Shoprite widens lead in South Africa after beating store-opening target early

Shoprite Holdings, Africa’s largest food retailer and a company linked to South African billionaire Christo Wiese, has exceeded its full-year store-opening target with a month still left in its 2026 financial year.

The retailer opened 268 new stores across its core Supermarkets RSA segment in the first 11 months of the year, surpassing its original full-year target of 223 stores.

The rollout included 41 Shoprite supermarkets, 30 Checkers stores, 48 Usave outlets and 92 LiquorShop branches.

Two newer formats also beat expectations. Petshop Science opened 38 stores, ahead of a planned 23, while UNIQ clothing by Checkers opened 13 stores, compared with a target of five.

Gauteng recorded the highest number of openings, with 82 new stores, followed by the Western Cape with 48 and KwaZulu-Natal with 31.