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RMB Ventures invests in Studio 88 Group

Johannesburg - RMB Ventures‚ a private equity investor and subsidiary of FirstRand Limited [JSE:FSR]‚ has purchased a significant minority interest in The Studio 88 Group‚ one of Southern Africa’s largest independent footwear and apparel retail chains.

The Studio 88 Group‚ started about eleven years ago by Laurence Wernars‚ is a leading sports-lifestyle branded footwear and clothing retailer focused on various emerging market consumer segments throughout sub-Saharan Africa‚ trading through its Studio 88‚ Skipper Bar and Side-Step outlets.

The Studio 88 Group sells authentic branded goods sourced from leading brand houses such as Adidas‚ Puma‚ Converse‚ Nike‚ Guess‚ Superga and Levis‚ supplemented by an extensive in-house offering‚ through more than 180 outlets which are positioned in CBDs‚ regional malls and rural high streets in South Africa‚ Botswana‚ Namibia and Lesotho‚ with several stores already committed to in Mozambique and Zambia.

The transaction sees RMB Ventures investing alongside three of the four original founders of the group‚ including Wernars. The transaction also allows a number of senior operational managers to become first-time shareholders.

The Studio 88 Group’s founder Laurence Wernars says:”Despite our success as an independent‚ stand-alone business over the past eleven years‚ we were attracted to RMB Ventures as an institutional shareholder because of the strategic value it can add to the business.

"In addition‚ our business philosophies both strongly centre on an owner-manager culture‚ which means we approach challenges and opportunities with a similar mindset and a complementary skills set.”

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