{"id":875502,"date":"2026-09-15T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=875502"},"modified":"2026-09-15T11:48:04","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T09:48:04","slug":"woolworths-ranks-top-in-south-africa-for-4-years-in-a-row-beating-walmart-and-dis-chem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/875502\/woolworths-ranks-top-in-south-africa-for-4-years-in-a-row-beating-walmart-and-dis-chem\/","title":{"rendered":"Woolworths ranks top in South Africa for 4 years in a row – beating Walmart and Dis-Chem"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Woolworths has been ranked among the World\u2019s Most Trustworthy Companies for a fourth year in a row, as the 15th most trustworthy retailer in the world and the top South African company on the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woolworths is joined by three other South African retailers, with Dis-Chem in 21st place, Clicks Group in 27th place, and Cashbuild in 37th place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All four South African retail companies were ranked above the United States\u2019 major retailer, Walmart, which ranked 54th on the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ranking, created by Newsweek and Statista, is based on independent surveys and sentiment analysis.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 500,000 data points were analysed, focusing on three key dimensions of trust: customer perception, investor confidence, and employee engagement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The surveys conducted contribute to 80% of the overall assessment, while social analysis accounts for the remaining 20%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scores from previous years are also factored in, on the basis that trust develops over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrust can be one of the most valuable things a company earns,\u201d said Newsweek when publishing the 2026 rankings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor consumers, it can influence where to spend money and which brands to invite into their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRanking among the world\u2019s most trustworthy companies is proof of our values in action,\u201d said Woolworths Group CEO, Sam Ngumeni.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud of our business for achieving this recognition, and we\u2019ll continue to work hard to earn that trust every single day,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woolworths said that this ranking highlights the exceptional standards maintained across the group and demonstrates the business\u2019s ongoing commitment to sustainability, transparency, and quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woolworths South Africa is a division of Woolworths Holdings Limited (WHL). WHL is listed on the JSE Limited Securities Exchange (JSE) with operations across the southern hemisphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Group comprises two main operating divisions: Woolworths South Africa (WSA), which is based in South Africa and operates in 10 countries across sub-Saharan Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second operating division is the Country Road Group (CRG), headquartered in Australia and conducts business in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the retail category of Newsweek\u2019s World\u2019s Most Trustworthy Companies, which has a list of 63 companies from across the globe, Academy Sports and Outdoors in the United States is ranked first in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The top three rankings on the list were retailers based in the United States, while other retailers on the global list include M&S in the United Kingdom, Ryohin Keikaku in Japan, and Fielmann Group in Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woolworths Food hits the ball out of the park<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Woolworths recently announced plans to focus more on its Food business, which is currently outperforming its other segments and providing a significant competitive advantage in the South African grocery market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the year ending in June 2026, the company reported modest earnings growth, with the Food segment standing out among its businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woolworths operates in multiple retail sectors in South Africa and internationally, including food, clothing, and homeware. In South Africa, the company employs over 34,000 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the 2026 financial year, Woolworths experienced a year-on-year turnover increase of 4.3%, reaching R84.5 billion, with growth noted in all business segments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group\u2019s Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortisation (EBITDA) grew modestly by 2.8%, amounting to R8.9 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although there was a slight decline in earnings per share, which fell to R2.63, headline earnings per share (HEPS) increased from R2.68 to R2.82.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Woolworths Food segment was one of the group’s top performers, achieving 5.7% turnover growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company reported continued market share gains within South Africa’s grocery and supermarket industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This increase in market share is partly attributed to the opening of 13 new grocery stores throughout South Africa, expanding its total trading space to over 291,000 square meters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the food sector grew significantly, other areas, such as home and beauty, saw only modest growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This segment increased its revenue by R657 million year-on-year, representing a 4.3% rise to R15.8 billion in revenue for 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Woolworths, along with three other South African retailers were ranked amongst the most trustworthy companies in the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":874701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"failed","_sma_x_autopost_error":"Instagram publishing failed: Instagram returned HTTP 400: Media ID is not available","_sma_x_post_id":"2099800658937327915","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2206128423540890","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[15150,3828,11649,949,26521],"class_list":["post-875502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-cashbuild","tag-clicks-group","tag-dis-chem","tag-woolworths","tag-worlds-most-trustworthy-companies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875502","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\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=875502"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":875530,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875502\/revisions\/875530"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/874701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=875502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=875502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=875502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}