This was confirmed by Esquire CEO, Mahomed Cassim, who said the expansion would take the office complex to more than 8 000 square meters of office and warehouse space. “The expansion will also include expanding our Xpress store concept from its current 1 500 square metres to 4000 square metres.”

Cassim said the “Xpress format” had proved extremely popular and was seen as a major convenience for the company’s more than 12 000 resellers, many of whom buy directly from Xpress.

A timeframe for the completion of the R40m phase two development was not clear at the time of going to press, with Cassim saying that building plans were “awaiting approval”.

Besides expanding the head office Xpress to 4 000 square metres, Esquire opened an additional Xpress store in Port Elizabeth at the end of June – and is planning a further store for Bloemfontein.

“We are currently looking at a number of premises – also at the option of buying rather than leasing premises.”