Boxer eyes growth in Gauteng and KZN

Boxer Superstores will double down on growing its presence in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal to close the gap with competitors who have been on an aggressive rollout in recent years. 

This week, the value grocery retailer, which was spun out of Pick n Pay and listed on the JSE in November last year, said it would spend R1.2bn in opening new stores and also on its new distribution centre in KwaZulu-Natal. It has 525 stores in total, including liquor stores, after opening 48 in the year to March. The retailer has almost doubled its outlets from 298 stores in 2020. 

Boxer CEO Marek Masojada said: “In terms of the study we have performed, the provinces where we have the biggest gap are Gauteng and KZN. I guess you can say the Western Cape, as well, but our priority is on Gauteng and KZN. One of the reasons we created capacity in our supply chain is to support growth in those two regions. However, we continue opening stores in all other provinces as well.” 

Boxer opened a second distribution centre in Gauteng about 18 months ago, and early next year will open another one in KZN, which will “give us capacity of over 100 new stores in the region”, said Masojada.

In total the retailer has six distribution centres, and once the KZN one comes on stream, Boxer will have capacity to add 200 superstores “before needing our next distribution centre. This means no new distribution centres for at least four to five years.  We have created a solid supply chain platform to grow our future store base,” said Masojada.   

The value grocer is planning another 60 stores (25 superstores and 35 liquor stores) in the 2026 financial year. Masojada said the challenge was finding space. “We have people on the ground in every province working with different developers and property owners to unlock some of those opportunities. It’s a mix between getting into existing shopping centres that might be taking on a second or third anchor, and greenfield developments as well.”

Boxer wants to close the gap between its standalone liquor and grocery stores. It has 320 grocery stores and 175 liquor outlets. “So, there’s an opportunity to close the liquor store numbers faster than the super soil. Without mentioning our targets, we are looking to close that gap,” said Masojada. 

The company employs 32,000 workers after adding 3,000 new jobs through new stores opened in the year to March. The group is likely to continue converting some Pick n Pay stores into the successful Boxer brand. In the period under review, it took ownership of eight supermarkets and six liquor stores.

Outside South Africa, Boxer has stores in eSwatini. Masojada said: “Currently, we don’t have the desire to go outside the borders of South Africa; we see enough opportunity internally. We do keep an eye on what’s going on in Lesotho, a smaller market but one that talks to our value-conscious consumers.” 

All Boxer stores are corporate-owned, and it has no immediate plans to introduce a franchise model. The company will expand its private label products, which are a fifth of total turnover.

While its rivals get more than 30% of total turnover from private labels, Masojada said “at 20% at the moment, we do see a steady increase in that percentage, but we are not fixated on a number — we will be guided by the retail trend within our own stores and what customers are looking for”.

Commenting on the shopping trends, he said customers were buying “very much off promotions”. Masojada added: “We have seen an increase in the participation of sales as customers take advantage of our combos. We have seen an increase in basket size, but customers are taking advantage of the value that comes with buying more products.” 

Boxer said its lean discount model, efficient supply chain, and focused expansion give it a strong edge in South Africa’s evolving retail landscape. The company has also entered the loyalty game, and has so far signed 1.9-million members to its rewards programme, which was launched in October last year.

It has partnered with Capitec to offer rewards members a discount on 5kg Goldi chicken. “We collaborated with Capitec to see how we can give value back to our customers who overlap a lot between the two brands.”

The partnership comes hot on the heels of similar collaborations between Pick n Pay and FNB, and Checkers and Standard Bank, who are offering discounts to clients. Boxer’s turnover grew 13.2% to R42.3bn. Trading profit increased 9.9% to R2.3bn, at a trading margin of 5.5%.