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MPC
MPC
Mr Price Group Limited - Launch of Mr Price Sport - Press Release
MR PRICE GROUP LIMITED
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number: 1933/004418/06)
ISIN: ZAE000026951
Share Code: MPC
("Mr Price" or "the company")
Mr Price moves into Sports Goods Value retailing formula to be used in lucrative
sports retail market
Johannesburg, Sunday 30 July 2006 Mr Price Group today announced the launch of
a new test retail sports concept which will trade as Mr Price Sport. The first
store opened in Gauteng on Friday 28 July and a second store will open in Cape
Town next week. The concept is aimed at making quality sporting goods and
clothing affordable to all South African sportsmen, sportswomen and children.
The company has been preparing for two years to launch the concept. Extensive
research showed that there was a gap in the market for high quality sporting
apparel and equipment at low prices.
"Mr Price has been involved in sports sponsorship for many years, working
closely with leading sportsmen and women. This has allowed us to hone our skills
in respect of the technical requirements needed by sportspeople. They have long
complained to us about the cost of sports equipment and apparel and have
encouraged us to get into sporting goods to make it easier for people to
participate," said Mr Price Group CEO Alastair McArthur.
"Given our value retailing roots, the only way we could bring everyday low
prices to sport was to apply all the same success factors that had previously
worked for us in Mr Price and Mr Price Home; low operating costs, bulk buying
and high volumes. We did our homework and discovered that we could purchase from
the world"s leading sporting goods manufacturers of brands and achieve
significantly lower prices when these goods are sold under our own brands. As a
result, we stock five of our own sports brands in the stores; Maxed for non-
seasonal sports, Red for surf and extreme sports, Trail for outdoor enthusiasts,
Wasp for cricket, hockey, basketball, netball and volleyball and Promaster for
recreational sports."
Given Mr Price"s strong history in apparel, the large collections of sports
fashions are in line with the latest international trends in active sportswear.
The sporting apparel is made to tight technical specifications from special
performance fabrics like "Dri-Sport" for moisture management. All sports
clothing is uniquely designed by an in-house team of sports-fashion designers.
The full range of sporting apparel and equipment is stocked including athletic
footwear, gym, boxing, yoga, swimming, cricket, hockey, soccer, rugby, tennis,
squash, golf, cycling, skate, outdoor and loads of accessories.
Mr Price Sport will also stock all the leading brands such as Adidas, Asics, New
Balance, Reebok, Hi-Tec, Polar, Kookaburra, B&S, Head, Wilson and others, many
of whom have provided exclusive styles for Mr Price Sport. Branded goods will
be well-priced in terms of Mr Price"s commitment to giving value to customers.
"Customers will thus have a choice between well-priced but more expensive
international brands or the value-driven performance brands such as Maxed, Wasp,
Red and Trail. For those who simply cannot afford the international brands, the
value-driven brands are an appealing concept especially given that their quality
and performance has been so extensively tested both by the company and leading
sportsmen and women.
"Ultimately, our products are tested by the professionals and priced for
everybody."
The panel of sports counsellors to Mr Price Sport reads like a Who"s Who in
sport. These have included Vladimir Kotov and Gwen van Lingen in running, Neil
Tovey in soccer, Dale Steyn, Andre Nel and Albie Morkel in cricket, Keegan
Daniel, Brad Barrit and Scott Mathie in rugby, Kevin Curren in tennis, Adrian
Hansen in Squash and Hank McGregor in Trail, to name but a few.
"In the past, cheap sporting goods were just that - poor quality and low price.
But there is nothing sub-standard about their brands," said Springbok cricket
star Andre Nel. "I was simply bowled over by what they have achieved with their
own brands like Wasp in terms of both price and performance. It"s a great day
for sport in South Africa and will help sports development for the future," he
said.
The Boksburg store, located near the Pick `n Pay Hypermarket, is a free-standing
1500 sq metre shop with plenty of parking. In-store graphics show clearly the
different sporting departments and there is a sports-stadium feel on entering.
A unique feature is the Mr Price Sport `infotouch" touch screen which gives
customers all the features of the product they are holding near the screen.
Product specifications and information are found all over the store.
Credit facilities are also provided with the Mr Price Money card accepted as
well as major credit cards which are necessary for big ticket items such as
treadmills.
A second store of 1000sq. metres will open at N1 City in Cape Town on Friday
and a further 2 stores are planned for later in the year. "It"s premature to
predict the earnings potential of Mr Price Sport," said McArthur. "This is still
in the nature of a test and we will wait a while before committing to a roll-
out. Customer response to test concept has been very encouraging. Our hope is
that Mr Price Sport will grow like Mr Price Home did to become an important
profit contributor to our group."
ENDS
For further information, please contact Tamra Veley on 083 251 3658.
Durban
28 July 2006
Sponsor
RAND MERCHANT BANK (A division of FirstRand Bank Limited)
Date: 31/07/2006 07:01:11 AM Produced by the JSE SENS Department
