Leading the elite ranking in the Top Companies is a just reward for a company that reinvented itself after having almost been consigned to oblivion in the late 1990s. It's the largest retailer on the JSE in terms of market capitalisation, but its rating remains surprisingly low. The investing public can't seem to adjust to the fact that a new generation of consumers is beating a path to Edcon's group stores - Edgars, Jet, JetMart, CNA, Boardmans, Jet Shoes, Legit, Prato, Red Square and Temptations - and spending, mainly on credit, in a highly controlled fashion. Last financial year the group added more than half a million accounts to its book. While bad debts will undoubtedly rise, they will "normalise" over the next couple of years, providing a huge new base of loyal consumers. JetMart is experimenting with a limited range of foodstuffs in some of its stores. CNA is coming right. Organic growth is the name of the game, with no acquisitions expected.