the year ahead.

We hope that you have taken the time to view these videos and look forward to your support in the key upcoming initiatives.

We have also received valuable feedback from the employee engagement survey (eNPS) that was rolled out in April. While levels of engagement have improved, we still have to address key areas of opportunity. We thank you for your feedback and together as a team, we look forward to making Edgars a better place to work.

#KnysnaFires disaster relief: Wiaam Majiet: Edgars HR Business Partner

EDGARS CARES EDGARS KNYSNA – REFRESHMENT DROP-OFF POINT TO AID ‘FIRE HEROES’ AND RESIDENTS

Mother Nature unleashed her fury on the Plettenberg Bay and Knysna areas on the 7th of June. The fire of fury was the largest and most destructive fire in a built-up area in recent memory, leaving thousands displaced. The fire line in the Eden district stretched to more than 100kms. #KnysnaFires claimed several lives, while a number of citizens sustained both minor and serious injuries. Over 1 000 fire-fighting resources have been deployed to the area to assist the teams on the ground.

Our heartfelt condolences go out to those who have lost loved ones as a result of this natural disaster. We are extremely empathetic toward residents who have been displaced by the devastating fires.

1 000 COMFORTERS AND 100 TOWELS DONATED TO THE CAUSE

In support of the people impacted by the #KnysnaFires, Edgars donated 1 000 comforters and 100 towels to ‘Lions For Knysna’. Edgars Knysna was also chosen as one of the refreshment drop-off points; refreshments were then distributed to #FireHeroes and residents.

EDGARS STORE UTILISED AS A DISASTER RELIEF CENTRE – NOW KNOWN AS THE EDGARS CENTRE

Aside from the donation of comforters and towels, we have also availed the old Edgars Plettenberg Bay store to the disaster relief team. It is being used as the main storage area to accommodate the large volumes of donations being received from all around the country.

Plett community alone! Since then, more donated supplies and provisions and clothing have been pouring in from around the country!

“Awesome work everyone involved at the ‘Disaster Relief Centre’. We are so proud to be a part of such an amazing community that has come together in this time of trial!”

– The Market Square Shopping Centre Management Team

R10 000 EDGARS GIFT CARD DONATED TO SECURITY GUARD IMPACTED BY THE FIRE

Edgars has, furthermore, donated a gift card to the value of R10 000 to one of our security guards at Edgars Knysna who has lost everything in the fire.

We are currently running an internal initiative, #CAREforPhakama to raise funds for the security guard and her 5-year-old daughter.

“I think a big shout out to Edgars is necessary.

They may no longer have a store open, but they very kindly offered the space that they still rent to be used to house and accommodate all the donations, provisions and supplies that have been pouring in! Well done Edgars and thank you for helping to make our relief efforts more effective.

“At the time these photos were taken, most of the goods pictured were from the incredible

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Edgars Store Managers’ trip to Mauritius – Three of our store managers, Humbulani Nematswerani (Edgars Promenade), Zamuxolo Tafane (Edgars Mthatha Circle) and Johan Alberts (Edgars Nonesi Mall, Queenstown) and their partners jetted off to a seven-day all-expenses-paid trip to Mauritius on 18 May 2017. This was their reward for activating the most store cards in their clip for the peak trading period.

Edgars Promenade

HUMBULANI NEMATSWERANI Thank you Edcon/Edgars for this mind-blowing experience you gave us, the trip was amazing! My wife and I had so much fun, and we will cherish the fond memories forever.

This experience will drive me to keep putting in the extra effort at work, and this should definitely motivate other Edgars store managers to go the extra mile and to take all new sales drivers seriously, because you do get rewarded for achieving good results – I’m proof of that.

Edgars Nonesi Mall

JOHAN ALBERTS Thank you Edcon, Mr Bernie Brooks and Mr John Fraser for giving me and my wife the opportunity to go on this once-in-a-lifetime trip. This was an experience that neither of us will ever forget. It was very special for us, because my wife had never flown before – the look on her face as the aeroplane took off was priceless. The accommodation was fivestar, the rooms were perfect, the food was delicious and presented in such a beautiful and professional manner and the locals were so friendly and welcoming.

The highlights for my wife and I were being able to experience the diverse culture and the local way of life and the trip on the glass-bottomed boat, which was just awesome. We spent the whole of the first day soaking up the sun and enjoying the cool, crystal-clear waters.

Thank you for this awesome experience. It will be etched into my memory forever.

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