Home improvement retailer Leroy Merlin is opening its second store in South Africa in Little Falls, Gauteng, at the end of August.
The company aims to have four stores in the country by 2020, which, in total, rounds up to an investment into the South African economy of R1-billion.
The first Leroy Merlin store opened in Greenstone, Gauteng, in September 2018.
The next stores will be located in Boksburg and Fourways, also in Gauteng.
More stores will follow in other provinces beyond 2020.
Leroy Merlin said in a statement on Thursday that it expected to employ close to 800 people by the end of 2020, of which 600 would be employed directly and 200 indirectly though partnerships and facilities management.
The company noted that it would be ideal for it to help build a solid manufacturing sector for hardware retail.
“We have great experience from our vast footprint in Europe and we believe that the South African economy is not only well poised to house these supply chain considerations, but will greatly benefit from them.
“The employment that comes from manufacturing industries will definitely shift the needle in the 29% unemployment rate of the country.”
Meanwhile, Leroy Merlin has partnered with existing small- to medium-sized enterprises in building and construction through a digital marketplace called Kandua.
Some of the contractors that are listed on Kandua are the informal contractors who ordinarily tout for work outside hardware stores.