Pick n Pay’s latest results announcement was supposed to be CEO Richard Brasher’s swansong after a seven-year run in which he presided over what has been called the comeback story of the decade. And then Covid-19 intervened.

“The company deserves a bit more stability and continuity,” an emotional Brasher, 58, said in a webcast on Tuesday after unveiling a 15.2% rise in pretax profit for the local business in the year to March...