Business

End of an era for 75-year-old retail giant in South Africa

Staff Writer

 ·3 Jul 2026

Ivan Saltzman has officially left his executive role at Dis-Chem, having founded the group 48 years ago with his wife, Lynette.

Speaking in the group’s latest integrated report for the financial year ended 28 February 2026, Dis-Chem chair Laurence Nestadt said that the year was one of meaningful transition for the group.

“Most notably, we mark the retirement of our co-founder, Ivan Saltzman, from his executive role, effective 30 June 2026, after 48 years of extraordinary service to Dis-Chem,” said Nestadt.

“Ivan’s contribution to this organisation and to the South African retail pharmacy sector is without parallel.”

Saltzman built Dis-Chem from a single pharmacy in Mondeor in 1978 into one of South Africa’s most recognised healthcare brands.

Nestadt added that Dis-Chem, under Saltzman’s leadership, evolved from a family-owned business into a diversified, JSE-listed healthcare group with a national footprint.

“His passion for healthcare, innovation, and operational excellence shaped the Group’s culture and identity, laying the foundation for the business we are today,” said Nestadt

While Saltzman retired as an executive director on 30 June 2026, he will remain on the board as a Non-Executive Director. He was previously replaced as CEO by Rui Morais in 2023.

The chair said that the board looks forward to having Saltzman, given his deep industry knowledge and strategic insight as the group enters its next phase of growth.

75-year-old Saltzman and his family are now worth $1.3 billion, having cracked the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index for the first time.

The milestone places Saltzman alongside some of South Africa’s wealthiest businesspeople, such as Johann Rupert, Nicky Oppenheimer, Koos Bekker and Patrice Motsepe.

Saltzman’s wealth is far higher than the total remuneration for the lowest earner at the Dis-Chem Group, who earned R60,000, or R5,000 per month.

The group’s highest earner received R29 million during the year. This was surprisingly not Morias, who earned R23 million during the year.

The average earner received R276,000, while the median figure was R144,000. The remuneration ratio between the top 5% and the bottom 5% was 18.4:1.

Financials

The group’s recent financial metrics were mixed, with group revenue up 9.3% to R42.8 billion. Earnings per share and headline earnings per share also dropped by 17.1% and 17.3%, respectively.

However, Nestadt said this was a consequence of the group’s deliberate, board-endorsed R330 million investment to establish X, bigly labs, with certain non-recurring expenses.

Nestadt said that while the broader operating environment is expected to remain challenging in the near term, the board is confident in its long-term prospects.

The company is expected to benefit from the growing demand for accessible healthcare and wellness
solutions in South Africa, the chair said.

He added that the group will benefit from the maturing of the Better Rewards programme and the launch of a new Dis-Chem app.

The group could also benefit from progressive returns from the X, bigly labs ecosystem investment, with data, analytics, and AI platforms becoming operationalised.

Nestadt added that there are still sales-market-share opportunities through CJ Distribution, while Dis-Chem Health and Dis-Chem Life will also look to expand.