R84.5 billion is today’s Number of the Day. That is Woolworths’ annual group turnover and concession sales, up 4.3% for the year. Gareth Edwards and Francis Herd use the number to examine an increasingly competitive South African retail market, comparing Woolworths with the much larger Shoprite group and asking what happens as Checkers pushes further into the higher-income customer base Woolworths has traditionally served.
The pressure is not only about size. The conversation compares sales and profit growth, Woolworths’ 4.7% internal price movement with lower increases at
Checkers, and the large number of new customers moving into the Checkers business. Woolworths remains strong in food and is investing more heavily there, while the growth of Checkers and Sixty60 keeps raising the stakes. The unresolved question is no longer whether Woolworths has a valuable premium position. It is how hard that position will become to defend as shoppers gain more credible alternatives.
Catch up on all Number of the Day episodes here: https://www.enca.com/number-day-podcast
Chapter List
(00:00) R84.5 Billion And The Woolworths Retail War
(01:19) Woolworths Vs Shoprite: Growth, Profit And Prices
(02:33) Where Are Checkers’ New Customers Coming From?
(03:25) What Can Woolworths Do Next?
(04:30) Checkers Sixty60 Vs Woolies Dash
