• While the majority of Shoprite Group’s sales happen in-store, online shopping is a growing segment for the company.
• The company reported that sales through Sixty60 increased 58.1 percent in an operational update.
• The company also nearly halved its diesel spend in the first second half of the reporting period.

Shoprite Group, the holding company behind Usave, Shoprite, Checkers, Checkers Hyper and Checkers Foods published an operational update for the year ending 30th June early on Tuesday.

The company reports that sales increased 12 percent to R240.7 billion. This was thanks to the addition of 292 stores to bring Shoprite Group’s footprint to 3 639. The majority of these stores were opened in South Africa and include specialty stores such as Checkers Outdoor, UNIQ Clothing, PetShop Science and Little Me.

The retail giant’s says these stores are responsible for generating 81 percent of Shoprite Group’s sales.

The biggest growth area for Shoprite Group is Sixty60 where sales increased by 58.1 percent over the last 12 months. Online sales through Checkers and Checkers Hyper increased 12.3 percent.

Growth in the online delivery space is something all retailers appear to be enjoying at the moment. In June SPAR reported that on-demand sales volumes increased 463 percent after almost doubling the reach of its SPAR2U offering.

While Sxity60 may not be experiencing that sort of growth, we’re sure investors are pleased to see that a product that has been around for as long as Sixty60 has, continues to draw in shoppers.

Loadshedding respite drops diesel costs

Last week Eskom revealed that it had dramatically cut its diesel expenses as it was less reliant on its open cycle gas turbines. This has lead to the longest respite from loadshedding since the pandemic and you can see the effect this has on businesses.

Shoprite group reports that over the last 12 months it spent R754 million on diesel for generators at its South African stores. What is interesting however, is how that cost is split.

Between July and December 2023, Shoprite Group spent R500 million on diesel while between January and June that bill came to just R254 million.

That is a lot of money being spent just to keep generators running but it does helpfully highlight just how damaging frequent power cuts can be for a business, even one has big as the Shoprite Group.

The company says that its decrease in diesel usage and increased use of grid energy should bring its percentage increase of water and electricity in the mid to low single digits. Of course, Shoprite Group also continues to invest in alternative energy so that will also bring its energy costs down.

All in all, it looks like Shoprite Group had a good year. We are however, curious to see whether Sixty60 continues to enjoy as much growth as it has been over the years.