An email landed in my inbox last week that had me checking my calendar to make sure it wasn't April Fool's Day: South Africa's top two favourite online shopping sites, Kalahari.com and Takealot are merging. Long considered each other's biggest rivals in the e-tail sphere, both have decided to cut their losses, shake hands and form a single e-commerce giant. In the shock announcement, the two companies admitted to having run at a loss for years. The deal will see Kalahari.com's parent company, Naspers, buy shares from Tiger Global Management, which recently invested US$100 million in Takealot.com, and Kalahari will be absorbed into the Takealot brand. The merger is, however, subject to approval of the Competition Commission, and many questions have been raised as to how good the deal is for the local e-commerce space. In the meantime, it will be business as usual for both companies, especially with the festive season coming up. And speaking of online Christmas shopping, please be careful and shop safely this season.
Have a great week!
