South Africa’s biggest retailer set to shoot the lights out

Shoprite is expected to report another strong set of half-year results as the retail giant continues to go from strength to strength, with headline earnings growth of over 10% on the cards.

In the first half of its 2026 financial year, Shoprite grew its sales by over 7% and, over the past year, opened more than 260 stores in South Africa.

The retailer now has 2,747 stores across the country, cementing its status as the biggest food retailer in South Africa.

On Monday, 2 February, Shoprite released an operational update for the six months ended 28 December 2025, which marked the first half of its 2026 financial year.

Shoprite, which owns Checkers and other well-known brands in South Africa, reported that its sales grew to R136.8 billion in the six-month period, up 7.2% compared to the first half of its 2025 financial year.

This growth was largely driven by the group’s core business, Supermarkets RSA, which contributed 84.3% of the total and achieved 7.1% growth.

However, the retailer noted that, on a like-for-like basis, this segment’s sales increased by a more modest 1.9%.

This, according to Shoprite, reflects an environment of prolonged selling price inflation decline, which moved into deflation during the retailer’s key November to December 2025 trading period.

Regardless, the retailer said Supermarkets RSA’s growth still measured 2.3 times the ‘rest of market’ growth, using NielsenIQ data.

Sales growth was strong across all brands in this segment, with Shoprite and Usave, which includes Shoprite LiquorShop, reporting 5.1% sales growth.

Checkers and Checkers Hyper, including Checkers LiquorShop, reported sales growth of 8.9%.

As has become the norm, a standout performer in these results is Shoprite’s Sixty60 platform, which saw its on-demand digital commerce sales increase by 34.6%.

The retailer’s newer brands and developing formats, including Petshop Science, Uniq Clothing by Checkers, Checkers Outdoor and Little Me, grew sales by over 70%.

Overall, the Supermarkets RSA segment opened a net 262 stores over the past 12 months to total 2,747 stores.

Shoprite’s other segment, Supermarkets Non-RSA, also reported strong growth, with sales up 12.1% in rand terms. This division accounted for 8.4% of total group sales.

This segment’s store base increased by a net 15 stores over the past 12 months, totalling 272 stores across seven countries.

Shoprite’s other operating segments, including the OK Franchise, Transpharm together with Medirite Pharmacies, Red Star Wholesale Catering Services and Computicket, reported sales growth of 3.5%. This segment represents 7.3% of total group sales.

On a group level, Shoprite expects its headline earnings per share to increase by between 5.2% and 10.2% for the first half of its 2026 financial year.

Shoprite plans to release its complete interim results on Tuesday, 3 March 2026.