 | |
 MRP Home, MRP, and MRP Sport stores next to one another in Blue Route Mall, Tokai, Cape Town | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| (JSE: MRP) | |
| ISIN | ZAE000200457 |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1985 (1985) |
| Founder | Laurie Chiappini Stewart Cohen[1] |
| Headquarters | Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa[2] |
Number of locations | 3,100 (2026)[3] |
Area served | Africa |
Key people | Mark Blair (CEO) Praneel Nundkumar (CFO)[4] |
| Products | Apparel Sportswear Linen Homeware |
| Services | Financial services Telecoms |
| Revenue |  R40.93 billion (2025)[5] |
| R5.78 billion (2025)[5] | |
| R3.78 billion (2025)[5] | |
| Total assets | R32.53 billion (2025)[6] |
| Total equity | R14.42 billion (2025)[6] |
Number of employees | 32,000+ (2026)[3] |
| Subsidiaries | MRP MRP Home MRP Sports MRP Kids MRP Cellular MRP Money Sheet Street Power Fashion Miladys Studio 88 Yuppiechef[7] |
| Website | www.mrpricegroup.com |
Mr Price Group (officially Mr Price Group Limited, sometimes referred to as MRP Group, and stylized in lowercase) is a major South African retail group, operating under numerous subsidiaries, across multiple distinct retail categories, with stores in numerous African countries. It is one of South Africa's largest retail groups, by number of stores and annual revenue.
Established in 1985 and headquartered in Durban, the group has 3,100 stores[3] across 10 brands.[5] MRP Group employs over 32,000 people,[3] and is a Level 4 BBBEE contributor.[7]
The company is listed on the JSE Limited, and is the largest apparel and homeware retailer on the FTSE/JSE Top 40 Index, ranking 32nd for market capitalization.
History
Mr Price Group was founded in 1985, with the opening of the first Mr Price clothing store in Klerksdorp, by Laurie Chiappini and Stewart Cohen. Their goal was to provide fashionable offerings to South Africans at competitively low prices.[1]
The group expanded over the years, with the Miladys women's clothing brand starting in 1987, following which, the co-founders acquired ownership of the group from BOE, in 1991.[1]
The group's linen chain, Sheet Street, opened in 1996, and the standalone homeware chain, Mr Price Home, commencing operations in 1998.[8]
The group launched the Mr Price Foundation, a nonprofit organization (NPO) in 2005, with a focus on improving youth unemployment and education quality.[8]
The group further expanded its operations in 2006, by launching the standalone sportswear chain, Mr Price Sport. The following year, the group launched Mr Price Money, offering credit and insurance facilities to consumers.[8] Its financial offerings are registered under the group's Associated Credit Specialists company.[9]
In 2012, the group launched its online retail channel, and reached 1,000 stores in 2013.[1]
Mr Price Group then expanded into the cellular market in 2014, launching Mr Price Mobile as a South African mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). This telecoms offering then grew to include Mr Price Cellular, whereby the group began retailing mobile phones and accessories, compatible across all local cellular networks.[8]
In 2021, Mr Price Group acquired South African homeware retailer Yuppiechef, as well as low-cost clothing retailer Power Fashion (formerly Otto Brothers).[8]
The group acquired South African athletic apparel retail chain, Studio88, in 2023. In the same year, the group merged Mr Price Kids and Mr Price Baby into a standalone Mr Price Kids retail chain.[8]
Mr Price Group has shown continual recent growth,[10] and the company opened 238 stores during its 2024 fiscal year, with telecoms being the fastest growing segment.[11] During the same financial year, the company announced it had hit a milestone of 3,000 stores.[12]
The group announced in June 2025 that they planned to open a further 200 stores during their 2026 fiscal year.[13]
In January 2026, MRP Group restated its intention to acquire German clothing retail company NKD, which had, at the time, around 2,100 stores across Europe. The acquisition would cost R9.7 billion.[14]
However, MRP faced pushback from some of its shareholders, who believed that MRP would be subsidizing NKD, with not enough certainty of a return on investment. One shareholding company noted NKD's R500 million loss in 2023. Shareholders also noted failed international expansions by other South African companies, such as Woolworths acquiring David Jones, and Famous Brands acquiring Gourmet Burger Kitchen, and said the capital could be better spent elsewhere.[14]
Also in January 2026, MRP Group opened applications for young women interested in operating small coffee businesses inside certain MRP Home stores, as part of the company's Foundation Coffee incubator program. The foundation said the program is designed to give aspiring entrepreneurs access to real trading environments, rather than their relying on classroom-based education.[15]
To start, the initiative will place successful applicants in charge of cafés at three MRP Home stores; Diep River in Cape Town, Hillcrest in Durban, and Nelspruit Crossing in Mbombela. Successful applicants will be in charge of all daily operations, and will earn income from sales.[15]
Operations
Mr Price Group operates the following subsidiaries:[5]
| Store name | Type | Number of outlets |
|---|---|---|
| Studio 88 | Clothing | 951 |
| MRP | Clothing | 626 |
| Sheet Street | Homeware (linen) | 334 |
| Power Fashion | Clothing | 324 |
| Miladys | Women's clothing | 265 |
| MRP Home | Homeware (general) | 231 |
| MRP Sport | Sportswear and sporting equipment | 178 |
| MRP Cellular | Mobile telephony | 61 |
| MRP Kids | Kidswear | 39 |
| Yuppiechef | Cooking equipment | 21 |
| Total stores | - | 3,030 |
In terms of the group's retail category split, in 2025, 79.7% of the group's sales came from apparel, 17.1% from homeware, and 3.2% from financial services and telecoms.[8]
The group operates across numerous African countries. Out of its 2025 total of 2,900 stores, 2,665 were located in South Africa, with the remaining 235 situated in other African countries[8] (with 80 in Namibia, 63 in Botswana, 26 in Eswatini, 24 in Lesotho, 15 in Zambia, 13 in Kenya, 11 in Mozambique, and 3 in Ghana).[11] In the same year, online channels contributed a total of 2.1% of the group's sales.[8]
Mr Price Group's sales are generated predominantly in South Africa, with the company's home country comprising a total of 92.2% of total sales, and Africa making up the remaining 7.8%. However, in 2024, South African sales grew by 15.5%, compared to the rest of Africa sales for the group growing by 25.4%.[11]
Mr Price Group targets predominantly younger, middle-income customers. The group uses a low-cost business model, and has the lowest operating expense per square meter cost in the South African retail space.[8] In its 2024 fiscal year, the group reported that it had 4.1 million customers.[11]
The group has partnered with South African delivery company, Pargo, for click and collect lockers. Mr Price Group operates over 900 such lockers as delivery options for its customers.[11]
Corporate social responsibility
The group operates the Mr Price Foundation, founded in 2005. A registered nonprofit organization (NPO) the Foundation focuses on improving youth unemployment and education quality.[8]
As of June 2025, Mr Price Group had 47 million products that contained sustainable materials, and had removed 45 million plastic shopping bags from circulation. The group is committed to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) Principles and uses the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to inform its disclosure. It is also a signatory of the Retail-CTFL Master Plan 2030 of South Africa, in which it played a major role developing.[16]
The group participates in membership organizations including the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), the National Credit Retail Federation (NCRF), the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC), Proudly SA, and various Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs).[16]
Mr Price Group partners with The Clothing Bank and The Clothing Box, both economic empowerment projects in South Africa focused on prolonging product usage and reducing excess merchandise.[16]
MRP Group also operates a Foundation Coffee incubator program, with the goal of empowering young women with experiential learning, by offering them the opportunity to earn incomes by running coffeehouses inside select MRP Home stores across SA.[15]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Mr Price Group (27 November 2024). "Celebrating a Milestone: Mr Price Group's Journey to 3,000 Stores". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
- ^ "Mr Price Group Limited". Financial Times. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
- ^ a b c d "MRP Group Homepage". MRP Group. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
- ^ "Mr Price Group - Governance". Mr Price Group. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
- ^ a b c d e "Mr Price Group - Annual Results, FY 2025" (PDF). Mr Price Group. June 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
- ^ a b "Mr Price Group - 2025 Annual Financial Statements" (PDF). MRP Group. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
- ^ a b aBEErate (17 July 2025). "MRP Group BBBEE Certificate, 2025" (PDF). MRP Group. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "About Us - Who We Are". Mr Price Group. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
- ^ "Mr Price Group - BBBEE Verification Certificate" (PDF). Mr Price Group. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
- ^ a b c d e "Mr Price Group - Annual Results, FY 2024" (PDF). Mr Price Group. June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
- ^ Nicola Mawson (6 June 2025). "Mr Price hits milestone with 3,000 stores despite anaemic economic outlook". MSN. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
- ^ a b Luke Fraser (16 January 2026). "Storm brewing over Mr Price deal to buy European retailer for R9.7 billion". BusinessTech. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
- ^ a b c "Mr Price looks for entrepreneurs to run in-store coffee outlets". Bizcommunity. 14 January 2026. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
- ^ a b c "Mr Price Group - Sustainability". Mr Price Group. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
External links
- https://www.mrpricegroup.com/
