{"id":641731,"date":"2026-04-30T08:59:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T06:59:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=641731"},"modified":"2026-04-30T09:00:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T07:00:46","slug":"south-african-computer-retailer-that-opened-its-first-store-26-years-ago-continues-national-expansion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/hardware\/641731-south-african-computer-retailer-that-opened-its-first-store-26-years-ago-continues-national-expansion.html","title":{"rendered":"South African computer retailer that opened its first store 26 years ago continues national expansion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While sales of PC hardware have increasingly moved online, Matrix Warehouse Computers is still expanding its physical retail footprint across South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company, founded 26 years ago, has launched experiential “pop-up” stores nationwide to test new markets, avoid unnecessary expenses, and grow its customer base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matrix currently has 95 physical retail outlets in South Africa and three in Lesotho, Eswatini and Zimbabwe. The company was founded in 2000, with its first franchise opening in 2004.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company sought to address South Africa’s need for a reliable computer and hardware shop at the turn of the millennium, but faced immediate competition from nearby rivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its first six months, this first Matrix outlet achieved the highest turnover of all the computer stores in the area. The company is currently headquartered in Alberton, Gauteng.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to computer hardware, Matrix has also expanded to software and now offers networking, repairs, upgrades, and IT solutions for home and business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“All components used are registered brand-name products, ensuring a high standard of quality in the finished product and a below-average failure rate on custom-built computers of less than 0.5%,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of April 2026, Matrix is launching pop-up stores in areas like the Meadowdale Mall in Germiston, where customers can find the latest gaming gear, accessories, and tech deals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

American online business trade association NetChoice said that “experiential retail” is a way for brands to create connections with customers and expand their presence<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The goal is to provide shoppers with a memorable experience, not just a transactional exchange, and it’s becoming a vital strategy for retailers in the modern era,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samsung South Africa extensively uses pop-up experiences across the country, including major cities Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pop-up experiences are also potential precursors for brands launching brick-and-mortar retail presences. Research from Growth Factor shows that one in five pop-ups convert to long-term leases<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matrix’s expansion strategy focuses on taking great care and effort to find suitable locations, preferring premises with relatively low rentals in “respectable shopping centres with ample parking.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially, Matrix focused on smaller neighbourhood shopping centres, but has recently expanded into established larger centres with “great success.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From humble beginnings to a massive retail chain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The first Matrix Warehouse Computers store in South Africa, opened in 2000<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Matrix Warehouse was founded by Justin Lowe and opened its first store<\/a> on Kritzinger Road in Alberton. It followed this opening with four additional stores that opened in 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It introduced its franchise model in 2004, which helped it expand significantly across the country and now has outlets in Gauteng, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, and Northern Cape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alberton continues to be Matrix Warehouse’s home base, with a 12,000-square-metre premises established in the region in 2019, when the company engaged in a wide-ranging brand overhaul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, Matrix launched a gaming centre<\/a> in Rivonia with 140 PC stations comprising monitors and chairs for players. Gamers then bring their own computers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has four main hubs, which it uses for its distribution to outlets throughout South Africa, located in Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban and George.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matrix Warehouse’s shift to a pop-up marketing strategy comes amid a volatile pricing environment in the hardware and memory technology industry, driven by a global boom in AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Syntech, one of South Africa’s largest hardware and ICT distributors, told MyBroadband that the local market is experiencing significant shortages on several lines in multiple component categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“At this point prices are still on the rise, and we are struggling to meet demand requirements,” the company said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Whether consumers will be able to afford the new price points for products in the months ahead is unclear.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Syntech believes unit sales will begin to slow in the second half of 2026 as supply becomes more constrained and customers take longer to make purchase decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More photos of Matrix’s first shop in South Africa<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Matrix Warehouse Computers was founded in 2000 and has continued growing its physical presence despite the rise of e-commerce.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341213,"featured_media":641736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[27887,104649,97805,36276,104438,40456,104648,52647,104647,47428],"class_list":["post-641731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hardware","tag-ai","tag-ai-memory-crunch","tag-alberton","tag-computers","tag-global-memory-crisis","tag-hardware","tag-justin-lowe","tag-matrix","tag-matrix-warehouse-computers","tag-syntech"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641731"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341213"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=641731"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":641822,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641731\/revisions\/641822"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/641736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=641731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=641731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=641731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}