Just yesterday the Clicks Group released its interim results for the six months to end Feb, and as expected, they were another good showing. Retail sales growth of +6.4% translated into healthy volumes, with strong growth in front shop health and pharmacy now tipping the share of these two categories to over 50% of the Group’s retail turnover. Facial scrubs and masks were highlighted as star performers in beauty, driven by – would you believe – Korean and Japanese skincare trends. Who knew they were so fastidious about their complexions? Taking a look at Clicks’ own private brands, they hit a record 31.4% share of front shop sales, notably in the baby category, where 1 in every 2 nappies sold at Clicks is from the retailer’s ‘Made 4 baby’ private brand. Clicks’ proximity strategy (i.e. bringing more stores within reach of more South Africans) is still going strong, with its 950th store and 740th pharmacy opening during the period. The Group says that it will be trialling smaller Clicks formats in lower LSM areas. For more on those numbers, read our handy summary here.

Comment: Although H2 will be impacted by the VAT increase and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, CEO Bertina Engelbrecht is optimistic about the future and believes “there’s really no end to what we are able to achieve”.

Let's take a closer look at the new Shoprite/Standard Bank match-up we reported on a few weeks back and that was officially launched just over 24 hours ago. Standard Bank UCount members can now earn up to 40% back in UCount Rewards points when shopping on Sixty60, and up to 30% back in store at Shoprite or Checkers. These new benefits are over and above the instant cash discounts offered already by Xtra Savings, giving UCount members even more bang for their buck. “The partnership between Africa’s biggest bank and the continent’s largest retailer is built around a shared goal of reducing the cost of living for South Africans. This is a long-term commitment to delivering real value where it matters most,” says Meredith Allan, GM for Strategy and Rewards at ShopriteX.

Comment: Things are hotting up in the reward programme stakes, what with SPAR revamping its programme recently, Boxer launching, Pick n Pay partnering with FNB and now Shoprite and Standard Bank cosying up. We are absolutely here for it.

The 2025 SA Diary Championship winners were announced last week in Durbanville, and what an outing it was for our retailers’ private brands and their manufacturers. The Championship is South Africa’s oldest, largest and most prestigious dairy competition, and this year it saw a record-breaking 1,110 product entries judged by 103 very, very fortunate experts who meticulously assessed their appearance, texture and flavour. For the fifth year running, Woolies was named the, ahem, crème de la crème of the occasion, winning the overall Dairy Product of the Year for its Mascarpone with Fig & Pecan Nuts. But let’s not forget our other great retailers and indeed suppliers. We’ll break the winners down for you here:
Woolworths: 31 first places, 21 second places, 21 third places, produced by manufacturers such as Lactalis, RFG Foods, Fairfield Dairy, and too many others to mention
Shoprite (incl. Checkers and Usave): 7 first places, 13 second / third places, produced by Lactalis, Crystal Valley, Fair Cape Dairies, Dewfresh and more
SPAR: 6 first places, 5 second places, 8 third places, produced by Spring Meadow Dairy, Woodlands Dairy, Fairfield Dairy
Pick n Pay: 3 second places, 1 third place, produced by Lancewood and Dewfresh

Comment: Bring out those crackers, everyone. Dairy in South Africa is alive, thriving and delicious. Well done to all the winners.

In celebration of National Pet Day last Friday, we thought it fitting to take a quick look at just how the pet category is doing in the Beloved Country. According to the Shoprite Group, it’s going gangbusters and is estimated to be worth R8bn annually thanks to the needs and (sometimes very incessant – yes you, FiFi) demands of our 22 million dogs, cats, hamsters and [insert favourite pet here]. In fact, in its half-year results to the end of December, Shoprite’s Petshop Science format grew sales by +57%, with no signs of slowing down. Moving along, or indeed driving through, bp Southern Africa and Pedros Flamed Grilled Chicken have announced their newest partnership debuting at bp Jean Avenue in Centurion, where fans of flame-grilled chicken can grab their meals without leaving the comfort of their vehicles. Pedros is just the latest addition to the line of QSRs that bp already teams up, which include most of SA’s largest take-aways.

Comment: Speaking of forecourts, look out for the next update of our Forecourt Retail in South Africa Report, due to be published early next month. For more on the report, click here.

A big up and high five to Unilever, which has trained 100 smallholder farmers in KZN in herb and spice cultivation as part of its supplier localisation programme. Known as the Jozini Smallholder Farmer Programme, the initiative is a partnership between our national Department of Agriculture, Unilever, and the KZN Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, working towards inclusive agricultural development for farmers in rural Jozini, northern KZN. The training course provided was aligned with AgriSETA standards, positioning the farmers as competitive suppliers in Unilever’s value chain and giving them a link to commercial markets. Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen praised the initiative, saying “… we recognise that if we try and do things on our own, we won’t get far, but if we work together, we can go far. Partnerships go beyond just something on paper, [they] are rooted in our core philosophy as South Africans – Ubuntu.”

Did you know that Gen Alpha (those young’uns born after 2010) will have an estimated spending power of $5.5tn in four year’s time? And that 39% of adults globally are overweight? Interesting indeed, but how are these two numbers related? Well, you’ll find them in the Q1 update of Ti’s Health and Beauty Report, now available to purchasers. And they give us a measure behind the latest trends that health, beauty and personal care suppliers should sit up and take note of. Like how because of the GLP-1 weight loss drug revolution, we are seeing a growing demand for healthy foods and drinks, as well as products to address the side effects these drugs cause. Or how Gen Alpha are already redefining consumer expectations in beauty and influencing what facial scrubs and masks their moms and dads buy even for themselves. In fact, as mentioned in that particular story above, Clicks cited a spike in exactly those products over its last reporting period, with GLP-1 drug sales also receiving a special mention for their contribution to pharmacy performance. In the report you will also find answers to other key industry questions like how shoppers hunt for value in the channel and what our retailers are doing to get more shoppers through their physical and digital gateways. For more information on the report, have a look here.

According to the bearded sages over at StatsSA, February’s retail trade sales grew +3.9% compared to Feb last year, and although it’s a little less than Jan’s +7.0%, it’s not bad going for that month when South Africans are typically still recovering from the largesses of the festive season, also bearing in mind that in 2024, February had an extra day of trading on the 29th. The largest positive contributors to the growth were ‘retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods’ (up +15.7%) and ‘general dealers’ (+3.4%), which our industry falls under. ‘Retailers in food, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores’ sadly declined -3.7%, with retailers in ‘pharmaceuticals and medical goods, cosmetics and toiletries’ also down at -0.7%. Looking at these growths, we do need to think back to Feb 2024 when we had high inflation and 21 days of load shedding. We’ll unpack them more in our next monthly economic report.