Shoprite, the owner of Checkers and Usave stores, said on Wednesday that liquor sales in its half-year to end-December 2019 rose by more than a fifth, helping to underpin almost double-digit sales growth in its core SA business.

Sales in SA rose 10% in the last six months of 2019, though analysts say the increase was off a low base after problems at a major distribution centre in Gauteng led to a difficult first half of the year...