Takealot-Kalahari merger gets final approval, sites to function as-is for a time

Back in October last year local online retailers Takealot and Kalahari announced their intentions towards each other: they were going to merge since “…combining forces gives us a better chance of success” in the online shopping sphere, Kalahari’s Oliver Rippel said at the time.

The joining of these two entities received final approval from the competition authority yesterday, welding them into a single unit that will do as much as it can to siphon money out of your credit card. Not that we’re complaining, they make a lot of cash out of the Stuff folks.

Takealot founder and co-CEO Kim Reid said in a statement “We are super excited about the approval of the transaction. This will allow us to build a significant retail entity in South Africa, one that continues to be truly customer focused.”

Kalahari senior executive Oliver Rippel followed by saying “This is a necessary step in the evolution of online retail in South Africa and exciting news. The South African e-tail market is a highly dynamic one, and we foresee significant growth in the future.”

Though the two online retailers are now one, they will continue to function as separate outlets for the moment. When they are brought together, an event that doesn’t have a time-frame yet, the Takealot branding will take over everything.