Mr Price coins it as others tighten the taps

Retailers that rely on cash rather than credit continue to outshine their peers, and none more so than Mr Price. With its value fashion offering, first-half profit jumped 23% to R921-million for the period ending September 27.

A report from Credit Guarantee said concerns about credit and tight lending standards had resulted in many retailers shifting focus to cash sales. Mr Price has long placed cash as queen. Credit retailers such as TFG (The Foschini Group) and Truworths have tightened the taps on the granting of credit to consumers who are highly indebted, but none have the high proportion of cash consumers that Mr Price can boast - cash sales jumped 17.5% and constituted 80.9% of total sales during the interim reporting period.

South African sales growth of 13.4% was well ahead of the market, which grew 7.1% for the five months to August. Sales to customers outside South Africa grew by 25.4% to R690.9-million and represent 8.8% of group sales. The company raised the half-year dividend 26% to 211.5c.

Mr Price planned to open 41 new stores in the second half of the financial year, including two each in Nigeria and Ghana, and one in Zambia. The group has achieved a 10-year compound annual growth rate in interim headline earnings per share of 28%. Online sales in South Africa grew 195.3% to R44.7-million.