Markets/Africa and Middle East/News

Africa & Middle East news & analysis

04 November 2020
Following updates from South Africa-based Woolworths and Walmart-owned Massmart, we round up news from the retailers. Woolworths SA invests in prices… Woolworths is to invest ZAR1.0 bn (US$61.4m) in prices over the next two to three years. ZAR750m (US$46.0m) will be invested in its food business and ZAR250m (US$15.3m) in its fashion business. In the first phase Woolworths will invest ZAR500...
28 October 2020
Following on from its results announcement , Pick n Pay has set out how it is aiming to continue to grow sales, both in South Africa and across the region more widely. To grow presence for Boxer banner Pick n Pay said it could double the number of Boxer stores to 600 in five years as it looks to target underserved low and middle-income shoppers. The retailer believes long-term growth wil...
26 October 2020
Across its operations Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), which operates the Carrefour brand across the Middle East and Africa, is looking to grow its online skill and scale quicky. The retailer, which has seen changing shopping habits because of COVID-19, has been investing heavily in its online operations as a result. We round developments from across its operations which underline its growing online capac...
23 October 2020
Pick n Pay has released interim results for the 26 weeks ending 30 August 2020. Turnover rises in H1… Pick n Pay reported comparable turnover rose 2.6% to ZAR44.2 bn (US$2.7 bn) at a total company level, with like-for-like sales rising by 1.0%. Its performance in South Africa drove its results, with comparable turnover in its home market rising by 3.4% to ZAR42.7 bn (US$2.6 bn), with like-f...
23 October 2020
South Africa-based, Walmart-owned Massmart has reported sales for the first nine months of its financial year. The retailer said the easing of COVID-19 related trading restrictions had led to ‘ slightly better trading conditions for the… quarter ’. Total sales fall 8.9% in first nine months of 2020 In the quarter Massmart said it had seen an improvement in trading conditions, which led to ...
15 September 2020
Africa-based pure ecommerce retailer Jumia has announced new partnerships in Uganda and Kenya, while rolling out services to make it easier for shoppers to buy from it in Ghana. Jumia expands pick up stations’ presence in Ghana As it looks to make using its services as easy as possible and as it looks to benefit from the uptick in shopper interest in ecommerce in the region as a result of C...
21 August 2020
South Africa-based, Walmart-owned Massmart has released a sales update and trading statement for the 26 weeks ending 28 June, which highlights the impact of COVID-19 on its performance and its expected loss for the period. Total sales fell 9.7% in H1 2020… Massmart said while it had enjoyed an uptick in sales in June, with total sales rising 0.8% versus the same month in 2019, this was not ...
19 August 2020
At a corporate level, UAE-based Majid Al Futtaim saw a fall in revenue of 3%, to AED17.3 bn (US$4.7 bn), and a 27% decrease in its EBITDA, to AED1.6 bn (US$435.5m), in the first half of its financial year. In its results, its Retail division was a bright spot, with Majid Al Futtaim Retail reporting a rise in revenue and EBITDA. Majid Al Futtaim sees stark differences during first half The c...
14 August 2020
Pure play retailer Jumia has reported second quarter results, with gross merchandise volume (GMV) showing a 13.2% fall to €228m. As the retailer pushes for profitability, it highlighted how during the quarter its operating loss had also fallen, by 44% year-over-year, while its gross profit increased year-over-year, by 38%, to €23.3m. Annual Active Consumers hits 6.8m in Q2 2020 A focus for ...
12 August 2020
South Africa-based Shoprite saw sales in the 52 weeks to 28 June 2020 rise 6.4% to ZAR156.9 bn (US$8.9 bn), with like-for-like sales up 4.4%. The retailer’s performance was driven by its home market, where sales were up by 8.7%, aided by a strong second half of the financial year. The impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on its results was underlined by Shoprite reporting that basket sizes grew 18.4%...