In his first results presentation since taking over as CEO, Pieter Boone said Pick n Pay will defend its position to keep attracting consumers from the upper-middle class as the earnings report hints it may be losing market share amid fierce competition for customers.

Pick n Pay welcomed Boone in April, inheriting a company that operates in a crowded food retail market where Shoprite, which is best known for its flagship no-frills chain of the same name, is taking the fight primarily to Pick n Pay in the middle- to upper-income consumer segment with its Checkers outlets...