Pick n Pay closes 56 stores in South Africa
Pick n Pay says its major store reset programme is now largely complete after the retailer shut down 56 stores across South Africa during its 2026 financial year as part of its ongoing turnaround strategy.
The retailer released its results for the 52 weeks ended 1 March 2026, which outlined progress in its multi-year recovery plan aimed at restoring profitability and strengthening operations across the group.
While the company reported improvements in several operational areas, the restructuring process led to widespread store closures across its supermarket, hypermarket, liquor and clothing businesses.
Group turnover increased by 3.4% over the year, driven largely by strong growth from Boxer, which recorded growth of 12.3%.
However, turnover in the core Pick n Pay business declined by 1.6% due to the impact of store closures linked to the reset strategy.
The company closed 39 company-owned stores during the financial year, although this was partly offset by 33 converted openings.
Pick n Pay Clothing continued to expand despite the broader restructuring, with store numbers increasing from 396 in March 2025 to 419 by March 2026.
The biggest reduction came in the franchised business. Pick n Pay’s franchised supermarket footprint declined sharply from 260 stores in 2025 to 211 in 2026.
The retailer also significantly reduced its franchised liquor network, closing 29 liquor stores during the year under review.
Overall, company-owned stores increased from 971 to 992 over the period, but franchised stores declined from 697 to 620. This resulted in a net closure of 56 stores nationwide.
Despite the closures, Pick n Pay said there were signs that its operational turnaround efforts were beginning to gain traction.
Company-owned supermarkets recorded like-for-like sales growth of 3.9%, up from 3.3% in the previous financial year.
The retailer also kept internal selling price inflation at 1.9%, below South Africa’s food inflation rate of 4.4%. Boxer recorded deflation of -1.2% over the same period.
Pick n Pay’s turnaround remains on track
Pick n Pay’s online business also performed strongly, with turnover increasing by 32.7% during the financial year, while the group’s gross profit margin improved by 0.5% to 18.8%.
However, the group’s trading profit declined by 4.2% to R1.7 billion.
This reflected a R330 million increase in Boxer’s trading profit to R2.6 billion, combined with a R404 million increase in Pick n Pay’s trading loss to R1 billion.
Although the Pick n Pay segment remained loss-making, the group reduced its headline loss by R45 million to R363 million.
Pick n Pay CEO Sean Summers said the retailer’s turnaround remained on track despite the financial pressure.
“While Pick n Pay’s FY26 trading loss increased, the business today is fundamentally stronger than it was two-and-a-half years ago as a result of the action we have taken and the investments we have made,” said Summers.
He said the retailer had now completed several major elements of its recovery plan, including recapitalising the business, rebuilding leadership structures and resetting the store estate.
“Our store estate reset is effectively behind us, and we have achieved some of the key milestones we set ourselves in our strategy. The positive customer feedback that we are getting is really very encouraging,” he said.
Summers also stressed that the company’s turnaround would require difficult decisions, including reducing labour costs through the formal Section 189 consultation process announced earlier this year.
“Without this recalibration, we cannot solve the Group’s cost base or return the business to profitability in a thin-margin industry,” he said.
He added that the process was aimed at ensuring the long-term sustainability of the business rather than simply cutting jobs.
“The challenges facing Pick n Pay developed over an extended period.”
“This means that rebuilding the business into a leading supermarket retailer again will take time, disciplined execution and difficult but necessary decisions,” Summers said.
The retailer also noted that a R4.7 billion Boxer share placement completed in May 2026 had strengthened its balance sheet and would support continued investment in the turnaround process.
Loading ...