Big turnaround for Takealot in South Africa

The Takealot group is on track to achieve profitability in the 2026 financial year, following a strong performance in the 2025 financial year.

Naspers’ results for its 2025 financial year, released on Monday, 23 June, revealed a major turnaround for the eCommerce giant.

The Takealot group, which includes Takealot.com and Mr D, achieved significant growth in the second half of 2025.

Naspers said this was driven by enhanced customer offerings and the TakealotMore subscription service, which launched in May 2024.

The Takealot group’s revenue grew by 15% in rand terms to reach $823 million (R14.88 billion), with gross merchandise value increasing by 13% year-on-year despite a slow start to the 2025 financial year. 

Despite this significant growth, the company still recorded an adjusted EBIT loss of $13 million (R234.97 million). However, this is an improvement from the $14 million (R252.98 million) loss recorded in 2024.

Naspers attributed this loss to increased marketing and infrastructure investments to prepare for competitive pressures from new international entrants.

The company also noted that the Takealot group is on track to achieve profitability in the 2026 financial year, something it has strived to achieve since its founding in June 2011.

The eCommerce giant was well on track to achieve this goal between 2019 and 2021, when it significantly reduced its losses under CEO Kim Reid, who also founded the company.

However, after Reid stepped down as chief executive, costs escalated, and the eCommerce giant faced significant headwinds.

Takealot had to deal with not only its own financial struggles, but also a significantly more competitive market than when it first launched.

Increased competition from international giants Temu, Shein, and Amazon made South Africa’s eCommerce space significantly more competitive, while Takealot also faced a slow-growing macroeconomic environment.

Regardless of these headwinds, Takealot started to chip away at its losses and grow market share, putting it back on track to achieve profitability in the 2026 financial year. 

Looking forward

Moving forward, Naspers said online penetration in South Africa, currently at around 5%, is expected to expand to 9% in the 2029 financial year. This presents a good opportunity for Takealot’s continued growth.

“Although its base of higher-income consumers is more financially resilient than the average consumer, competition for share of online wallet is intensifying as multiple companies enter the market,” Naspers said. 

“Takealot will strengthen its market presence by enhancing the value proposition for its loyalty programme, TakealotMore, improving customer acquisition and retention.”

It added that the business will also focus on growth through range extension and key categories while improving unit economics through cost optimisation, particularly delivery costs and stock efficiencies.

For Mr D, Naspers said it has built a leading two-sided food-delivery marketplace in South Africa by providing superior service and better restaurant selection to customers.

The platform’s growth has been aided by making an economically attractive channel to increase sales with minimal incremental cost or effort for restaurants.

In addition to the extended partnership with physical retailer Pick n Pay, Mr D is optimising delivery fees, growing advertising, increasing basket values and reducing costs across the business. 

Naspers said it is also improving functionality on its app, based on learnings from Naspers portfolio companies.

Takealot is also capitalising on its logistics capabilities by forming a new logistics business unit, Takealot Fulfilment Solutions, which leverages the business’s existing assets and scale. 

Takealot acquired M24 Logistics, a warehouse and distribution business for third parties, from Media24 in September 2024 to complement the envisaged fulfilment solutions. 

By extending its logistics offerings, Takealot aims to position itself as a leading full-service eCommerce ecosystem in South Africa.

Looking forward to FY26, the Takealot group is expanding its platform and services while increasing investment in its logistics and supply-chain infrastructure.

Naspers said the group’s focus on delivering profitable growth across all businesses remains the leading priority while competing robustly with market incumbents and new entrants.

“The objective is to develop a business that is more resilient and flexible – one that can scale quickly and effectively, and in new ways, to meet the evolving needs of customers and partners,” it said.