Tag: Retail

SA online retailer Takealot to open massive new distribution centre in Cape Town in 2022

Editor

SOUTH AFRICA – South Africa’s E-Commerce retailer Takealot Group has embarked on the construction of a new distribution centre (DC) in Cape Town, expected to launch in August 2022. The 24,000 sqm facility consists of 22,000 sqm of warehouse space and 2,000 sqm offices, designed to provide Takealot with expansion options to add an additional 50,000 sqm of warehousing to the initial phase. The new DC is sustainably designed and will feature a dedicated solar PV installation, energy-efficient lighting systems, a rainwater harvesting system and water-saving xeriscape landscaping. The cross-dock…

Read More

Pick n Pay’s tale of two differing quarters earns the retailer 4.1% rise in half year revenue

Editor

SOUTH AFRICA – South African retailer Pick n Pay has published its financial results for the six months ended 29 August 2021, with the group reporting solid results despite the harsh operating environment exhibited during the period. According to the company, its comparable headline earnings per share increased 90.9% year-on-year, from a low base of 37.12 cents to 70.85 cents. This is a resilient performance in a period marked by unprecedented civil disorder in South Africa and the resumption of government restrictions on alcohol sales in response to the third…

Read More

Moroccan retailtech startup Chari.ma raises US$5m to spearhead expansion plan

Editor

MOROCCO – Chari.ma, a Moroccan B2B e-commerce platform that fashions retailers with suppliers has raised US$5 million in the largest venture funding round in the country this year and among the biggest-ever seed funding rounds in the North African nation. The funding round was jointly led by Rocket Internet, Global Founders Capital and P1 Ventures with participations from Plug and Play, Y Combinator, Village Capital, MetLife Foundation, Orange Digital Ventures, Air Angels, SPE Capital, Pincus Private Equity and Reflect Ventures. The Chandaria family, Propertyfinder CEO and founder Michael Lahyani, and…

Read More

Massmart eyes majority stake in delivery service provider OneCart to bolster eCommerce capabilities

Editor

SOUTH AFRICA – Walmart-owned South African retailer, Massmart has reached agreement to acquire 87.5% of the issued shares in OneCart. This is in line with its strategy to invest in and accelerate its e-commerce presence and compete with the likes of Shoprite’s highly successful Checkers Sixty60 on-demand delivery service and Pick n Pay’s Bottles service, now dubbed Pick n Pay ASAP! As a fast-moving consumer goods marketplace and logistics platform, OneCart partners with leading retailers in South Africa to enable fast, flexible and efficient online sales and home delivery to…

Read More

SA retailer Pick n Pay, Standard Bank unveil cashless, easy paying mode for customers

Editor

SOUTH AFRICA – South African retailer Pick n Pay has partnered with Standard Bank to foster easy, faster and convenient mode for customers to pay for groceries at the supermarket outlet. The commercial bank has launched Standard Bank’s EasyScan, a new service that will enable customers to pay for their shopping using the Standard Bank Mobile Banking app.  Standard Bank customers registered on the Banking App can scan the QR code at a Pick n Pay till point and pay via the Banking App. “Anyone with a Standard Bank account…

Read More

Kenyan retailer QuickMart fuels expansion plans, opens 46th outlet

Editor

KENYA – QuickMart, Kenyan retailer majority owned by Mauritius-based private equity firm Adenia Partners, has opened a new branch in Kisii town as part of its expansion strategy that targets to have a store in all leading towns in the country. The retailer has taken up the space that was vacated by struggling super market chain Tuskys, stepping up competition with rival Naivas that has a presence in the town. Situated at the heart of Kisii Central Business District, the branch is the retailer’s 46th in 12 counties across Kenya,…

Read More

US private equity firm CD&R to acquire UK supermarket Morrisons for US$9.5B

Editor

UK – U.S private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) is set to take control of Britain’s fourth-biggest supermarket group Morrisons after winning the auction for the retailer with a 7 billion pound ($9.5 billion) bid.   CD&R’s 287 pence per share bid narrowly beat the one made by a consortium led by Softbank (9434.T) owned Fortress Investment Group which had made an offer worth just a penny less per share at 286 pence.  Morrisons’ board recommended that shareholders vote in favor of the 287 pence per share offer at a meeting slated for Oct. 19, saying the…

Read More

Botwana retailer Choppies turns to profitability courtesy of restructuring efforts

Editor

BOTSWANA – Botswana based retailer, Choppies Enterprises Limited has gone full circle, bouncing back from a loss in the previous financial year to post a profit growth in the full year ended June 2021. The behemoth retailer expects its Profit after Tax including discontinued operations to be between 106% to 126% representing a gain of between P22.6 million (US$2m) and P96.7 million (US$8.56m) better than the Loss after Tax of P370.6 million (US$32.79m) reported for the period FY2020. In a trading statement posted on the local bourse, Botswana Stock Exchange…

Read More

Lulu strengthens retail presence in Qatar with opening of 15th hypermarket

Editor

QATAR – Emirati multinational conglomerate company LuLu Group has strengthened its position in Qatar’s retail market with the opening of its 15th store at Abu Sidra.   The new 24,000sqm store is spread over two levels and promises innovations that will transform the retail shopping experience for many Qatari shoppers.  The store is for instance equipped with smart technology such as self-checkouts to make the shopping experience smoother.  It also features Qatar’s biggest and most comprehensive Zero Waste refill station where shoppers can refill reusable containers with dry goods including pasta, grains and…

Read More

German retailer Aldi to invest US$1.8B to expand presence in Britain

Editor

UK – Aldi will invest 1.3 billion pounds ($1.8 billion) in its British and Irish business over the next two years as it attempts to accelerate its growth in market share.  The company, now Britain’s fifth largest supermarket, plans to use the funds to open another 100 new stores in Britain in addition to expanding its logistics infrastructure and enhancing its technology capabilities.   Aldi UK, which has over 920 stores, including 48 stores within the M25, has around 38,000 employees and is led by Giles Hurley.  It plans to launch 2,000 new roles, adding to 7000…

Read More