September 10 2025 10:15
Opinion piece by Alistair Anderson, editor of Property Flash
SOUTH AFRICA
One of the largest companies in the world, US retailer Walmart will open its first namesake-branded stores in South Africa this year but surely this means the end of the likes of Game and maybe Builders?
Walmart owns 100% of Massmart whose brands include Game, Builders and Makro. It’s no secret that Game’s service and offering has been poor in SA for some years. Walmart may soon realise that the cannibalisation of these brands is inevitable, especially that of Game.
Walmart which has its headquarters in Kansas, will sell essential goods and groceries, technology and apparel. The group has likely been studying the SA market and has an idea of how many stores it will open. It needs to see how customers react to its stores. Walmart will use locally sourced products and not rely on imported products for sale.
Walmart held a growth summit in SA in April, featuring suppliers from 12 African countries. Walmart will need to educate South Africans about its brand as most people in the country have not heard of the US giant before.
But the end of Game does seem to be nearer following Walmart’s entrance. The likes of Grant Pattison, a former Pick ‘n Pay CEO who worked to help turn around the Edgars brand struggled to fix Game, only making achieving minor wins for the brand, in my opinion.
Will Walmart offer a competitive online shopping experience? It will have its work cut out to compete with Checkers Sixty60, Shoprite’s extremely successful offering.
alistair@propertyflash.co.za
