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TimesLIVE
18-05-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Boxer eyes growth in Gauteng and KZN
Boxer Superstores will double down on growing its presence in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal to close the gap with competitors who have been on an aggressive rollout in recent years. This week, the value grocery retailer, which was spun out of Pick n Pay and listed on the JSE in November last year, said it would spend R1.2bn in opening new stores and also on its new distribution centre in KwaZulu-Natal. It has 525 stores in total, including liquor stores, after opening 48 in the year to March. The retailer has almost doubled its outlets from 298 stores in 2020. Boxer CEO Marek Masojada said: 'In terms of the study we have performed, the provinces where we have the biggest gap are Gauteng and KZN. I guess you can say the Western Cape, as well, but our priority is on Gauteng and KZN. One of the reasons we created capacity in our supply chain is to support growth in those two regions. However, we continue opening stores in all other provinces as well.' Boxer opened a second distribution centre in Gauteng about 18 months ago, and early next year will open another one in KZN, which will 'give us capacity of over 100 new stores in the region', said Masojada. In total the retailer has six distribution centres, and once the KZN one comes on stream, Boxer will have capacity to add 200 superstores 'before needing our next distribution centre. This means no new distribution centres for at least four to five years. We have created a solid supply chain platform to grow our future store base,' said Masojada. The value grocer is planning another 60 stores (25 superstores and 35 liquor stores) in the 2026 financial year. Masojada said the challenge was finding space. 'We have people on the ground in every province working with different developers and property owners to unlock some of those opportunities. It's a mix between getting into existing shopping centres that might be taking on a second or third anchor, and greenfield developments as well.' Boxer wants to close the gap between its standalone liquor and grocery stores. It has 320 grocery stores and 175 liquor outlets. 'So, there's an opportunity to close the liquor store numbers faster than the super soil. Without mentioning our targets, we are looking to close that gap,' said Masojada. The company employs 32,000 workers after adding 3,000 new jobs through new stores opened in the year to March. The group is likely to continue converting some Pick n Pay stores into the successful Boxer brand. In the period under review, it took ownership of eight supermarkets and six liquor stores. Outside South Africa, Boxer has stores in eSwatini. Masojada said: 'Currently, we don't have the desire to go outside the borders of South Africa; we see enough opportunity internally. We do keep an eye on what's going on in Lesotho, a smaller market but one that talks to our value-conscious consumers.' All Boxer stores are corporate-owned, and it has no immediate plans to introduce a franchise model. The company will expand its private label products, which are a fifth of total turnover. While its rivals get more than 30% of total turnover from private labels, Masojada said 'at 20% at the moment, we do see a steady increase in that percentage, but we are not fixated on a number — we will be guided by the retail trend within our own stores and what customers are looking for'.
IOL News
12-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Boxer Retail creates 3 000 jobs amid store expansion network in South Africa
Boxer CEO Marek Masojada says the company is well positioned to meet its pre-listing forecast of a dividend at the end of the first half of its 2026 financial year. Image: Supplied JSE-listed Boxer Retail added nearly 3 000 new jobs in the 53 weeks to March 2 after it opened more than 40 new stores and met the financial forecasts it had made to its investors on the JSE months ago. The soft discount retailer added 48 net new stores during the period, bringing its store network across South Africa and Eswatini to 525. The plan is to open another 60 stores—25 superstores and 35 liquor stores—in the new financial year. Additionally, there are plans to expand the distribution centre capacity for the stores, particularly in northern KwaZulu-Natal, CEO Marek Masojada said in an interview with BR. The additional employees brought its full staff complement to close to 32 000 and demonstrated the retailer's growth, and its efforts to uplift the communities and towns where it operates, he said. On the financial front, the retailer outperformed its pre-listing guidance with a 5.4% 52-week trading margin, which is ahead of the 5% forecast made prior to the listing. The maiden published annual financial results — after the biggest listing on the JSE in eight years—delivered a strong performance with consistent market share gains, and the focus in the new financial year is to continue meeting the targets provided before the listing, said Masojada. Turnover grew by 13.2% to R42.3 billion, and trading profit increased by 9.9% to R2.3bn. This growth was 17% when excluding non-recurring non-cash gains on the derecognition of a Pick n Pay financial guarantee in the prior year. Comparing year-on-year performance on a pro forma 52-week basis, turnover increased by 10.4%, in line with pre-IPO market guidance, while trading profit rose by 7%, and 14.0% when excluding the one-off non-cash gain in the prior year. Boxer's discount model, supply chain—which includes six distribution centres currently—and expansion plans, provide it with a strong edge in South Africa's evolving retail landscape, said Masojada. He said that many of their consumers are experiencing significant cost of living increases, even though Boxer managed to keep its selling price inflation flat. This was reflected in more consumers closely examining their monthly or weekly grocery purchases to get more value. The group was able to measure this by tracking the uptake of promotional activity. Boxer's commitment to "Lower Prices Every Day" was reflected in the normalised full-year internal selling price inflation of 0.3%, after adjusting for mix change impacts, which were influenced by promotional activity. Boxer had invested in its Boxer Rewards Club loyalty program and attracted over 1.9 million sign-ups since its launch in October 2024. The club offers a range of benefits, including discounts on repeat shopping trips The loyalty data also provides valuable insights, enabling Boxer to better understand and serve its customers, said Masojada. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ He said Boxer's business model continues to work in the communities where its stores are located. In the past year Boxer's headline earnings remained flat at -0.1%, reflecting higher net finance costs associated with the new about R850m external debt introduced as part of the pre-IPO balance sheet restructuring, alongside an increase in the effective tax rate, which offset the positive impact of the operational performance. Boxer did not declare a final dividend for the 2025 financial year, as indicated in the pre-listing statement. However, the company remained cash generative, was working on reducing debt, and was on target to deliver a dividend at the end of the first half of the 2026 financial year, in line with pre-listing commitments, said Masojada. "We're excited about the opportunities ahead and future growth, Whilst there will be economic pressures, this is where Boxer really thrives, meeting challenges is part of our are resolutely focused on execution to capture growth opportunities," he said.
