Shoprite’s exit from Malawi – first announced by the Group in August – is now official. The country’s competition authority approved the transfer of its five stores in Lilongwe, Blantyre and Limbe to Karson Investment Trust, which plans to rebrand them as “Shopwise Trading Limited”. The approval has come with strict conditions, including that Karson must retain all employees who choose to stay and honour the required benefits for those who will be leaving. As with Shoprite’s other operations in Africa, the exit was triggered by currency volatility, infrastructure challenges, and economic instability, making profitability hard to achieve. Next on the horizon is Ghana, where Shoprite will be letting go of seven stores and a warehouse. In other Group news, Sixty60 deliveries in the greater Durban area were hampered over the last few days due to a strike led by “a small group of disgruntled former contractor riders”, Checkers’ words, not ours. The South African Motorbike Delivery Association (SAMDA) has fully supported the action, accusing Sixty60, CMC Global, and Pingo Delivery of worker exploitation and illegal labour practices. While drivers have since returned to work, SAMDA is calling for a national shutdown of the service, urging riders who feel they have been treated unfairly to reach out to the association, which will assist in pursuing legal action. And finally, on a much lighter note, the intrepid minions of Tatler Towers have brought some dubious Sixty60 fashion statements to our attention. Yes, because now you can get your very own Checkers Sixty60 adult-sized onesie, and a matching doggie sweater for Buddy, Buster or Spot, as the case may be.

Comment: We get that Sixty60 has reached near cult-like status, but we’re not so sure about these onesies. Ambition getting out of hand, perhaps? Time will tell.

News from SPAR is that it has just been given the go-ahead by the Competition Commission to acquire Aptekor, a business-to-business pharmaceutical and health products wholesaler that operates in the Western and Northern Cape. Described as a “large merger” by the commission, the deal includes both Aptekor Wholesale and its courier service, Aptekor Sneldiens, indicating that SPAR is serious about building out its full-line pharmaceutical wholesale and distribution network. This will pit it against the likes of Clicks and Dis-Chem, which also operate wholesale businesses. Just recently, SPAR changed the name of its wholly owned pharma subsidiary from S Buys to SPAR Health, and the pharma business has shown strong sales growth, with wholesale growing by +12.8% and retail by +9.4% according to its recent trading update. Looking at the Group overall, over 51 weeks to mid-September, it recorded a noticeable uplift in second-half sales of +2.8% after a decline in the first half, driven by stronger groceries and liquor sales momentum in key regions. Its “clean exit” from the Swiss business has reduced the Group’s net debt by roughly 30% and with the divestments from Switzerland and Poland now complete, SPAR can zero in on its core Southern African and Irish markets.

Comment: This recent update is showing how the strategic shift toward a more focused and financially stable company is bearing fruit. It’s been a tough few years for SPAR – hopefully now the tide is turning for good.

We kick off our international news with Aldi in the US, which is redesigning its packaging on all its private label products to clearly feature the Aldi name or the phrase “an Aldi original”. Over 90% of Aldi’s products are private label, and research has shown that customers already associate Aldi with affordability, value, quality, and convenience, so why not place the name front and centre? Also making pack design changes is Asda in the UK, which will be turning over 200 products pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This year, the campaign also includes Asda’s first-ever charity TikTok shop, selling discounted bundles of pink products, with all proceeds going in support of breast cancer charities. Still in the US, Target is rolling out new accessible self-checkout systems for shoppers with disabilities, including those who are blind or have low vision. The system features Braille icons, volume controls, navigation buttons and a tactile controller. The initiative has the full support of the National Federation of the Blind, which praised Target for being an industry leader in accessibility. And finally, Walmart is starting to back the beautiful game in a big way, by becoming the first-ever presenting partner of Spain’s El Clásico match between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, as well as signing a multi-year deal with the USA’s Major League Soccer (MLS). The goal (ahem) is for Walmart to expand its reach and strengthen ties with the growing Hispanic and multicultural consumer segment in the US, especially with the anticipation of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Reckitt, the company behind well-known health, hygiene, and home brands including Airwick, Mr Sheen, and Cillit Bang, has been given the go-ahead by the Competition Commission to sell its ‘Essential Home’ brands to private equity firm Advent. The move forms part of a strategic simplification of the Reckitt business, which will now focus more on what it calls its Powerbrands (Lysol, Dettol, Mucinex and others), after letting go of its non-core brands. The brands will continue to be made and sold by Reckitt in South Africa and Reckitt will retain a minority stake in the new business. This will allow it to benefit from the future growth of the essentials brands which, it is hoped, will be better managed by Advent’s dedicated attention going forward.

Digging a little deeper into the travails of RCL FOODS’ sugar division, the Group shared in its latest annual report that its sugar arm is taking strain due to the business rescues of Tongaat Hulett and Gledhow Sugar Company and a surge in imports, which are undercutting local prices. As you will recall, Tongaat entered business rescue in October 2022, and after much toing and froing, a rescue plan has been approved by its creditors whereby the Vision Partners consortium will take control of the business. Likewise, Gledhow Sugar Company, one of the biggest independent millers in the country, went into business rescue in March 2023. The instability at these two large companies has spilt over into the broader industry over the last few years, complicating long-term investment decisions and creating uncertainty for growers and millers. RCL Foods CEO Paul Cruickshank believes that Tongaat’s rescue plan will bring much-needed stability to the sector, especially as it makes provisions for settling the mandatory financial contributions it owes to the sugar industry’s regulatory and support bodies. In a volatile and unpredictable market, all RCL can do is focus on the factors it can control, such as maintaining its currently strong agricultural and manufacturing performance. One hopes for the business and the broader industry that this will be enough to keep things sweet for this proudly SA business.

Among all the economic indicators we track, gold is currently a standout, having reached over $3,800 per ounce just yesterday – an all-time high at the time of publication.
Having a look at previous milestones, the gold price first reached over $2,000 per ounce in 2020 during the pandemic, then averaged around $1,800 from 2021 to 2024 before beginning to climb once more toward the end of last year. In March 2025, the price broke $3,000 per ounce, and it has since continued its upward trajectory.
Why?
Gold is seen as a ‘safe-haven’ for investors due to its tangible nature, making it a reliable and trusted store of value. As a result, in times of financial market turmoil, economic uncertainty, or geopolitical crisis, the gold price goes up. The recent acceleration is further fueled by the US cutting its interest rate and the weaker US dollar, making gold cheaper for international buyers.

Comment: This is good news for SA’s gold mining heavyweights, who are expected to make more profit, and also means a boost to SA’s GDP. There are, however, concerns – gold is expensive to extract and with production declining in SA, the infrastructure might mean that the sector is unable to fully capitalise on the gold ‘boom’ by significantly increasing production volumes. For more information on our other indicators, check out the Trade Intelligence monthly SA Economic Report update (coming out soon) – click here for a look at the snapshot of the economic indicators.