Makro and Game owner assessing damage done by looting and riots in South Africa

Retail group Massmart says that the last week of violent looting has impacted parts of its business in Gauteng and Kwazulu-Natal.

In a shareholder statement on Friday (16 July), the group said that protesters gained access to and made off with merchandise in:

• 18 Cambridge stores;
• 10 Game stores;
• 8 Builders stores;
• 3 Cash & Carry stores;
• 2 Makro stores.

Massmart added that two of its distribution centres have also been directly impacted, with four facilities suffering significant damage due to arson.

“The full extent of the damage is still being assessed. However, Massmart confirms that the insurance cover in place for such events will minimise losses to the group,” it said.

“We remain encouraged that the overall situation is stabilising as government deploys additional law enforcement resources and restores order.”

Massmart said it continues to collaborate with and leverage the full support and expertise of its majority shareholder, Walmart, who have unambiguously expressed their commitment to the business.

“We remain focussed on helping our employees, customers and the communities that we serve to fully recover from the unfortunate events of the last several days.”

Stock and store reopenings

Massmart said that its immediate priority as a company has been first and foremost to ensure the safety and security of employees and customers and to take practical steps to protect its stores and distribution centre facilities.

“This has resulted in the temporary closure of a number of vulnerable stores and facilities over the last few days,” it said.

Massmart said it has now activated backup plans to ensure full and complete business recovery, starting with the responsible reopening of stores as soon as it is safe and practical to do so.

“At the same time, we have successfully activated business continuity replenishment plans that involve shifting replenishment capability to distribution centres into which we have built in
backup capacity.

“We are therefore confident in our ability to service the stock needs of our stores.”