The man who turned a R1 million business into a R160 billion retail empire

·18 Feb 2025

James Wellwood (Whitey) Basson is the South African man who built Shoprite from an R1 million business to the biggest retailer in Africa, now worth over R160 billion.

His journey from a small-town farm boy to a titan of the retail industry is a story of vision, determination, and strategic brilliance.

Born in January 1946 on a family farm near Porterville, Basson earned the nickname ‘Whitey’ due to his distinctive white-blonde hair.

After completing his schooling at Rondebosch Boys’ High in 1963, he initially considered a career in medicine but quickly realised that he couldn’t stand the sight of blood.

Instead, he pursued a BCom degree at Stellenbosch University before qualifying as a chartered accountant in 1970 after completing his articles at Ernst & Young.

Basson’s entry into the retail world came in the early 1970s when he joined Pep Stores as a financial manager.

His keen business acumen saw him rise to head of operations by 1974 at just 28 years old. During his tenure, he played a key role in strengthening the Pep brand.

However, he had bigger ambitions in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. By 1979, he had convinced the Pep Stores board to allow him to identify acquisition opportunities or start a new food retail business.

At the time, Shoprite was a modest eight-store grocery chain in the Western Cape, founded in 1966 by Barney Rogut and Basil Geller.

Rather than build a brand from scratch, Basson saw an opportunity to acquire an existing business, which he believed would be easier to scale.

“I realised it would be better and faster to buy something that already existed than to establish something from scratch, and, as luck would have it, this was something that was already established and for sale,” Basson said.

In May 1979, Pep Stores purchased Shoprite for around R1 million. Rogut and Geller remained in management, and all employees were retained.

This marked the beginning of what would become Africa’s largest supermarket empire.

The growth strategy: expansion and acquisitions

*Shoprite’s head office and main warehouse in Parow, Cape Town (1987)*

Basson quickly outlined his vision for Shoprite: to focus on the middle-to-lower-income market and supplement organic growth with strategic acquisitions.

However, convincing landlords to allow Shoprite stores in their malls was initially a challenge, as many viewed the brand as catering to the lower-income market.

By 1983, Shoprite expanded beyond the Western Cape, opening its first store in the Northern Cape. By the end of that year, it had grown to 21 outlets.

“I woke up one day and decided I wanted to be the second biggest retailer in the country, behind Raymond Ackerman and Pick n Pay,” Basson revealed at the 2024 Franschhoek Literary Festival.

“Second is a good place to be because you always have something to chase. However, I had no idea Pick n Pay would eventually fall behind.”

“Nevertheless, it was with this goal of being second that I started my aggressive acquisition campaign,” Basson said.

The first major acquisition came in 1984 when Shoprite bought six Ackermans food stores, which were controlled by the Edgars Group.

Two years later, in 1986, Shoprite was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) with a market capitalisation of R29 million and 33 stores nationwide.

In 1990, Basson began his push beyond South Africa, opening Shoprite’s first international store in Windhoek, Namibia. That same year, the company acquired Grand Bazaars, increasing its store count to 71.

The real game-changer came in 1991 when Basson orchestrated a reverse merger to acquire Checkers, a struggling but well-known supermarket chain with 169 stores.

At R55 million (equivalent to over R330 million today), it was a bold move. Checkers was haemorrhaging cash, but within nine months, Basson had turned it profitable.

This acquisition was a major shift that positioned Shoprite as a major player in the South African retail market that was fast approaching its rival, Pick n Pay.

Outpacing rivals

*Whitey Basson marks the legendary OK Bazaars R1 deal.*

As Shoprite continued to expand, Basson was acutely aware of Pick n Pay’s dominance in the market. In 1997, he struck one of the most famous deals in South African retail history.

This deal saw Shoprite acquire the struggling OK Bazaars chain from South African Breweries for just R1. The deal included 157 supermarkets and 146 furniture stores.

Basson quickly restructured the business, turning it profitable and repositioning OK as a franchise division while integrating its other stores into the Shoprite-Checkers portfolio.

Former Pick n Pay CEO Raymond Ackerman would later express his biggest regret in a conversation with Brice Whitfield: “Allowing Whitey to acquire OK Bazaars.”

Following South Africa’s democratic transition in 1994, Basson aggressively expanded Shoprite across the continent. New stores opened in Zambia (1996), Mozambique (1997), and Botswana (1998).

The introduction of the Usave brand allowed Shoprite to penetrate lower-income markets with a cost-efficient model that maintained profitability.

By the early 2000s, Shoprite was dominating the African retail scene. The company had also repositioned Checkers as a competitor to Pick n Pay’s higher-income market segment.

In October 2016, at the age of 70, Basson announced his retirement as CEO of Shoprite Holdings, effective at the end of the year.

After 45 years in retail, he stepped down but remained as Non-Executive Vice-Chairman for a brief period before fully stepping away.

Today, Shoprite continues to thrive under CEO Pieter Engelbrecht, maintaining its position as the largest retailer in Africa.

The group boasts over 3,377 stores, 157,000 employees, and a market capitalisation exceeding R160 billion.

Whitey’s biggest regret

Despite his incredible success, Basson has one lingering regret: failing to expand Shoprite into the United States and India.

“I desperately wanted Shoprite to reach a point where it would buy a small business in the United States,” he told journalist Riaan Laataand.

“I don’t know if we would have been successful—American retailers are very good. But I wanted to try and see what happens.” Similarly, Shoprite’s attempted entry into India in 2010 ended in disappointment.

The company had opened a single hypermarket in Mumbai, and a cash-and-carry operation, but political red tape and regulatory uncertainty led them to withdraw.

“India was an incredible opportunity,” Basson said. “However, we got stuck because of political red tape and bureaucracy.” Despite this, his legacy in South African and African retail remains unparalleled.

Shoprite’s continued dominance is a testament to his visionary leadership, bold decision-making, and relentless pursuit of excellence.

As Shoprite looks to the future, Basson remains open to lending his expertise. “I told Pieter Engelbrecht that when he is ready to launch in India, I would help, even if I am 90 years old.”

Some of Shoprite Holdings’ top brands of today are listed below.