Business

End of an era for Dis-Chem

Luke Fraser

 ·29 May 2026

Retail legends Ivan Saltzman and Stanley Goetsch have stepped down as executive directors of Dis-Chem, which has faced a challenging 2026 financial year.

Saltzman resigned as an Executive Director of the Company, effective 27 February 2026. However, he remains on the board as a Non-Independent, Non-Executive Director.

Goetsch, who worked at Dis-Chem for 42 years and is also a pharmacist, is also retiring from his role as an executive director effective 30 June 2026.

The changes at the board level mark a major shift for Dis-Chem, as the Saltzman family slowly steps back from control.

Saltzman founded Dis-Chem with his wife, Lynette, in 1978 and stepped down as CEO in July 2023, with then-CFO Rui Morais succeeding him.

Lynette also stepped down as executive director in 2022 to focus on an operational role within the retailer’s beauty category.

Last year, their son, Saul, had also formally submitted his resignation as an Executive Director of the company.

In June 2025, the founder’s other sons, Dan and Mark Saltzman, inherited billions of company shares as part of the founders’ broader restructuring. 

Dan and Mark then sold shares worth around R320 million between January and February of this year.

Despite his stake, Dis-Chem has distanced itself from Mark due to now-deleted tweets, for which he has been accused of racism and sexism. The Human Rights Commission is investigating the matter.

Financial results

For the 12 months ended 28 February 2026, Dis-Chem Group revenue increased by 9.3% to R42.8 billion.

The group’s retail revenue grew by 9.0% to R36.6 billion, with comparable pharmacy store revenue growth of 5.3%.

Net store changes grew by 9.0% to R36.6 billion, while comparable pharmacy store revenue grew by 5.3%.

Net store changes included the opening and acquisition of 31 retail pharmacy stores and the closure of three baby stores.

This increased the retail footprint to 316 retail pharmacy stores and 42 retail baby stores at year’s end.

For the 17-week period since the launch of the Better Rewards programme, which partners with Capitec, the group’s revenue increased by 9.6% compared to the corresponding period.

Wholesale revenue grew by 13.1% to R34.0 billion, with external revenue to independent pharmacies and The Local Choice (TLC) franchisees growing by 11.3% over the comparable period.

Independent pharmacy growth was 7.2%, driven by both new customers and increased support from the current base, and TLC growth was 16.4%, due to an increase in TLC franchise stores from 240 to 280.

Expenses over the period rose by 13.0% compared with the comparable period, with retail expenses rising by 15.7% as the group invested in new stores and innovation initiatives.

Retail employment costs, when excluding the investment in X, bigly labs, increased by 10.3%.

Like-for-like retail employment costs stood at 3.5% as the company implemented a new staffing framework. It recently announced a Section 189A process for its head office.

Wholesale expenses also increased by 2.6%. The main increase in expenses relates to additional employee and courier costs from the expansion into the Long Meadow warehouse.

Basic earnings per share (EPS) and basic headline earnings per share (HEPS) are 114.2 cents and 113.7 cents per share, respectively, representing decreases of 17.1% and 17.3%, respectively.

When excluding once-off property gain in the prior period, the drop equates to a decrease of 11.3% and 11.7%, respectively.

“Excluding the investment in the ecosystem and the non-recurring expenses in the current and prior periods, group profit before tax was up 20.1%,” it said.