Checkers and Pick n Pay will crush Walmart in South Africa

While Walmart can currently offer lower prices than South Africa’s retail giants like Checkers and Pick n Pay, it is unlikely to match these local competitors in terms of convenience and execution.

This is because the global retail giant lacks a distribution network in South Africa that could provide the same convenience that local retailers currently offer.

With convenience having become the new battleground in South Africa’s retail market, Walmart’s likely insufficient offering in this regard could see it become an “also ran” against local retail giants like Checkers, Woolworths and Pick n Pay.

This is feedback from Sasfin senior equity analyst Alec Abraham, who told Daily Investor that he struggles to see how Walmart will pose any threat to South Africa’s listed food retailers.

He explained that Walmart’s South African subsidiary, Massmart, has attempted to take on local retailers once before – with disappointing results.

Massmart, which also owns Makro and Game, suffered losses in South Africa for years and had to sell some of its non-core assets to Shoprite a few years ago as part of a turnaround plan.

These assets were Massmart’s poor-performing Cambridge Food, Rhino and Massfresh businesses, which Shoprite picked up for around R1.36 billion in 2021.

Now, Massmart’s parent company is looking for a second chance at taking on the South African food retail market – this time with its globally popular Walmart brand.

In late 2025, Walmart shifted its strategy from only acting as a holding company to becoming a direct competitor in the South African grocery and retail market by opening its first Walmart-branded stores in the country.

The first store opened its doors in November 2025 at Clearwater Mall in Roodepoort, Johannesburg, with a second opening shortly after at Fourways Mall. 

The retailer has said that these two stores are only the start, with Walmart having ambitious expansion plans for South Africa.

As part of an aggressive store roll-out strategy, Walmart plans to open stores in Cape Town in the Western Cape and Durban in KwaZulu-Natal this year.

The global retail giant is banking on its “Every Day Low Prices” model to attract customers and take on local giants like Shoprite (Checkers) and Pick n Pay.

However, Abraham warned that these plans may just see Walmart go back to square one.

No threat

“I struggle to see how Walmart will pose any threat to the listed food retailers,” Abraham told Daily Investor.

He explained that the global retail giant lacks one of the most crucial aspects needed to effectively compete against South African retailers – a solid distribution network.

“Just like Massmart’s half-baked, Johnny-come-lately, failed attempt with Cambridge, Walmart lacks the distribution network,” Abraham said.

“In food retail, convenience is important, as demonstrated by the success of Sixty60 with the ultimate convenience (the palm of your hand).”

Shoprite and Checkers’ Sixty60 offering was considered a game-changer in South Africa’s retail landscape.

This service, which promises to deliver customers’ orders within 60 minutes, disrupted South Africa’s food retail market and introduced a new battleground on which local retailers are fighting for dominance.

All of South Africa’s listed food retailers have launched their answer to Sixty60 – Pick n Pay with asap!, Woolworths with Woolies Dash, and SPAR with SPAR2U.

While store locations, product availability and variety, and personal preference are also critical, the key determinant of success for these services has been logistics, with a strong, effective distribution network proving the key.

This can be seen in the reigning champion of South Africa’s on-demand, same-day food delivery market – Checkers’ Sixty60.

Sixty60’s dominance in this market has largely been attributed to its excellent underlying logistics network, particularly Shoprite’s investment into enhanced store infrastructure and distribution channels.

For example, the retailer acquired the entirety of last-mile logistics provider Pingo in 2024 to ensure it has full control over last-mile delivery.

This investment has enabled Shoprite not only to improve delivery times but also to enhance its product offerings and reduce operating costs.

It has ensured that Sixty60 remains the biggest and fastest-growing on-demand delivery service in South Africa, with competitors fighting to keep up.

Therefore, without an established and strong distribution network in South Africa, Walmart will struggle significantly to compete against local retailers on what has become the key battleground of food retail.

It should be noted that Walmart has already launched its own answer to Sixty60, with the Walmart app allowing customers to shop from its stores and distribution facilities at the same prices as in-store.

Currently, customers living within a 5 km radius of the two existing Walmart stores can get their items delivered within 60 minutes.

However, Abraham said Walmart faces more than just one challenge in South Africa’s food retail market, as local listed retailers present fierce competition for reasons other than just their distribution networks.

“You’ve got strong competition in the form of Woolworths Food – with its excellent shopping experience, quality and innovative range – and Shoprite – executing flawlessly – and even the laggard Pick n Pay trying gallantly to win back at least some of its lost market share,” he said.

“Against the background outlined above, I don’t believe Walmart will be anything more than an ‘also ran’.”