Pick n Pay CEO Sean Summers says the retailer is no longer chasing scale, confirming that the race to be the biggest is over as the group focuses instead on improving store quality, profitability and operational fundamentals.
Summers was talking to Business Day after the group’s interim results announcement on Monday in which it posted steady progress in its turnaround, with headline losses narrowing and core supermarket performance stabilising after years of decline.
The group’s rivals continue to expand rapidly even as the retail space becomes saturated, according to analysts. Shoprite, deemed the continent’s largest retailer, plans to open more than 300 stores in the next 12 months, Spar is hard at work to open 40 new high-end stores.
Pick n Pay’s Boxer plans to roll out 60 new stores during its 2026 financial year, including 25 Superstores and 35 liquor stores.
But for Summers, who returned to the struggling group in 2023 to save the ship, it is no longer about “quantity but quality” as Pick n Pay continues to close down or convert loss-making outlets.
“We’re not in a race to become the biggest again,” he said.
“The market is finite at the end of the day. It’s not infinite. And it’s not a race just to see how many stores you can open…. it’s also the quality of your real estate that’s very important.”
Pick n Pay reported a 56% reduction in headline loss per share for the 26 weeks to end-August. Group turnover was up 4.9%, while like-for-like sales increased 4.7%. Boxer, now listed separately but still majority-owned by the group, delivered market-leading turnover growth of 13.9%.
According to Summers, the group has completed about 90% of its store estate reset programme, which forms an integral part of its turnaround strategy.
“It’s about making sure every store is relevant and sustainable. That phase is largely done,” he said.
Summers said the next step in the turnaround was reinvestment in key locations. Pick n Pay would spend R2.2bn in capital expenditure in this financial year, with most of it directed towards Boxer, Pick n Pay Clothing and upgrades of selected high-performing supermarkets.
Summers acknowledged the competitive pressure from rivals such as Shoprite, Checkers, Woolworths and Spar but said Pick n Pay’s focus was on building a “really top-quality operation” that can sustain profitability over the long term.
“Our real success will be measured years after we reach break-even,” he said.
“This is a lot of hard work that has to be done to restore what I call corporate muscle memory.”
Summers said succession planning was under way but declined to give details, saying it would be inappropriate to discuss in public.
The group, which has embarked on several initiatives to improve profitability, reported a narrowing in its headline loss per share in the 26 weeks ended August to 59.77c from 136.6c a year ago.
Group net finance costs decreased 44.8% to R627m, reflecting the net impact of the positive funding interest swing and a 3.9% increase in net lease interest, in which Boxer’s relatively high lease interest growth, driven by the store rollout, was offset by a reduction in Pick n Pay.
Pick n Pay Clothing opened its 400th stand-alone store as it expanded its reach and delivered further market share gains, with turnover growing 12%.
Online sales recorded solid double-digit growth, underscoring the group’s growing competitiveness in the digital retail space, it said.
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