Pick n Pay results out this week, with turnover up +3.7% to R56.1bn for HY2025, supported (as is usually the case these days) by a strong performance by Boxer, and the clothing and online divisions. The bottom line was unfortunately flat at R10.0bn, while margin was down by 0.6 percentage points (pp) to 17.9%, on the back of increased promotional sales participation, lower supplier incentives earned, price investment in PnP and Boxer, the once-off costs of the move to the Eastport DC and a shift in the franchise model. And digging into the striking contrast between Pick n Pay and Boxer: Boxer’s turnover grew a barnstorming +12% to R19.8bn, with trading profit up +16.0% to R801.4m, while Pick n Pay registered a trading loss of R719m. “There is still an enormous amount of work to be done, but the worst is behind us,” says once and current CEO Sean Summers, pointing to a +2.6% rise in the number of customers as a sign that the business is on the right track. A major priority in the near term is the reconfiguring of the store mix, with 30 stores closing, some being converted to franchise stores or Boxers, and the reduction of the footprint of the Faerie Glen Hyper to 1,600m2 serving as a trial for a broader overhaul in that division.

Comment: For much more detail on the Pick n Pay results, check out this excellent summary from the analysts at Trade Intelligence.

Having opened a net of just nine pharmacies last year, Clicks has let it be known that it’s going all in in 2025, with an aggressive rollout that will include 24-hour pharmacies. This as cash-strapped South Africans increasingly embrace the generic medicines in which Clicks has become something of a specialist. Generics grew +10% in the FY just past, making up 59% of pharmacy sales by value and 69% of volume, as overall pharmacy grew +8.9% to R9.7bn. The meds in question include Clicks’ own brands, and products from other pharmaceutical companies. “We remain committed to extending the benefits of medical aid customers by consistently offering them the choice of more affordable generic medicines,” says CEO Bertina Engelbrecht, who believes that sales of generics are likely to double over time as shoppers seek to reduce their burgeoning healthcare costs. Wellness remains the beating heart of the Clicks business: front shop health sales were up +10.7% to R8.9bn, driven by promotions and private brand baby products.

Comment: Opportunities abound for suppliers able to assist Clicks in its affordable pharmacy mission. For those Clicks results once again, have a look at our summary here.

Big up to Boxer on the opening of its 500th supermarket in the Port Shepstone Mall. “This milestone honours our roots and symbolises our promise to continue bringing more savings and value to communities across Southern Africa,” says Managing Executive Marek Masojada as the business prepares for a listing on the JSE and a secondary listing on the groovier A2X. Moving on, Dis-Chem’s interesting journey as a vertically integrated healthcare and financial services provider continues with the intended launch, in the first quarter of 2025, of its insurance business, Dis-Chem Life. This after the R155.9m acquisition of a 50% stake in financial services provider and life insurer OneSpark in August. Next, with its focus on general merchandise and electronics, Massmart – notably Game and Makro – is something of a bellwether for Black Friday promos. Indeed, Game reports that 75% of its shoppers plan to spend more this Black Friday than last year. So the business has invested heavily in specials on everything from OLED TVs and gym equipment to bulk packs of toilet paper and long-life milk. Finally, do have a look out for SPAR’s heartwarming ‘A Christmas Like No Other’ campaign right over here.

Comment: Black Friday will be telling for our industry this year. May it be a good one.

Big news from the world’s biggest consumer market is that Carrefour is having another crack at India, ten years after it bailed from that tricky geography. It will be teaming up with Dubai-based outfit The Apparel Group, which has over 250 stores in the country, and will be concentrating its initial efforts in the Delhi-NCR region before expanding. Carrefour’s first stab at India lasted just four years, with only five wholesale or cash-and-carry stores at the peak. This time around it is going for something more ambitious. “India is now the cornerstone of the Carrefour International Partnership 2026 development plan, marking a significant step forward in our strategy to expand into over 10 new countries by 2026,” says Patrick Lasfargues, Carrefour’s executive director of international partnership.

Comment: An opportunity, perhaps, for South African brands to cultivate a trading partnership with Carrefour, which seems to have an appetite for the sorts of adventures that our own retailers have become leery of.

An impassioned cry this week from the South African Poultry Association (SAPA) which believes that removing VAT on certain chicken products will significantly benefit poorer South Africans and improve food security across the Beloved Country. SAPA will be submitting a formal application for the exemption by mid-November, on the back of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s commitment to expanding the list of essential food items exempt from VAT. The exemption includes all offal and frozen bone-in chicken but excludes fresh and value-added products such as crumbed or marinated cuts. “The benefit of VAT-free chicken is enormous. We expect a meaningful increase in consumption, giving malnourished people access to nutritious chicken products they previously could not afford,” says Izaak Breitenbach, the head of SAPA’s broiler organisation.

Comment: A humane and rational case for the involvement of government in the workings of the free market.

A new player enters the haircare market this week with the announcement that global toymaker Zuru – which brings to market the popular Mini Brands range – has launched its popular Monday haircare products in Clicks stores nationally. The Monday range is produced by the Zuru Edge consumer products division, which is one of the fastest-growing consumer goods businesses in the world today, with brands across five key verticals – Pet Care, Baby Care, Personal Care & Beauty, Home Care, and Health & Wellness. Staying with innovation, Mars soup and sauce business Royco has added to its stable of iconic products a new range of pasta sauces in five flavours: Tomato & Basil, Creamy Tomato, Creamy Cheese, Bolognaise and Creamy Mushroom. Finally, Nampak is disposing of its 51.43% holding in Nampak Zimbabwe to local outfit TSL for $25 million (US), which it will apply to the ongoing settlement of around R720m in debt.

Comment: With its innovative products and insta-friendly recycled packaging, Zuru brings some competitive heft to an already crowded category.

On the (short) list of things we don’t have to worry about right now is the dear old CPI, which came in at a pleasing 3.8% YoY for the month of September, the lowest it’s been since sometime in 2021. The main contributors to this were housing and utilities at 4.8% (thanks Eskom), miscellaneous goods and services at 6.9%, food and non-alcoholic beverages at 4.7% and alcoholic beverages and tobacco, also at 4.7%. Are South Africans rushing out and spending at the sheer heady relief of it all? They are not, according to a global study by our friends at McKinsey, who find that many consumers delay purchases until items go on sale as part of their cost-saving strategies. This behaviour, they say, is particularly pronounced in categories such as groceries, personal care products, and household goods. “Interestingly,” they note “younger generations are leading this trend, with 66% of Gen Zs and 67% of Millennials waiting for sales, compared to just 44% of Gen Xs.”

Comment: A good idea then, to target certain key promotions in key categories at these influential and apparently thrifty cohorts.