The family-owned business that has built 88 shopping malls across South Africa

McCormick Property Development has been owned and managed by the same family since 1983 and has built 88 retail developments to date. 

Focusing on previously underserved areas, McCormick operates under the radar but is a dominant force in township and rural retail. 

The company is best known for developing Alex Mall in Johannesburg’s Alexandra township, Diepklof Square, and Chris Hani Crossing.

Many of its ownership stakes in its properties are held in Exemplar REIT, which is valued at R8.35 billion on the JSE. This separates development, under McCormick, from long-term ownership in Exemplar. 

McCormick rode the trend of underserved areas before it had gained traction among JSE-listed retail giants and other property developers. 

Founded in 1983 by John McCormick, the business has transformed retail in South Africa by enabling established chains to reach into townships, peri-urban and rural areas. 

McCormick had identified a gap in the market with the lack of formal retail space in disadvantaged communities. 

During apartheid, black South Africans could not own commercial land, making retail space scarce in large parts of the country. 

As a result, most township residents and rural families travelled long distances to access formal retailers to buy food and basic goods. 

There was also a challenge in the form of white people being unable to do business in some areas of the country, limiting their ability to invest in these regions. 

McCormick saw this as an opportunity and pioneered partnerships between property developers and rural communities across South Africa. 

He would partner directly with local black entrepreneurs to secure land rights and co-develop retail infrastructure, enabling commercial investment in these communities. 

In effect, McCormick would develop the land for commercial use, while the centres would be partly owned by local communities and operated by them. 

1985 saw McCormick complete his first major development, Giyani Plaza, in the Gazankulu homeland with an equity-sharing scheme for local community partners. 

McCormick also persuaded formal retailers, particularly Shoprite and Pick n Pay, to open stores in these rural shopping malls. 

This created a model that mimics much of today’s market, with McCormick’s original gap gradually being filled by his company and others. 

From 1 mall to 88 and the JSE

The company underwent a significant transformation when McCormick’s son Jason took over the leadership of the company. 

The younger McCormick accelerated the development of the company’s pipeline and broadened its footprint across South Africa. 

Most notably, Jason expanded the company’s focus to include high-density urban townships alongside rural nodes. 

This resulted in the development of major hubs, such as Diepkloof Square in Soweto, Olievenhoutbosch Plaza in Centurion, and Blouberg Mall in Limpopo. 

These assets have been extremely lucrative for McCormick due to their high foot traffic, which often exceeds that of major malls frequented by the middle class, such as Sandton City and Mall of Africa. 

Jason also spearheaded the separation of property development under McCormick and its long-term ownership stakes in malls under Exemplar REIT. 

This also enabled the family to keep control of the property development company, ensure its simplicity, and benefit financially from its long-term ownership of key assets. 

A listing on the JSE also helped make some of the family’s wealth liquid, enabling it to sell shares and diversify its wealth. 

Nowadays, McCormick effectively develops properties across South Africa and feeds the completed assets into Exemplar. 

The McCormick family remains the largest shareholder in Exemplar, with 54.27% held by McCormick Property Development. A further chunk of shares is held by the John McCormick Family Trust.  

McCormick has completed 88 developments across South Africa at the time of writing, with it opening a handful of new properties every year. 

The company currently has three malls under construction and a further 11 in the immediate pipeline. It is expected to open two malls next year in KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo. 

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McCormick Property Development photos

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