Massmart reported annual results for the 52 weeks ended 30 December 2018 against the back-drop of a difficult economic environment, characterised by low GDP and wage growth, and constrained consumer confidence.

2018 was a transformational year for the Group, whose interim results were affected by a number of factors. While the first half performance is below expectations it is not a reflection of the fundamental strength of the business.

Excluding new stores, the pharmacy chain’s December sales fell as it battled with supply disruptions. Dis-Chem’s Christmas sales have been hurt by a strike, the pharmacy chain warned in a trading update on Thursday (14/02/2019) morning.

The Spar Group posted an 8.2 percent increase in sales to R36.53 billion for the 17 weeksto January 26, boosted by another significant contribution by its liquor business, which delivered 19.2 percent growth during the period.

Shares slump to biggest one-day drop since 1999. Investors shaved R15bn off the value of Shoprite on Wednesday (30/01/2019) after Africa’s biggest retailer by market capitalisation issued a dire trading warning the previous day.

Just two years after taking over as CEO of Africa’s biggest grocer from long-serving Shoprite CEO Whitey Basson, Pieter Engelbrecht looks set to announce what one analyst described as the group’s worst-ever results, with profits for the six months ended-December expected to be down as much as 36%.

The company says group retail sales grew 7.8% in the 20 weeks to January 13, a slowdown compared to a year before

Santa spent more on school essentials than toys during the festive season — a sign of how financially stressed SA's middle-class is.

As Woolworths tries to recover from the impairments of A$712.5 million (R7.02 billion) it suffered last year in its Australian subsidiary David Jones, the retailer continued to experience declining sales in the 26 weeks to end December trading period in South Africa.

Retail group SPAR said on Wednesday (14/11/2018) its headline earnings per share increased by 1.4 percent to 965.7 cents in the year ended September.

The retailer has struggled in the South African market, which accounts for 91.6% of Massmart’s total sale. Massmart, which is 51% owned by US giant Walmart, is battling one of the worst retail environments yet it has seen in SA, chair Kuseni Dlamini says.

Pick n Pay's interim results showed that the retailer delivered its strongest six-month trade performance, measured by volume, in five years.