JOHANNESBURG

JOHANNESBURG ( ) - Australian clothing retailer Country Road, a unit of South Africa's Woolworths, will buy local rival Witchery Group in a $181 million deal that broadens its offering in upscale apparel. Witchery Group, which is being sold by by private equity firm Gresham, operates 210 stores under the Witchery brand and 96 bag and jewellery stores under the Mimco brand. Country Road, which is 88 percent-owned by Cape Town-based Woolworths, said on Wednesday it would fund the 172 million Australian dollars deal through debt and equity. It will borrow A$92 million from banks and raise a similar

09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time Vernon Hills Center store will be the first to feature the brand’s complete Fall assortment BROOKLYN, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Home furnishings retailer West Elm announced today that it will open a new retail store at 678 Post Road in Scarsdale, New York on June 28th. Located in the Vernon Hills Shopping Center, the Scarsdale store will be the first to offer the brand’s complete Fall collection featuring new furniture, textiles, decorative accessories and gifts created in collaboration with artists from South Africa. To celebrate the store opening, the brand is hosting a special sweepstakes* offering a

Gap has opened its first store in South Africa. The expansion in the region comes as the company is closing stores in North America and opening outlets in other emerging markets. 

Spain-based fashion brand Zara recently opened a new store in Johannesburg, according to www.wwd.com. Located inside the Sandton City shopping mall, the new store measures 29,000-sq.-ft., and offers full collections for men, women and children. The South Africa store marks the company's 80th country where it has units. SAVE | EMAIL | PRINT | MOST POPULAR | RSS DDI's RetailDesignDiva blog is dedicated to retail design issues, opinions and frustrations of the day.Read the Diva's recent rantings. DDI's Retail Design Newswire Sign up to receive the latest retail store news, store design trends and store openings, daily. New

Cape Town, South Africa -- A Tuesday report by Bloomberg said that South Africa’s parliament will let anti-trust regulators decide what conditions to impose on Wal-Mart Stores in its acquisition of Massmart Holdings Ltd. The Competition Tribunal ruled on May 31 that Wal-Mart could proceed with its $2.4 billion purchase of a controlling stake in Johannesburg-based wholesaler Massmart on condition no jobs are cut for two years. The tribunal’s decision is being appealed by the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union in the Competition Appeal Court.

Massmart is making a key acquisition in its efforts to expand its fresh food offerings with the purchase of The Fruitspot. A Massmart spokesman told Bloomberg that the retailer aims to increase its business in butcheries, bakeries, and fruit and vegetable suppliers.