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Shoprite Holdings, Africa’s largest supermarket chain, led by South African executive Pieter Engelbrecht, achieved a remarkable financial performance in the first half of its 2024 fiscal year. Half-year sales soared to R121.1 billion ($6.37 billion), reflecting the effective leadership of Engelbrecht.
Since taking the helm in January 2017, Engelbrecht has continued to enhance the legacy established by his predecessor, Whitey Basson. Under Engelbrecht’s guidance, Shoprite has consistently outperformed the market, marking its fifth consecutive year of financial success.
The group’s recently published unaudited results revealed a 13.9-percent increase in merchandise sales, driving half-year sales to a record of R121.1 billion ($6.37 billion). The supermarkets in South Africa experienced a 14.6-percent surge in merchandise sales, reaching R97.5 billion ($5.13 billion).
Resilient performance: Shoprite’s robust sales growth defies market trends
Engelbrecht commented on the results, stating, “The Shoprite Group’s results for the six-month period under review reflect the business’s incredible dedication to our customers whose support of our operations, both in-store and online via our digital Checkers Sixty60 app has resulted in us extending our period of uninterrupted market share gains in our core South African supermarket business to 58 months.”
Emphasizing the 14.6-percent rise in sales, Engelbrecht noted, “The 14.6-percent increase in sales from our core business segment equates to R12.4 billion ($652.5 million) in additional customer spend with us on the same period last year. Despite reporting against an exceptionally high base of sales growth of 17.5 percent for the same period last year, the 14.6-percent increase in sales for this interim period compares admirably to the rest-of-market growth in South Africa, per NielsenIQ, for the same period of 7.6 percent.”
Checkers Sixty60 soars with 63.1-percent sales growth: CEO Engelbrecht hails digital innovation’s impact
Engelbrecht praised the strong performance of Checkers Sixty60, the online shopping app, noting a significant 63.1-percent sales growth. He emphasized the crucial role of digital innovation in meeting customer needs. Additionally, he commended the 13.7-percent sales rise in Checkers and Checkers Hyper, attributing it to a clear value proposition, store upgrades, and improvements in fresh, private label, and on-demand services.
The CEO stressed Shoprite’s dedication to investing in key areas like technology, digitalization, supply chain efficiency, and expanding stores. The company opened 197 new stores this reporting period, totaling 3,543. They also created 2,617 new jobs in six months.
He also thanked Shoprite’s 161,000 employees and its 29 million South African customers, as well as suppliers and SMME partners. He praised Shoprite’s commitment to its purpose and highlighted the positive impact it has on people’s lives.
Apart from his executive and governance roles, Pieter Engelbrecht owns a minority 0.14-percent stake in the leading retailer, which translates to a total of 838,604 shares — a stake presently valued at more than $10 million.
