JSE-listed retailers started 2026 with bold deals, bruised investors and a message from the market that mergers & acquisitions can still create value but only if they are done right.
From Mr Price’s controversial leap into Europe to Pepkor’s relentless scale push and Premier’s consolidation play, the sector has entered the year with high-stakes transactions on the table. History suggests the rewards can be huge, but it also shows how quickly things can go wrong.
No transaction has dominated headlines like Mr Price’s planned R9.6bn acquisition of German value retailer NKD. It is the group’s biggest deal and would transform Mr Price from a regional operator into a global retailer overnight.
The market reaction was brutal with the share price plunging in late 2025 and early this year as investors questioned the size and timing of the deal. Concerns include the long list of companies that have failed offshore.
Woolworths’ R21.5bn purchase of David Jones in Australia ended in about R20bn of value destruction. Even Shoprite, long seen as a best-in-class operator, exited several foreign markets after losing money.
Mr Price itself has scars. Previous attempts in Nigeria, Australia and the Middle East failed due to poor local understanding. It insists NKD is different but investors remain unconvinced, with reports suggesting that the bourse has been formally asked to intervene in the matter.
According to Perspective Investment CIO Daniel Malan, offshore acquisitions are no longer automatically rewarded. Mr Price may succeed, but the odds and history are against it.
While Mr Price is chasing growth abroad, Pepkor is disrupting the local market. The value retail giant enters 2026 as a market favourite despite short-term share price weaknesses.
Over the past year, Pepkor has absorbed Choice Clothing, Shoprite’s furniture chains (still in progress) and Retailability’s businesses, including Legit, adding hundreds of stores and securing its adult wear exposure.
The Pep and Ackermans owner is also pushing into fintech and banking. These can be seen as major diversification moves, but ones that build on Pepkor’s existing customer data, credit offering and huge store footprint.
Unlike flashy offshore bets, Pepkor’s deals support the Back to SA investment trend. The risk, however, lies in execution with history suggesting that the group knows how to sweat assets and investors are giving it the benefit of the doubt.
If there is one deal that has won near-universal approval, it is Premier’s planned acquisition of RFG. Listed in 2023, Premier has quietly become one of the JSE’s standout performers, championing steady revenue growth, margin expansion and a falling finance cost strategy. Heavy investment in manufacturing, including the new Aeroton mega bakery, is now largely complete and freeing up cash.
The RFG deal announced in October will create a food group with revenues approaching R28bn and earnings of about R4bn. It brings strong brands such as Rhodes, Bull Brand and Magpie into Premier’s stable, alongside Blue Ribbon, Snowflake and Iwisa.
This is consolidation, not empire-building, and the market likes it.
Adding to the action, Coca-Cola HBC is expected to list on the JSE this year after the R45bn takeover of its South African bottling operations. If it goes ahead the listing will immediately place Coca-Cola HBC in the Top 40, making it one of the largest consumer stocks on the exchange.
In a market starved of big, high-quality listings it is a boon. It shows that while some local companies are delisting or shrinking, global players still see value in South African consumer assets.
The gap between winners and losers in JSE retail has been striking. Mr Price has struggled to convince investors with its share price down more than 37% over the past year and flat over five years.
Pepkor has posted stronger long-term returns, up more than 76% over five years, but its shares have also come under pressure recently. Premier stands out with its share price up more than 40% over the past year, having more than tripled since listing.
Shoprite has nearly doubled over five years but has moved sideways recently. Meanwhile Woolworths, still recovering from years of strategic missteps, has posted long-term gains but remains volatile.
The past decade offers a playbook. Local strategic deals tied to logistics and scale, such as Shoprite’s acquisition of Cambridge Food, Rhino, and Massfresh from Massmart and its purchase of Pingo Delivery for the full control of Checkers Sixty60 operations, have created undeniable value. In contrast, overreaching offshore bets have often ended in write-offs.
Anchor Investment Management believes that valuations of “SA Inc” stocks already assume improvement and that the room for error is small.
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