Shoe Town exits Botswana market
Lewanika Timothy | Monday February 2, 2026 10:44
The shoe shop has issued notices on its stores, notifying customers of its exit from the local market with inventory wiped out by a close-down sale. Owned by retail giant Pepkor, shareholders revealed late last year that Shoe City had consistently dragged down the performance of its speciality division, which includes Tekkie Town and Refinery.
One of the store managers of Shoe Town in Botswana confirmed to BusinessWeek that the business was pulling out of Botswana as part of a regional shutdown of stores in other countries.
“We are not just closing in Botswana, but all stores in Namibia and South Africa are closing down as part of group decisions,' the manager revealed.
After reviewing the business, Pepkor announced last year that the business model operated by Shoe City was “sub-scale” and did not offer strong future growth potential. Pepkor also felt that the business was no longer justified by the investment needed to keep it running.
Pepkor chief operating officer, Sean Cardinaal, told investors in a statement issued to shareholders that the company regularly reviews its assets to ensure it is putting its money and attention where it can get the best returns.
He said Pepkor had tried for years to adjust and improve Shoe City but had reached the point where it no longer saw a meaningful upside.
“To keep the team focused, we have decided to close this business,” he said.
The closure was planned for the first half of Pepkor’s 2026 financial year.
Economically, stores like Shoe City are struggling because they operate in a squeezed middle ground where costs are rising faster than consumer spending power. Rent, electricity, transport, and imported inventory costs have increased sharply, whilst households facing stagnant wages, high food inflation and elevated debt levels are trading down to cheaper informal markets or large-scale discounters.
At the same time, mid-tier footwear retailers lack the scale to negotiate the lowest supplier prices and cannot easily pass higher costs on to price-sensitive consumers, resulting in shrinking margins. Weak foot traffic in malls, increased competition from informal traders and cross-border imports, and limited differentiation in product offering have further eroded sales volumes,
A retail pulse check by BusinessWeek discovered that other footwear brands were closing in malls such as Game City. Maxx, which was operating a clothing and footwear store in Game City, is also closing down, citing tough trading conditions.