the g spot
Shoprite: back on top
We asked CEO Pieter Engelbrecht how it is that Shoprite seems in better shape than a year ago, when many had begun to write it off
It’s not hard to see why Shoprite shares rallied 10% on the day the retailer’s full-year results were released. Despite Covid, Shoprite produced record sales of R156.9bn and a slight increase in its trading margin (excluding the effects of hyperinflation in some African countries), to 5.3%. That doesn’t sound like much, until you consider that its furniture and liquor stores were shuttered during the initial lockdown, losing 654,610 trading hours in the process. Shoprite also continues to hoover up market share. Rest of Africa, where sales fell, was the only real blot on its results. We asked CEO Pieter Engelbrecht how it is that Shoprite seems in better shape than a year ago, when many had begun to write it off.
PE: We started on a strategy three years ago; I’m sticking to it, I think it’s right for the time and it’s working. You’ll remember that four years ago I said we’d try to claim a bigger market share in the more affluent share of wallet, reposition Checkers and do new ...
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