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The country’s largest schoolwear retailer, PEP (which has 60% of the market), ran a qualitative survey of mothers (September 2011) to find out about their attitudes towards education, schools and about the challenges they face at BTS time in January. PEP was concerned that perhaps all the BTS promotional and pricing material that targets parents might cause them more stress than they have already at this time. On the contrary, the mothers in the research groups said they welcome the information provided by all the retailers and happily run the gauntlet of price comparisons. The stress they have is linked to price but once they have worked through the information, they then feel a sense of satisfaction about knowing they have identified the best deals.
There are various criteria that parents consider before making their purchase selections for schoolwear. Price comes first, of course; and, in fact, the first association mothers have when the word ‘school’ is mentioned is ‘money’. Quality then comes a close second.
Mothers spend hours doing their prices research before the big day – and it is sometimes a whole day – of shopping for items. They make a list and plan their shopping route, hoping everything they need will all be available in one area. While shopping, they then test the quality and weigh up the value for money. To get the sizing right, they will either take the child along with them or an item of clothing for comparison. Their main frustrations arise out of not finding the right sizes, colours, styles and quality they want and this is all underpinned by a ‘lack of money’. When buying shoes, brand choice is critical and, when it comes to value for money, they all ‘feel the fabric’ to know the quality.
While most of the parents would love to be able to afford to do all their BTS shopping in December or even earlier, other financial commitments at the end of the year force them to do the full shop or at least a top-up in January. While many of them want a one-stop shop for all schoolwear and stationery and a permanent display of schoolwear in-store, they also felt that this could take away from the satisfaction and sense of achievement they feel when embarking on their annual BTS marathon … because it makes them feel good about being a good mother.
PEP schoolwear
PEP is holding its prices on its main entry level (Grade 1) schoolwear items during the January ‘back-to-school’ period.
For PEP’s basic range of schoolwear, parents could kit out their girl or boy for first day at school for under R100 and this includes a white shirt, a black/navy skirt for a girl or grey shorts for a boy, socks and shoes.
ENTRY LEVEL
S/S = short-sleeved
SP = Student Prince
| Item | Boy | Girl |
|---|---|---|
| White shirt S/S |
R14.99 | R14.99 |
| Grey Shorts |
R16.99 | |
| Black/Navy Skirt |
R16.99 | |
| Anklet socks SP |
R8.99 | R7.49 |
| Shoes |
R59.99 | R59.99 |
| Total |
R100.96 | R99.46 |
GRADE 8
S/S = short-sleeved
SP = Student Prince
| Item | Boy | Girl |
|---|---|---|
| White shirt S/S |
R29.99 | R29.99 |
| Grey Shorts |
R54.99 | |
| Black/Navy Skirt |
R59.99 | |
| Anklet socks SP |
R10.99 | R9.49 |
| Shoes |
R79.99 | R69.99 |
| Total |
R175.96 | R169.46 |
Student Prince – a trusted brand with over 40 years’ credentials has just been given a new logo and look (see above). Student Prince has always been associated with quality and offers excellent schoolwear garments with high durability. Eighty percent of the Student Prince range is produced domestically, which helps protect jobs in a highly challenged local industry. The Student Prince range is stocked all year round in PEP stores.
PEP also sells the Toughees Schoolwear, which is made to last. The Teflon® finish helps with stain removal and protects garments against everyday dirt, grime, ink and mud and generally makes the garments easier to care for. Teflon® is dermatologically tested and CFC free.
Clarity in-store
PEP has been striving to make it easier for customers by differentiating the in-store space in terms of quality and price offerings so that, for example, Student Prince – the quality range – is easily distinguishable from the Price Winner range. As the biggest retailer of schoolwear in South Africa, PEP also gives the biggest amount of space in-store of any retailer for BTS in order to help customers make their selections more easily.
As the biggest retailer of schoolwear in South Africa, PEP also gives the biggest amount of space in-store of any retailer for BTS in order to help customers make their selections more easily.
This year, PEP is also extending its BTS campaign to include more outdoor media and reach more commuters. Ads will be carried on taxis, at taxi ranks and train stations and inside the taxis themselves (on Taxi TV) and all of this will help customers know more about what’s on offer in-store and at what price.
Giving back to the community
PEP’s flagship corporate social investment initiative, the PEP Academy helps give the building blocks of education – literacy and numeracy – to Grade 4 learners. The PEP Academy is run in nine existing schools nationally to give around 1 600 children after-school core competence training in literacy, numeracy and life skills on three afternoons a week. While the children are being given this supplementary education, they are also off the street, given a light meal and are kept in a safe environment. The PEP Academies initiative has been fully endorsed by the Department of Education.
Tests show that learners enrolled in the PEP Academies programme have improved numeracy scores by an average of 20 and literacy scores by an average of 29 percentage points.