New types of Shoprite stores opening across South Africa
Shoprite has opened hundreds of new stores across South Africa in the last 12 months, with over 50 being the group’s relatively new standalone branded stores—some of which were launched as early as 2023.
On Monday, 2 February, Shoprite released an operational update for the six months ended 28 December 2025, which marked the first half of its 2026 financial year.
The update highlighted another strong set of interim results, with headline earnings growth of more than 10% expected when the company publishes its full results in March.
During the first half of the financial year, Shoprite increased sales by more than 7% and, over the past 12 months, opened more than 260 new stores in South Africa.
This has lifted the group’s local store base to 2,747 outlets, further cementing its position as the biggest food retailer in the country.
Group sales for the six-month period climbed to R136.8 billion, up 7.2% compared to the same period in the previous financial year.
The bulk of this growth came from the Supermarkets RSA segment, which includes Shoprite, Checkers and Usave, and contributed 84.3% of total group sales.
This division recorded sales growth of 7.1% for the period. On a like-for-like basis, however, sales growth in Supermarkets RSA was more subdued at 1.9%.
Shoprite attributed this to a prolonged decline in selling price inflation, which moved into deflation during the critical November to December 2025 trading period.
Despite this pressure, the group said the segment still grew at 2.3 times the rate of the broader market, based on NielsenIQ data.
Sales growth was evident across all major brands. Shoprite and Usave, including Shoprite LiquorShop, delivered sales growth of 5.1%, while Checkers and Checkers Hyper, including Checkers LiquorShop, recorded a stronger increase of 8.9%.
Digital and specialist formats once again stood out, with the Sixty60 on-demand delivery platform growing sales by 34.6% over the period.
New stores thriving
Shoprite’s newer and developing formats delivered particularly strong performance, with combined sales growth of 71.2%.
Over the past year, the group opened 50 new Shoprite stores, 42 Usave stores, 32 Checkers stores, four Checkers Hyper stores and 81 LiquorShop outlets.
In addition, 53 net new stores were opened across its newer formats. Petshop Science accounted for the largest share of these openings, adding 45 new stores to reach a total of 173 locations nationwide.
The brand was launched in April 2021, making Shoprite the first South African supermarket group to enter the specialist pet retail market.
In just over three years, the concept has expanded rapidly in response to growth in the local pet economy.
Checkers Outdoor added five new stores to bring its total to 31, while Uniq Clothing by Checkers also opened five new outlets, lifting its store count to 35.
Uniq was launched as a standalone clothing brand in March 2023, with its first store opening at Canal Walk in Cape Town.
The brand focuses on premium everyday clothing for the family and has since rolled out across most major shopping malls in South Africa.
Little Me, the group’s baby-focused retail concept launched in 2021, closed two stores during the year, taking its total to 10.
Beyond South Africa, Shoprite’s Supermarkets Non-RSA segment delivered sales growth of 12.1% in rand terms and now accounts for 8.4% of total group sales.
The division added a net 15 stores over the past year, bringing its footprint to 272 stores across seven countries.
Other operating segments, including the OK Franchise, Transpharm and Medirite Pharmacies, Red Star Wholesale Catering Services and Computicket, recorded sales growth of 3.5% and represent 7.3% of total group sales.
On a group level, Shoprite expects headline earnings per share to increase by between 5.2% and 10.2% for the first half of its 2026 financial year.
The retailer is scheduled to release its full interim results on Tuesday, 3 March 2026.
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