Discovery Vitality dumps Pick n Pay

Discovery Vitality will no longer partner with Pick n Pay for its HealthyFood benefit.

Instead, customers will get the HealthyFood benefit when shopping from Checkers and Checkers Sixty60 from 1 September 2024.

Discovery said that Woolworths and Woolies Dash remain partners for the program.

“The new HealthyFood benefit will enable you to get rewarded at Checkers and Woolworths for in-store purchases, Checkers Sixty60 and Woolworths online, and the Woolies app and Woolies Dash for online shopping,” said Discovery.

“These HealthyFood rewards will be paid in Discovery Miles, our rewards currency that is more valuable than cash. Watch out for communication in September with more information. You don’t need to do anything right now.”

“You’ll continue to earn rewards on items you purchase at Pick n Pay and Pick n Pay ASAP until 31 August 2024—those rewards will be paid to you in September.”

Customers can also spend their Discovery Miles at Pick n Pay by choosing them as a reward option in the Vitality Mall.

Another blow for Pick n Pay

The Discovery announcement comes amidst Pick n Pay’s well-documented challenges while its competitor, Shoprite, the owner of Checkers, soars ahead.

For the year ended 25 February, Pick n Pay recorded a R3 billion loss on the back of the poor performance of its Pick n Pay grocery stores.

As part of a turnaround plan, Pick n Pay is currently undergoing a Rights Offer to raise R4.0 billion.

The R4 billion rights offer is expected to be followed by listing shares in the Boxer business towards the end of 2024.

Boxer was one of the bright sparks for the business, with it generating R1.9 billion in trading profit.

The two-step capital raise stabilises the group’s balance sheet, strengthens liquidity, and unlocks shareholder value.

Shoprite, on the other hand, saw its total merchandise sales increase by 12.0% to roughly R240.7 billion for the 52 weeks ended 30 June 2024

The group’s core business, Supermarkets RSA, saw sales growth of 12.3%, contributing 81.0% to group sales. This followed a sales increase of 17.8% in the prior year.

Checkers and Checkers Hyper reported sales growth of 12.3%, while online sales from Checkers Sixty60’s on-demand platform increased by 58.1%.

Checkers’s strong growth means that it has overtaken Pick n Pay in revenue for the first time over the last financial year.

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