Shoprite Holdings, a leading supermarket retail company linked to South African billionaire Christo Wiese, plans to open 275 new stores in the current fiscal year as part of its retail expansion strategy.
The move, which will see the group expand its footprint across Africa in line with its strategic expansion plans, comes shortly after the group opened 181 stores in 2021, bringing its total number of continuing operations to 2,989 stores.
Shoprite has opened 70 stores in the first quarter and plans to open another 107 in the second quarter of its current fiscal year.
During the first quarter, its South African operation, Supermarkets RSA, opened 46 stores, including seven Checkers, one Checkers Hyper, two Shoprite, ten Usave, 18 LiquorShop, four Petshop Science, three Checkers Little Me, and one Checkers Outdoor.
Net store growth for the South African segment was 44 new stores in the first quarter, and the operating segment is on track to open 220 new stores.
Shoprite Holdings Limited is Africa’s largest retailer and South Africa’s leading food store. On the African continent, the corporation employs more than 142,000 workers across 2,989 locations.
Wiese, a South African billionaire who was instrumental in the rise of Shoprite, owns 11.58 percent of the company, which is worth more than $860 million.
Aside from his common stock, the tycoon owns 305.6 million non-convertible, non-participating, no-par value deferred shares, which account for 32.2 percent of Shoprite’s voting rights.
The group’s revenues increased by 18.6 percent in the first quarter of its 2023 fiscal year, owing to significant growth across all of the group’s operating sectors.
The group’s South African operations, represented by Shoprite, Usave, Checkers, Checkers Hyper, and LiquorShop, boosted revenues by 19.9 percent in the first quarter thanks to a strong mix of more customers, volume growth, and higher average basket spend.
