International retailer worth more than Mr Price and Pick n Pay rolling out new stores across South Africa

Malaysian home improvement retailer Mr DIY is continuing its expansion across its South African market with the opening of two new stores in August.

The retailer opened a location in Saxony Westwood in KwaZulu-Natal on 14 August, followed by its first Mpumalanga branch at Highveld Mall in eMalahleni on 19 August.

With the opening of these two new locations, Mr DIY now operates nine stores across South Africa, where it offers household, hardware, and lifestyle products at “Always Low Prices”.

Mr DIY launched in South Africa on 28 June 2025, with the opening of its first store at Menlyn Park Shopping Centre in Pretoria.

This marked the Southeast Asian retailer’s debut on the African continent, with South Africa becoming the 14th country in the company’s global network.

Speaking on the opening of the Mpumalanga store, Mr DIY Procurement Specialist Khumo Mabe said it formed a significant part of the company’s local expansion strategy.

“Opening in Mpumalanga is an exciting milestone in Mr DIY’s expansion across South Africa,” Mabe said. “It means we can bring our wide range of quality products at low prices to a new community.”

“This gives people across the province access to our high-quality range of affordable home, hardware, and lifestyle essentials.”

Mabe said the store expansion also allowed the retailer to grow its network of local suppliers, helping it to support South African businesses and invest in the local economy.

Mr DIY currently sources 12% of its South African product range from 46 local suppliers across 11 departments, and said it aims to grow this to 20%.

The remainder of its product offerings are imported into the country, with many of these products carrying the Mr DIY name and being made specifically for the company.

“We want local suppliers in every category across Mr DIY,” Mabe said. “From a local sourcing perspective, there is no limitation.”

“Our aim is to just keep finding local suppliers who can add to our already extensive catalogue. Developing local sourcing is a clear priority for us as we grow.”

At the time of writing, Mr DIY’s market capitalisation in its home country of Malaysia sat at around RM14.22 billion (R56.45 billion).

This is more than some of South Africa’s biggest retailers. For comparison, the Mr Price Group had a market cap of R44.31 billion, while Woolworths Holding’s sat at R42.88 billion.

The Foschini Group’s market cap stood at R17.92 billion, while the Pick’n Pay Group held a market share of just R14.36 billion at the time of writing.

The company has said it plans to operate at least 10 stores in South Africa before the end of 2026, with each store creating between 10 and 15 jobs.

The Malaysian retailer also has locations in countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Poland, the Philippines, India, Turkey, Spain, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, and Vietnam.