Shoprite outperforms the market five years in a row as it delivers what customers want

Pieter Engelbrecht, Chief Executive Officer:

The Shoprite Group’s results for the six-month period under review reflect the business’s incredible dedication to our customers whose support of our operations, both in-store and online via our digital Checkers Sixty60 app has resulted in us extending our period of uninterrupted market share gains in our core South African supermarket business to 58 months. The 14.6% increase in sales from our core business segment equates to R12.4 billion in additional customer spend with us on the same period last year. Despite reporting against an exceptionally high base of sales growth of 17.5% for the same period last year, the 14.6% increase in sales for this interim period compares admirably to the rest-of-market growth in South Africa, per NielsenIQ, for the same period of 7.6%. 

Checkers and Checkers Hyper’s 13.7% sales increase is a result of unwavering execution of the brand’s clear value proposition, continued store upgrades and advances in the areas of fresh, private label and on-demand execution by Checkers Sixty60, which, notwithstanding a base of considerable growth built up over a number of years, increased sales by a further 63.1% over the six months.

Shoprite and Usave increased sales by 13.1%. Shoprite, with the inclusion of 51 stores acquired from Massmart Holdings Ltd (“Massmart”), increased sales by 13.2% whilst Usave, our limited assortment discounter, increased sales by 12.3%. This customer’s challenges and needs remain front and centre in our business, resulting in a steadfast commitment to lowest prices, in-stock availability, efficient operations and ongoing product and store development. 

Whilst the operating context in South Africa remains challenging and costly, especially taking into consideration the ongoing cost of diesel generators during load-shedding, we are most pleased to report an increase in profits and dividends for the period. 

The Group continues to invest in the business on a number of fronts: tech and digital, supply chain, stores and of course, people. Over the six months we added a net of 197 new stores to total 3 543 stores and as a Group our commitment to employment growth resulted in the creation of 2 617 new jobs. In addition, our Shoprite Employee Trust expensed R122 million in employee distributions to eligible employees in South Africa with equivalent awards granted by subsidiaries in countries outside South Africa. 

The well-known African proverb ‘it takes a village’ is no understatement at Shoprite today as we strive to meaningfully improve the lives of millions of people on a daily basis. My sincere thanks to Team Shoprite, our base of close to 161 000 employees; the Group’s customer base who number 29 million in South Africa alone and our many stakeholders including our valued suppliers and SMME partners. As a Group we are authentically purpose led in all that we do and I am incredibly proud of how our collective efforts are increasingly borne out not just in our results but in the difference we make to the lives of our people and customers every day.