SPAR plummets to a 16-year low

SPAR’s share price plummeted to its lowest levels since 2010 on the back of poor financial results and leadership instability.

On Monday, 23 February 2026, SPAR released a trading update for the 18 weeks ended 30 January 2026. Investors did not like what they saw.

The results revealed stagnant growth and significant margin pressure within a highly competitive retail landscape.

Internal selling price inflation averaged 2.6% over the period, compared to the official food inflation, which measured 4.3%.

This suggests that SPAR is not fully passing on cost increases to consumers or is operating in a highly deflationary environment for key categories.

To make matters worse, it is facing a rising cost base, which includes wage inflation and continued heavy investment in IT infrastructure and the SAP system rollout.

This is not where the pain stops. SPAR is facing legal action over the SAP implementation at its KwaZulu-Natal distribution centre.

To add to its misery, the retailer has also faced leadership issues, losing some of its top executives over the past few years.

SPAR CEO Angelo Swartz, who took the reins in October 2023, will leave the company at the end of the month.

Swartz was SPAR’s fourth CEO in five years. His departure follows the 2023 retirement of Brett Botten, who left after less than two years at the helm.

Last year, SPAR South Africa’s chief executive, Max Oliva, resigned. He subsequently became the CEO of McDonald’s South Africa.

Yesterday, SPAR’s share price declined by 10%. It continued the decline on Tuesday, with a further 8% loss by midday.

The latest decline means the SPAR share price has lost over half its value over the last year, making it the worst-performing large food retailer in South Africa.

It is now trading at levels last seen in 2010, signalling that investors have lost trust in the company.

Analyst opinion

Jonathan Fisher from PSG Wealth told BusinessDay TV that there is not much positive news surrounding SPAR.

He does not like SPAR as an investment, explaining that there is currently no good investment thesis for the company or its shareholders.

Fisher said the outlook for SPAR is not good, calling the results an ugly picture for investors. “I am not seeing a pretty picture anywhere,” he said.

He said there are many reasons for his bearish outlook on SPAR, which are well known in the South African investment community.

They include the botched SAP implementation, the legal battle over franchisees’ lost revenue, and leadership issues. “SPAR has numerous problems,” he said.

Fisher added that, besides SPAR’s structural and operational issues, the South African food retail sector is a tough environment.

“The consumer food market is a tough place to compete, and the best player in this space is Shoprite,” he said.

He explained that it is difficult to improve earnings when revenue growth is in low single digits, which is the case with SPAR.

Reko Nare from Anchor Capital is more upbeat, saying that despite the challenges, there is a turnaround story which some investors may like.

He said there were several constructive developments, including SPAR’s Poland exit, progress on the UK exit, and the de-escalation of SAP software implementation issues.