[imagesource: Waldo Swiegers / Bloomberg]

It will take years, if not longer, for the full effect of the lockdown on South Africa’s, and the world’s, economic outlook to become clear.

The early numbers are in, for April at least, and it’s pretty much a bloodbath.

Long-term predictions are also rather dire, and Business for South Africa, which represents the country’s biggest business organisations, has said that South Africans need to prepare for the reality that they will not enjoy the same lifestyle post COVID-19.

Sheesh, sorry to be a bummer.

The pandemic has proven to be the final straw for a number of iconic and well-known South African businesses, with Business Insider SA keeping a list.

Edcon, the owner of Edgars and Jet, was already taking serious financial strain pre-coronavirus:

But the national lockdown, which initially banned clothing sales, may have dealt the company a lethal blow.

In a teary presentation in March, CEO Grant Pattison told suppliers that Edcon can’t settle its bills – and that it may not be possible for the company to re-open after the lockdown. Soon after, Edcon filed for bankruptcy.

The final nail isn’t yet in the coffin, but there’s a very good chance that Edcon will no longer operate.

Publishers Associated Media and Caxton are also under great pressure, with the former, responsible for huge magazine titles like Cosmopolitan, House & Leisure, and Good Housekeeping, shutting down completely.

The latter, behind magazines such as Bona, Country Life, Essentials, Food & Home, and Garden & Home, is “withdrawing” from magazine publishing. Unless buyers for those magazine titles are found, they will no longer be published.

That Business Insider list also includes Comair (which, at best, will not operate until November), Prada in South Africa, and a number of restaurants.

See that in full here.

As the weeks and months tick by, the list of South African businesses decimated by the pandemic will continue to grow, as will the country’s death toll.

[source:businsidersa]