Now the news we’ve all been waiting for… quite literally. Massmart + Walmart (Walmass?) have finally revealed where South Africa’s, and indeed Africa’s, first Walmart store will be located – Clearwater Mall in the West Rand, Jozi. While we will only be told the exact opening date in a few weeks, we have been given some clues as to what to expect from the new store.

• • “A world-class shopping experience”, boasting Walmart’s famous Every Day Low Pricing (EDLP) strategy, so “customers can shop on their own schedule and trust that they will always get a low price […] without having to wait for short-term promotions or worrying about constantly fluctuating prices”
  • “A customer-centric design” – bright lights, spacious aisles, an intuitive flow between departments, efficient checkout, helpful staff… that kind of thing
  • A range of products that are “largely sourced from local suppliers”…
  • … while being “complemented by a curated selection of global brands” – like Drew Barrymore’s Beautiful range of retro-looking kitchen appliances in “soft pastel tones”, as well as international sweet favourites like Mike & Ike, Reese’s, Warheads, and Nerds
  • The store will not be employing “staff”, oh no. They will be known as “associates”, a term favoured by Walmart, as founder Sam Walton believed employees should be seen as partners in the company’s success, fostering a culture of mutual respect and shared goals rather than a traditional boss-employee relationship

It’s a mini results season among our retailers, and we kick off with Clicks, which released its full-year numbers for FY2025 late last week. As expected, Clicks continues to put no foot wrong, with Group turnover +5.3% to R47.8bn and trading profit +12.1%. Its market-leading positions in health, beauty and pharmacy have been maintained, providing stability for the business, which continues to build on its private brand and omnichannel offerings to bring its cash-strapped shoppers continued value. Clicks ClubCard’s 12.6 million active members accounted for 82.6% of sales, with loyalty promotions making up almost half (47%) of its retail turnover. While Retail growth was ahead of Distribution, the latter also showed solid +5.1% turnover growth, thanks to low expenses, which mitigated the lower medicine price increase versus last year.

We move on to Pick n Pay’s half-year results, which, in the words of CEO Sean Summers, seem to have “started to move in the right direction again”. Thanks to a successful recapitalisation programme, the focus is now on operations execution, especially in Pick n Pay supermarkets, where more effort is being put into improving and expanding the product range, while focusing on customer experience and operational efficiencies. Over the period, the business was supported by Clothing (+12% turnover), Online (+34.4%) and its shareholding in Boxer as it continues to perform. A key part of the Pick n Pay turnaround strategy – the Store Estate Reset programme – is now largely complete, having “removed a large number of loss-making stores out of the system, allowing us to serve our customers better and to support our long-term sustainable growth,” according to Summers. Read our handy one-page summary of the numbers here for more detail.

Our intrepid analysts are always on the lookout for the latest innovations, and this week’s one really caught our attention. Checkers’ Petshop Science now has its very own pet food private brand product called, well, Petshop Science. The food is packed with all the good stuff that today’s fur parents demand for their fur babies, like omegas, probiotics and added fibre. Still within the Group, Shoprite is running its first ‘Act For Change’ Food Garden Competition, shining the light on the importance of SA’s community gardens for food security. Beyond simply acknowledging their efforts, the competition sets out to help the gardens grow stronger and make an even greater impact, thanks to collective prizes worth R1m up for grabs. Each winning garden will receive tailored support in line with its specific needs – whether it be irrigation systems, shade netting, fencing or training for members. Entries close on 30 Nov and the winners will be announced in April next year. Moving along, SPAR’s acquisition of the Aptekor Group, which we brought you news of a few weeks back, has been finalised, representing the first phase of SPAR Health’s national wholesaling and support services expansion. Next location, KZN, where SPAR Health already has plans underway for snapping up a Durban-based pharmaceutical wholesaler. And we finish this segment with the news that Takealot has partnered with PayJustNow, a digital payment partner that allows shoppers to buy what they need (or want really, really badly) in three interest-free buy-now pay-later instalments. There is also the option of extended, interest-bearing loans where borrowers can ‘Pay in 12’ months, for example. According to PayJustNow, over the 2024 Black Friday weekend, the platform processed R65.3m in sales (a +103% YoY increase), and it is forecasting another 100% increase in sales over Black Friday 2025.