South Africa’s largest furniture brand, Lewis Group, has opened a record number of stores in the six months ended 30 September 2025.
The group’s store base increased to 958 following the opening of 40 new stores in the first half of the financial year.
This was the highest number of stores opened by the Group in any six-month period.
The 40 new store openings mean that the group will meet its full-year store opening target within the first half.
The openings included 28 new outlets for Real Beds, the bedding specialist acquired in 2024, expanding the brand’s store base to 44.
The group’s management also intends to open an additional 15 to 20 stores in the second half of the year, primarily in specialist bedding brands.
Although trading conditions remained constrained, it continued to invest in longer-term growth by expanding its store footprint.
The group also expanded the size of its debtors’ book, which expanded by 14.0% to R8.5 billion.
Over the period, the group saw its merchandise sales increase by 6.7% to R2.5 billion.
Sales in the traditional retail segment, which accounted for 89.7% of sales, increased by 6.4%.
The specialising segment, which mainly contained UFO, Bedzone and Real Beds, grew sales by 9.1%.
Sales in stores outside of South Africa, which represent 15.1% of the store base, increased by 7.7% and accounted for 18.0% of total merchandise sales.
Credit sales also increased by 8.0% and accounted for 70.3% of total merchandise sales (H1 2025: 69.4%).
It maintained its strict credit-granting criteria in the constrained environment, with the credit application decline rate settling at 41.2% (H1 2025: 37.4%).
The group’s other revenue, cosisting of effective interest income and ancillary services income as well as insurance revenue, rose by 16.7%
Total revenue, comprising merchandise sales and other revenue, increased by 11.3% to R4.8 billion (H1 2025: R4.4 billion).
The group’s headline earnings increased by 16.0% to R335.1 million, while headline earnings per share rose 16.8% to 648 cents.
The rise in headline earnings per share reflected the positive leverage effect of repurchases undertaken in prior years.
The group declared an interim dividend of 12.3% to 337 cents per share, based on an earnings payout ratio of 55%.
| Metric | Change/Value | Details |
| Revenue | Increased by 11.3% | to R4.8 billion |
| Merchandise sales | Increased by 6.7% | to R2.5 billion |
| Other revenue | Increased by 16.7% | to R2.3 billion |
| Gross profit margin | Improved from 40.9% to 41.0% | (0.1% improvement) |
| Satisfactory paid accounts | Up from 81.6% to 82.7% | (1.1% increase) |
| Debtors book | Grew by 14.0% | |
| Operating profit | Increased by 21.4% | to R522 million |
| Operating profit margin | Up 250bps (2.5%) to 20.7% | |
| Earnings per share | Increased by 13.8% | to 619 cents |
| Headline earnings per share | Increased by 16.8% | to 648 cents |
| Interim dividend | Increased by 12.3% | to 337 cents per share |
Outlook
The group warned that discretionary spending should remain constrained in the short- to medium-term as consumers face increasing financial pressure.
This comes against the backdrop of continued uncertainty in global markets and political instability.
Although lower inflation and reduced borrowing costs are beneficial for consumers, high unemployment and limited job creation will persist in a low-growth environment.
The group said that appealing marketing campaigns and promotions are planned across all brands to drive sales growth during the Black Friday and festive season.
