Walmart already employs 28,000 associates at Massmart stores in sub-Saharan Africa, though the great majority of current stores are in South Africa. South Africa slipped into its first recession in eight years in 2017, with political turmoil sending business and consumer sentiment to multi-year lows. Shares in Massmart, which posted a 2 percent rise in annual profits in 2017, have failed to keep pace with Shoprite, Africa’s biggest retailer, which has pursued an aggressive expansion strategy abroad as the economy at home has lagged. It still accounts for about 91 percent of our overall business.” (Reporting by Joe Bavier Editing by David Goodman and David Evans)
Shares in Massmart, valued at 39.6 billion rand, were up 0.3 percent to 183.00 rand by 1300 GMT, with the JSE Top-40 index down 0.5 percent. “By all simple metrics, Nigeria has the potential to be larger than South Africa, but it has some way to go in terms of infrastructure and political stability.” Massmart, Africa’s second-biggest retailer and 51 percent owned by U.S. group Wal-Mart Stores, itself the world’s biggest retailer, has two stores in Nigeria, with a third being built.
Walmart bought Massmart, a South African retail chain, in 2011, and there are currently six Massmart stores in Nigeria.
* Nigeria lacks infrastructure, political stability * H1 diluted headline EPS 407.3 cents vs 343 cents * Results boosted by 82.4 mln rand forex gain (Adds CEO comment, shares) JOHANNESBURG, Feb 22 (Reuters) - South African retailer Massmart sees scope for up to 20 stores in Nigeria, its chief executive said, the second business leader in as many days to talk up consumer demand in Africa’s most populous country, one where poverty is on the rise. Massmart is taking on Shoprite elsewhere in Africa in food retailing, launching a pilot project in Nigeria and planning at least 10 such stores in the next two years in Lagos.
“We foresee consumer and business confidence getting better. In the next three years we’ll be expanding our retail trading space by 35.6 percent.” That is an increase from around 26 percent in 2017 and 2018. Massmart is a regional management group with a portfolio of differentiated, complementary, wholesale and retail formats. MASSMART is taking on Shoprite elsewhere in Africa in food retailing, launching a pilot project in Nigeria and planning at least 10 such stores in the next two years in… Read More Massmart initiative paying off for SMEs South African retailers have struggled as consumers battling job losses and high personal debt levels hold back on spending, but Massmart has lagged its closest rival Shoprite both on the stock market and operationally in recent years. Massmart, Africa’s second-biggest retailer and 51 percent owned by U.S. group Wal-Mart Stores, itself the world’s biggest retailer, has two stores in Nigeria… It reported a 19 percent rise in first-half diluted headline earnings to 407.3 cents per share, helped almost entirely by favourable currency swings as higher costs and discounts weighed. Massmart operates more than 423 stores in South Africa and 12 other sub-Saharan countries. INTERVIEW-Massmart to open 20 stores in pan-African expansion -chairman.
The country is home to nearly 160 million people, compared with South Africa’s 50 million, according to World Bank estimates. They sell basic foods, home improvement supplies, and other branded consumer goods. One of the advantages of being owned by a giant in the global retail industry, says Brian Leroni Massmart corporate affairs […]
“We have identified five or six cities in Nigeria and we see the potential of between 10 and 20 Game stores,” Grant Pattison said on a conference call. “Part of our strategy is to really improve and expand our core business in South Africa. According to Massmart’s website, the company currently has 232 stores in South Africa and 24 outlets in other African countries. Massmart’s major brands include: Shoprite has defied many investors’ expectations it would lose ground with the 2011 entry into South Africa of Walmart - the world’s biggest retailer - and posted double-digit earnings growth despite a recession at home. ($1 = 7.6907 rand) (Editing by Ed Stoddard and Dan Lalor) South African retailer Massmart is continuing its pan-African expansion with plans to open about 20 new stores outside its home market over the next three years, the company's chairman said on Monday. Massmart, majority-owned by U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart , sells goods ranging from food and televisions to refrigerators and operates nearly 400 stores, including 42 across 12 countries outside South Africa. Dlamini said Massmart is also studying markets in French-speaking West and Central Africa with a view to starting operations there. “We see ourselves as playing a catalytic role in the modernisation of African retail,” Dlamini said. * Stores in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique, Zambia, Swaziland * Developments in South Africa to spur growth, boost confidence (Adds quotes, details) ABIDJAN, March 26 (Reuters) - South African retailer Massmart is continuing its pan-African expansion with plans to open about 20 new stores outside its home market over the next three years, the company’s chairman said on Monday.