Pick n Pay has appointed former Massmart CEO Grant Pattison to its board as it works to recover from years of losses in its core supermarket business and re-establish operational stability under returned CEO Sean Summers.
The appointment, confirmed at the retailer’s AGM on Tuesday, is part of a broader effort to strengthen governance and execution capacity as the group implements its five-point turnaround strategy.
Pattison is joined on the board by University of Cape Town economics professor Haroon Bhorat.
Investment analyst Chris Gilmour said the appointments are strong and strategic.
Gilmour said Pattison brought valuable retail experience and resilience from his time at Massmart and Edcon, while Bhorat offered exceptional analytical skills and problem-solving abilities that would greatly benefit the board.
“After Massmart he took the reins at Edcon, just before Covid but the impact of the pandemic crushed the business before he could implement a proper turnaround strategy. Since then he has been on a variety of smaller boards but at Pick n Pay, his grit and determination, coupled with ingrained retailing expertise, will add immensely to the Pick n Pay board,” he said.
“Prof Haroon Bhorat is one of the clearest thinkers I have ever encountered and he has an uncanny ability to see solutions to seemingly intractable problems. His inclusion on the Pick n Pay board will be invaluable.”
Opportune Investment chief investment officer Chris Logan shared similar sentiments, saying that turnarounds “require bolstering of skills, experience and capabilities to ensure the business performs at a higher, more sustainable level”. Pattison, he said, was an “excellent addition in this regard”.
The AGM came a couple of months after Summers outlined his recovery strategy and told investors that the group had moved beyond planning and was focused on execution.
On Tuesday, Summers said the company had made measurable progress on some aspects of the plan, particularly in like-for-like sales growth and store upgrades, but stressed the trading environment would remain challenging in the short term.
He reiterated that the group was targeting break-even at trading profit after leases by the 2026 financial year, with a return to profitability expected thereafter.
Pick n Pay has leant on its Boxer division for growth, while its main supermarket business remains under pressure. The company said group turnover rose in the 17 weeks to July 28, with Boxer growing sales in the double digits and gaining market share.
In contrast, the Pick n Pay-branded stores showed modest growth, with improvements partly driven by price investment and early wins from its reset programme.
Summers said customers were responding positively to the reset stores and changes in execution at branch level.
The AGM also brought shareholder attention to other aspects of governance and performance, including the group’s approach to remuneration and transformation reporting.
Logan questioned the absence of return on invested capital (ROIC) as a performance measure in executive pay, despite ROIC being a driver in Boxer’s success and an industry benchmark used by competitors such as Shoprite.
In response, the board acknowledged the importance of returns and said it would continue to review the performance metrics used in its remuneration policy.
In contrast, shareholder advocacy group Just Share challenged the company’s wage transparency and employment equity reporting. It asked the board to disclose the minimum annual pay of the lowest-paid worker, as well as the race and gender pay gaps, which Pick n Pay used to report in the past.
But Summers and the board failed to give a fixed figure, saying that the company did not employ a single standardised wage and that most employees’ pay was governed by union agreements.
Pick n Pay said, however, that it paid above statutory minimums and provided additional benefits.
On transformation data, Just Share said the company’s practice of aggregating designated groups made it difficult to assess progress on race and gender equity. The board committed to disclosing disaggregated data aligned to Employment Equity Act reporting standards in future reports and said it had already submitted detailed data.
The AGM marked the end of Gareth Ackerman’s tenure as board chair after 15 years. He will remain a nonexecutive director. He was succeeded by James Formby, who will now work with Summers to oversee the turnaround and return Pick n Pay to profitability.
Ackerman said his final AGM marked the end of a deeply meaningful journey during which the group transformed into a more unified and agile business. Reflecting on the legacy of his father, founder Raymond Ackerman, he stressed the importance of hope-driven, purpose-led leadership and praised Summers for reigniting momentum in the business.
While acknowledging the work ahead, he expressed strong confidence in Pick n Pay’s future under new Formby and reaffirmed his support as a board member and family steward of the business.
Pick n Pay is due to report interim results in October. Shares in the company rose 2.6% in afternoon trade following the AGM.
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