How Mr Price Was Built: Cohen, Chiappini and the Road to Europe
Trace Mr Price’s retail founders, its 1985 factory store, the distinction between brand and listed group, and the completed NKD acquisition in March 2026.
Two founders and a retail idea
Stewart Cohen and Laurie Chiappini founded the Mr Price retail concept. The company’s anniversary account dates their first factory store to Klerksdorp in 1985. That opening provides the starting point for the modern brand story, rather than the incorporation date of every company in the group. [2]
Their partnership began earlier. Mr Price records that the two met in 1979 while working at separate clothing retailers. They developed a shared idea for affordable fashion and a company culture that treated employees as participants in the business. [1]
The result was a retailer built around a value proposition, not simply a name above a shop. Its later growth combined new retail formats, existing businesses and acquisitions. The two founders belong at the centre of that operating history, but not at the origin of every acquired chain. [3]
Why 1985 and 1986 describe different store milestones
The fortieth-anniversary account identifies the first Mr Price Factory Store in Klerksdorp in 1985. The group’s separate website timeline identifies its first group-owned Mr Price store in Durban in 1986. Those descriptions are narrower than a single claim about the first store of every kind. [1][4]
Klerksdorp describes the founders’ first factory store. Durban describes the first group-owned store. Those are different milestones. [4]
The ownership story also has stages. The 2021 integrated report records the founders acquiring control from a banking partner in 1991. A later website timeline uses different dates for early control milestones. This article follows the dated report for the 1991 event, without treating the timelines as identical. [3]
The retail brand is not the whole listed group
Mr Price Group Limited is the listed company. The familiar Mr Price apparel chain is one of its trading divisions. The group’s legal disclosure identifies the registered company and its Durban office, while the apparel page describes the customer-facing retail business. [5][6]
This distinction explains why one brand’s anniversary cannot date all the group’s businesses. Miladys was already an established women’s clothing retailer when it entered the portfolio described in the corporate history. It was not a new chain invented by the Mr Price founders in 1985. [4]
The group’s portfolio also serves different customers. Mr Price’s apparel page describes fashion-led clothing and related products for women, men and children. Miladys focuses on women’s smart and casual clothing, intimate wear, footwear and accessories. Shared ownership does not make those businesses interchangeable. [6][7]
Names, functions and relationships
| Record | Business role | Relationship | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr Price Group | Listed South African retail group | Group company, distinct from an individual trading division | [5] |
| Mr Price apparel | Fashion-led retail brand | A trading division within the group | [6] |
| Miladys | Women’s clothing and related products | An established business in the group’s portfolio | [7] |
| NKD Group | European value retailer | Acquired by the group on 31 March 2026 | [11] |
A cash-based model, rather than a cash-only promise
The FY2026 integrated report describes a cash-based retail model. It reports cash sales at 89.4% of retail sales for that period. That leaves a credit component, so cash-based should not be rewritten as cash-only. The distinction matters when comparing retailers with different financing models. [8]
The apparel division emphasises private-label fashion. A private label is a retailer’s own product brand, rather than another company’s label. [6]
The founders’ anniversary message also emphasises trust, communication and recognition within the company. These are their stated operating beliefs. They explain the culture the founders sought to build, rather than prove that every later decision or store experience met that ambition. [1]
The move into Europe was completed, not merely proposed
NKD’s own announcement says the sale to Mr Price Group closed on 31 March 2026, after antitrust review. The acquisition therefore moved beyond an intention to buy a European retailer. The buyer’s June results independently record the same completion date. [11][10]
The results disclose the acquisition of 100% of the issued share capital of the holding company behind the NKD business. That is an equity transaction, rather than a licence to use the Mr Price brand or a distribution agreement. [10]
NKD brought an existing European retail network. Its completion announcement reported 2,178 stores at 31 December 2025 across seven countries. Those stores were not new Mr Price apparel shops opened from scratch by the South African group. They formed part of an acquired business. [11]
The acquired retailer’s own description explains its neighbourhood format. Stores typically occupy 300 to 450 square metres, serving small and medium-sized towns as well as shopping centres. Its range includes family clothing and home textiles, with stock allocation, pricing and markdowns supported by data analysis. [12]
The financial reporting boundary matters
Mr Price’s FY2026 financial year ended on 28 March 2026. NKD’s completion date followed three days later. The June results consequently describe the acquisition as a business combination after year-end. Readers should not treat the entire acquired network as part of the group’s FY2026 operating results. [10]
An annual report can discuss a completed acquisition without including its sales for that entire period. The closing date and reporting date perform different jobs. Here, those dates prevent a misleading comparison of the old and expanded groups. [10]
Founding, management and voting control are different questions
The 2026 governance report records Cohen’s retirement from the board in August 2025. The same report continues to recognise Cohen and Chiappini as co-founders. Retirement from a governance role does not remove a person’s founding contribution. [9]
Nor does a founder title establish current equity or voting control. The governance report separates board oversight from executive management. Historical control milestones are not current ownership figures. [9]
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Mr Price? Stewart Cohen and Laurie Chiappini founded the retail concept and opened the first factory store in Klerksdorp in 1985. [3]
Is the Mr Price clothing chain the same as Mr Price Group? No. The apparel chain is a trading division within the wider group. [6]
Did the founders also found Miladys and NKD? This history records those businesses as existing retailers within an expanded portfolio, not as new Mr Price concepts. [4][11]
When did NKD become part of Mr Price Group? The transaction closed on 31 March 2026, after the buyer’s 28 March financial year-end. [11]
Sources
- Mr Price Group, The Mr Price Story: the founders and the first factory store. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-14. ↩
- Mr Price Group, Cohen and Chiappini reflect as Mr Price turns 40, 2025-10-02. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-14. ↩
- Mr Price Group, Integrated Report 2021: history and the 1991 control milestone. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-14. ↩
- Mr Price Group, About us: group-owned store milestone and division history. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-14. ↩
- Mr Price Group, Terms and conditions: legal company and registered office. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-14. ↩
- Mr Price Group, Mr Price: apparel division, products and customers. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-14. ↩
- Mr Price Group, Miladys: women’s fashion division. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-14. ↩
- Mr Price Group, Integrated Report 2026: cash model, divisional stores and financial performance. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-14. ↩
- Mr Price Group, Governance Report 2026: Cohen’s August 2025 retirement and board responsibilities. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-14. ↩
- Mr Price Group, FY2026 results: 28 March year-end and completed NKD acquisition, note 13, 2026-06-05. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-14. ↩
- NKD Group, Mr Price Group is the new owner of NKD Group, 2026-04-01. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-14. ↩
- NKD Group, About NKD: stores, product range and data-led retail operations. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-14. ↩