Supermarket giant Pick n Pay invites some interesting — and critical — number-crunching.
Consider this: it turned over R36.3bn in the first half of financial 2026, while Boxer, its 65.6%-held separately listed subsidiary, generated R22.5bn at the top line.
While Pick n Pay remains comfortably the bigger business, the market values — which recognise cash profits rather than sales — are inverted. Boxer is worth R35bn compared with Pick n Pay’s R22bn.
One dramatic interpretation is that the market values Pick n Pay’s core supermarkets business at less than zero, considering that the group’s stake in Boxer is worth close to R25bn.
OK, bizarre. But the improvement in Pick n Pay’s gross margin from 16.5% at last year’s interim period to 16.9% just does not seem enough to placate concerns about medium-term viability. Certainly not with the core supermarket group’s revenue not growing at anything near a convincing lick.
It’s reminiscent of the KWV liquor group, which was able to soak up significant operational losses year after year thanks to profitable contributions from its investment in the old Distell
The trading loss of R621m, though a marked improvement from the previous R718m, remains a startling reminder of the tangle into which Pick n Pay got itself over the past decade. During that time Shoprite, which plans to open more than 300 new stores in the next 12 months, really entrenched itself as the undisputed and difficult-to-displace market leader.
It’s reminiscent of the KWV liquor group, which was able to soak up significant operational losses year after year thanks to profitable contributions from its investment in the old Distell.
While the Boxer holding offers much-needed stability and sustainability, one has to ponder whether this buffer allows even the slightest degree of complacency as regards Pick n Pay’s arduous turnaround effort.
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