Shoprite bought its way across Africa — and became the continent's largest food retailer

In 1979 Pep Stores — under Whitey Basson — bought eight grocery stores around Cape Town for about R1 million (fewer than 400 staff) and positioned them for middle- and low-income shoppers. The JSE listing in 1986 valued the company at R29 million with 33 stores, facing Pick n Pay, Checkers and OK Bazaars; the 1990s then brought the rivals' distress and Shoprite's acquisition phase.

Shoprite bought rival Checkers in 1991 for R55 million (169 stores, 16,500 staff — a combined 241 stores and 22,600 employees), and in 1997 acquired OK Bazaars from SAB for R1 (157 supermarkets plus 146 furniture stores, keeping 14,091 jobs). With central buying, own labels and low margins, expansion crossed the continent: Namibia (1990), Zambia (1995), Mozambique (1997), Botswana (1998), Zimbabwe and Uganda (2000), Angola (2003), Ghana (2003) and Nigeria (2005).

In June 2021 Shoprite sold its Nigerian operations to a local investor consortium (Ketron) in a franchise-plus-services arrangement, later exiting Uganda, Madagascar and Kenya. FY2025 (53 weeks to 29 June 2025): group revenue R256.7bn (+8.6%), SA Supermarkets merchandise sales R213.5bn (+9.5%), 2,863 corporate-owned stores (net +281), 8,723 new jobs, and Checkers alone above R100bn — cementing Shoprite's position as Africa's largest food retailer.

Africa's largest food retailer: Checkers (R55M, 1991) and OK Bazaars (R1, 1997) bought, 10+ countries, R256.7bn FY2025 revenue, 2,863 owned stores.

Buy the rivals while they bleed: Checkers and OK Bazaars were distressed in the early 1990s, so Shoprite swapped cash for store count — density that central buying and low margins made unbeatable.

The low-income positioning travelled: a 'shop for everyone' assortment with own labels worked in township South Africa and, adapted, in a dozen African markets.

A commodity retail model scales by acquisition when rivals are distressed and by replication when the format is cheap: buy density cheap, keep low margins, expand until geography is the moat.

Shoprite remains Africa's largest food retailer: FY2025 group revenue R256.7bn with 2,863 owned stores, and deliberate pruning (Nigeria sold 2021, Uganda/Madagascar/Kenya exited) in favor of profitable markets — the acquisition machine that built it still decides what to hold.