Lewis Group is a leading retailer of household furniture, electrical appliances and home electronics, sold on credit through the Lewis, Best Home and Electric, and My Home brands. Lewis is the countryÍs largest furniture chain and one of the most recognisable brands in furniture retailing. Monarch Insurance, the groupÍs financial services subsidiary, provides short-term insurance cover to customers purchasing merchandise on credit. Focused primarily on the expanding middle to lower income market in the living standards measurement (LSM) 4 to 7 categories, the group has a credit customer base of close to 700 000. Customers are predominantly from black communities, with 55% being female. The group has 602 stores across all major metropolitan areas and a strong presence in rural South Africa, with 56 of the stores located in the neighbouring southern African countries of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland. Lewis Group has been listed on the JSE Limited since 2004, where it is classified under the General Retailers sector.