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Africa’s largest retailer, Shoprite, with more than R250bn in annual sales, is set to add about 400 coffee and quick-service restaurant shops to its network as it expands beyond supermarkets through a proposed takeover of Vida e Caffè.Vida e Caffè is a prominent franchise and supplier of beverages with a significant presence in forecourts, corporations, high streets and airports. With this acquisition, Shoprite will capture a huge share of the highly sought-after on-the-go and forecourt markets as it continues the bullish work to maintain its dominance on the continent. The group announced the deal on Tuesday, alongside its results for the 2026 financial year to end-June, saying it has already signed a purchase agreement pertinent to the deal. However, it is still subject to conditions precedent and regulatory approvals. CEO Pieter Engelbrecht said the acquisition, which will increase the retailer’s exposure to the booming coffee market, will “add deep operational expertise and an established network”. Shoprite is not alone in chasing the coffee and on-the-go market. Forecourt convenience retail overall grew sales 4% to R40bn in 2024, according to the Forecourt Retail Report 2025/2026 by market researcher Trade Intelligence, a sign of why grocery retailers keep pushing into this space.Pick n Pay recently piloted a forecourt-style convenience format called Pick n Pay Go, building on a Vivo Energy partnership it first tested in Bostwana. Woolworths, on the other hand, has been expanding its Foodstop convenience offering and investing in dark shops to speed up delivery via Woolies Dash.Meanwhile, Spar has taken a dual approach, rolling out its own in-store coffee solution alongside its Vida e Caffe partnership across Spar and Kwikspar outlets. Food Lover’s Market-owned FreshStop, the country’s largest convenience chain with more than 300 shops, co-locates some sites with Seattle Coffee, posing a direct rivalry to Vida. “We continue to invest selectively in adjacent growth markets where specialist expertise and speed-to-market offer a clear advantage,” Engelbrecht said.The Vida transaction follows another expansion into an area outside the group’s main supermarket business.After the financial year-end, Shoprite said it finalised the acquisition of an initial 51% interest in R&A Cellular. The group said the transaction would support the expansion of its financial services and value-added products and services across informal and semi-formal retailers.The deals also come as Shoprite continues to expand its existing retail operations.For the year, Shoprite increased sales of merchandise from continuing operations by 7.2% to R270.8bn, adding R18.1bn in sales. The group had 174,430 employees at the end of the financial year.Supermarkets RSA, which accounts for 84.5% of group sales, increased sales 7.1% to add R15.2bn to the previous year’s base.Checkers and Checkers Hyper increased sales 10%, while Shoprite and Usave increased sales 4.3%. Shoprite and Usave recorded internal selling price deflation of 0.1% and 0.6%, respectively, the group said.Shoprite’s on-demand digital platform, Sixty60, was another significant contributor to sales growth. Sales on the platform increased 34.5% to R25.5bn, adding R6.6bn in revenue during the year.The group also reported an 11% increase in sales from its Supermarkets Non-RSA business, together with improved profitability.Shoprite said its overall sales growth was achieved while keeping internal selling price inflation in its core Supermarkets RSA business at an average of 0.8%. This was below Stats SA’s reported 3.9% food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation for the year.The group also returned R18.3bn in Xtra Savings rewards to customers at the till during the year.Trading profit from continuing operations increased 8.4% to R16.2bn, while HEPS rose 12.2% to 1,532.5c.Shoprite declared a final shareholder payout of 566c a share, taking its total dividend for the year to 873c.Business Day
