Franchise brand and supermarket group, Pick n Pay announced the closure of 32 stores and converting five company-owned supermarkets to franchises. From  5 January the store closure became part of the "Store Estate Reset' plan.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN

This means that more than 80% of the staff will be redeployed within the group or accept voluntarily and early retirement or will be affected by retrenchment. With the company experiencing tumultuous challenges over the last few years, with record losses and technical insolvement, to address the challenges, they launched a turnaround plan. This included raising R4.0 billion and list Boxer separately to raise more capital.

WHAT NEXT

Pick n Pay CEO Sean Summers said in a statement that the Boxer chain of store, has become a key asset in Pick n Pay's portfolio and it caters to a low cost-sensitive market. Boxer was listed at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in November 2024. "Boxer is on track to meet its FY25 guidance on Superstore rollout, including PnP conversions. However, delays in granting liquor licences for several planned liquor store openings have impacted them,' he said. "Boxer is pushing to finalise the outstanding licences before the financial year ends, but the outcome is not fully within management's control.'