Shoprite Holdings said group sales from continuing operations grew 6.4% in the four months to October 2026, according to a voluntary operational update published on the JSE’s Stock Exchange News Service on 6 November 2026. The retailer also reported internal selling price inflation of just 0.7% for the period, a very low figure for a grocer.
The company said it extended the reporting window from its usual first three months to four, to give shareholders the most up to date numbers before it enters its closed period next month. It has not published profit figures; this is a sales update, and the company noted that the information has not been reviewed or reported on by its external auditors.
The numbers by segment
Shoprite’s core Supermarkets RSA segment, which includes the Shoprite, Usave, Checkers, Checkers Hyper and LiquorShop brands, grew sales 7.1%. Supermarkets Non-RSA, which trades in seven countries outside South Africa, grew 7.0% in rand terms and 4.3% in constant currency. Other operating segments were down 1.5%.
The company said that for July to September, the period for which market share data was available, Supermarkets RSA sales growth exceeded that of the rest of the market by 5.3 percentage points, measured by NielsenIQ. The rest-of-market universe in that measure includes Pick n Pay, Boxer, Spar, Clicks, Woolworths, Dis-Chem, Food Lover’s Market, Game and PEP, among others. That is Shoprite’s own comparison, and it is based on a three-month window rather than the full four months.
Low inflation, strong online growth
Shoprite said internal selling price inflation was 0.7% for the four months, in line with the 0.6% it reported for July. It added that its Shoprite brand continues to experience overall deflation. The group says it benefits from a positive mix effect because Checkers and Checkers Hyper are growing fastest, supported by its on-demand delivery platform, Sixty60, which increased sales by 33.4% over the period.
The company also said it is well positioned on costs, including lease liability finance charge growth, and that strong cash generation continues to support lower net borrowing costs. No rand figures were given for either.
Stores, pharmacies and franchises
On a net basis the group opened 71 stores in the period, 61 of them in Supermarkets RSA. That segment recorded 71 openings and 10 closures. The openings comprised 32 supermarkets (12 Shoprite, 11 Usave, eight Checkers and one Checkers Hyper), 21 LiquorShops and 18 adjacent formats: seven Petshop Science, 10 Uniq Clothing by Checkers and one Checkers Outdoor. Outside South Africa, two new LiquorShop stores opened.
In the other segments, Shoprite said 51 OK Franchise stores closed after a mutually agreed termination of a franchise agreement in its second half of the 2026 financial year, which drove the 1.5% sales decline. The company said OK Franchise trading profit growth is nonetheless positive. The division opened a net five stores and ended the period with 578.
Pharmacy sales rose 17.6%. Medirite and Medirite Plus grew 9.7%, ending with 112 in-store Medirite dispensaries and 25 stand-alone Medirite Plus pharmacies, while the distributor Transpharm grew 21.3%.
What it means for businesses
For suppliers, the update shows a large listed grocer reporting faster sales growth than the rest of the market, by its own measure, while holding internal prices almost flat. Shoprite did not comment on supplier terms, so suppliers should judge for themselves what such low internal inflation means for their own pricing talks. For retailers competing with Shoprite, the 33.4% growth in Sixty60 sales shows how quickly on-demand delivery is taking volume, a theme we covered when Zulzi described building the first Checkers Sixty60 app.
The sales picture also sits against our reporting on Shoprite’s talks with Investec on a financial services tie-up and on Pick n Pay’s latest results. Business owners planning stock and staffing for the festive period can use our festive season trading playbook.
What is not yet known
The update does not give profit, margin or cash figures, and it does not say how trading has started in November. The sale of the South African Furniture division remains subject to approval by the Competition Tribunal, and Shoprite gave no timing. The group said it intends to issue its 2027 interim period sales update ahead of the end of February 2027 release of its interim results, with dates to be confirmed on its shareholder diary.
