Pick n Pay is growing online and standing still in its stores. Pick n Pay's online sales rose 35.4% in the six months to 30 August, while turnover in the Pick n Pay segment, which excludes discount chain Boxer, was flat at R36.4bn, TechCentral reports from the group's interim results on Monday.
The rest of the numbers
- Group turnover rose 2.4% to R60.5bn, and the headline loss narrowed 31.9% to R299m.
- Like-for-like sales at company-owned South African supermarkets grew 2.4%.
- The Pick n Pay business's trading loss narrowed to R516m from R621m; operating costs rose 5% to R2.2bn, partly on diesel and electricity.
- The company targets break-even for the Pick n Pay business by its 2029 financial year.
The group also withdrew the section 189A retrenchment process it started in May, after agreeing a new store staffing model with labour.
What is driving online
Pick n Pay added clothing to its asap! delivery app, and says turnover there is "well ahead" of budget. It also added Penny, a conversational shopping assistant built on Google's Gemini models, which it says improved order conversion and the average order value, though it gave no figures.
The rival it is chasing is far ahead. Shoprite's Checkers Sixty60 grew sales 34.5% to R25.5bn in its year to June, about 9.4% of that group's turnover, TechCentral notes.
