{"id":859030,"date":"2026-05-04T09:17:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T07:17:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=859030"},"modified":"2026-05-04T09:20:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T07:20:15","slug":"good-news-for-people-who-shop-at-pick-n-pay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/859030\/good-news-for-people-who-shop-at-pick-n-pay\/","title":{"rendered":"Good news for people who shop at Pick n Pay"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Pick n Pay has entered the next phase of its turnaround strategy, which is good news for people who shop at the retail chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Monday, 4 May 2026, Pick n Pay announced that it had started a consultation process on targeted adjustments to its store labour model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It focuses on improving flexibility and operational efficiency and making Pick n Pay more responsive and competitive in a rapidly changing retail environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It explained that aspects of its current labour arrangements are above market norms and out of line with current shopping trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These include minimum guaranteed hours, inflexible scheduling practices, and certain benefits and allowances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pick n Pay initiated a Section 189A consultation process and entered into consultation with the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (SACCAWU).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The retailer made it clear that it was not looking to cut jobs. \u201cThe consultation process is not intended to result in a permanent reduction in overall job numbers,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pick n Pay is committed to finding alternatives that will avoid the retrenchment of impacted employees and ensure jobs are saved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe store labour model reset does not impact the entire business. This process applies to specific store-based employees,\u201d Pick n Pay said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is aimed at Non-Management Bargaining Unit (NMBU) employees and excludes head office employees and management structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis store labour model reset is aimed at improving flexibility and competitiveness and aligning Pick n Pay labour practices,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis will be more in line with its competitors and relevant to the current shopping environment and customer shopping trends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good news for Pick n Pay shoppers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Sean Summers, Group CEO Pick n Pay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pick n Pay CEO Sean Summers told BusinessTech that this new phase of their turnaround strategy is good news for customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current situation is that the experienced and well-trained Pick n Pay store staff only work from Monday to Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, most Pick n Pay clients do their shopping on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. This creates a mismatch between customer demands and staff hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pick n Pay is addressing this mismatch through its proposed labour changes, which will improve operational efficiency and better serve customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simply put, the new labour model will make Pick n Pay more competitive and ensure that its store real estate is protected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis next step is an important part of our turnaround journey, which began two years ago,\u201d Summers said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It complements the progress the company has made toward returning to profitability, which included significant structural and financial changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These structural and financial changes include closing underperforming stores, restructuring its holding company, and listing Boxer to reduce debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe reset our store estate, restructured our support offices, and implemented a salary freeze for support office staff,\u201d Summers said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe must now address a critical reality that our current store labour model has been out of balance in the marketplace for some time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained that the model’s intention was positive, but its structures have become increasingly complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These complex and rigid structures are reducing flexibility and Pick n Pay\u2019s ability to respond to retail trends and customer demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we are to compete on an equal footing in an increasingly constrained marketplace, we can no longer sustain structures that are materially above market norms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that this problem needs to be addressed to return the business to profitability and protect Pick n Pay from future risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur goal is to ensure that Pick n Pay can grow again, open more stores and continue to provide work for people in the future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo achieve this, we must stay competitive, be financially viable, and serve our customers in the way they choose to shop.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pick n Pay has entered the next phase of its turnaround strategy, which is good news for people who shop at the retail chain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":859035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[4067,25322,19960,25323],"class_list":["post-859030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-pick-n-pay","tag-saccawu","tag-sean-summers","tag-section-189a"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=859030"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":859072,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859030\/revisions\/859072"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/859035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=859030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=859030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=859030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}