Kalahari.com and takealot.com announce merger plans

Kalahari.com and takealot.com, two of the largest general online retailers in South Africa, have announced that plan on merging their operations.

“After many years of losses on Kalahari and 4 years on takealot, we realise we have to work together if we are to survive and prosper”, said Oliver Rippel, senior executive responsible for Kalahari, in a media statement released by takealot.com. “If you also take into account an uneven playing field against foreign operators who do not pay tax in South Africa, and the fact that high broadband costs are impeding the speed of growth in local online shoppers, combining forces gives us a better chance of success”.

“We are very excited about this transaction and the efficiencies and scale that it can generate for the merged business. We will continue to make sure that our primary focus is on the customers of the merged entity as they are the life blood of our business” said takealot CEO Kim Reid, who will manage the merged entity under the takealot brand together with Co-CEO and CTO Willem van Biljon.

The merger is subject to Competition Commission approval and will only become effective once the Commission has ruled. The businesses will continue to trade separately and service their customers as usual through the festive season.

Kalahari.com launched in 1998 by Naspers. takealot.com was officially launched in June 2011 post the successful acquisition of an existing ecommerce business called Take2 by the US based investment firm Tiger Global Management and Kim Reid in October 2010.

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