JPMorgan Chase & Co, the largest U.S. bank by assets, has acquired an additional stake in Shoprite Holdings, a leading supermarket retail company that counts South African billionaire Christo Wiese among its owners.
JPMorgan’s recent acquisition of more shares in Shoprite solidifies its position as a significant shareholder. In addition, it demonstrates the bank’s continued support for the company and its belief in its future success.
According to a disclosure issued before the opening of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange this morning, JPMorgan’s total beneficial interest in Shoprite has climbed to 8.8 percent.
This further solidifies JPMorgan’s standing as a prominent player in the global retail sector and underscores the bank’s dedication to delivering solid results for its investors.
The news of JPMorgan’s acquisition comes as Shoprite expands its operations into new markets, launching its first apparel store in South Africa, Uniq. The store in Cape Town’s Canal Walk Shopping Center is expected to be followed by ten more outlets across the country.
The move into the apparel market puts Shoprite in competition with Pick n Pay, which currently dominates South Africa’s apparel market. To spearhead its foray into the sector, Shoprite has hired Michael Cole, who previously headed Pick n Pay’s clothing business.
Shoprite’s strategic expansion efforts have paid off as the group’s profit for the first half of its 2023 fiscal year, which ended on Jan. 1, 2023, surged by 19.9 percent to R3.26 billion ($177.7 million) from R2.72 billion ($148.3 million) in the same period in 2022.
The double-digit percent increase in the group’s profit can be attributed to a surge in customer traffic, volume growth, and higher average basket spend, which led to a more than 16 percent rise in total merchandise sales.
Wiese, a South African billionaire who played a crucial role in the growth of Shoprite, currently holds an 11.63 percent stake in the group. This stake is valued at over R14.5 billion ($790 million).
In addition to this, Wiese also has 305.6 million deferred shares with no par value. These shares represent 32.2 percent of Shoprite’s voting rights.
