Pick n Pay will relaunch its No Name in-house brand after overhauling the product range to remove items that “should not have been there”, according to CEO Sean Summers.
The retailer first introduced its No Name private label in 1976 to offer customers budget-friendly alternatives to premium brands.
What started with 14 products grew to more than 3,000, evolving over time with customers’ changing needs, aspirations and budgets. “We have done a lot of work... cleaning out a lot of house brand products that were not well conceived at the time those ranges were put together,” said Summers.
“We got rid of a lot of items that should not have been in No Name. We always [wanted] to be in certain categories and commodity groups, presenting a certain value profile to customers.”
Over the next 12 to 18 months, shoppers would see “a radically revamped and repositioned house brand range in the market”.
Summers said the retailer wanted the revised range to attract customers and “[put] No Name as a hero that it should be, and a very well-known house brand, and one of the leading ones”.
Once the biggest retailer in South Africa, Pick n Pay is undergoing a massive operational revamp after a slump in earnings and market share over the past few years. Summers was brought back from retirement to reassume the role of CEO in October 2023.
The company has so far managed to prop up its balance sheet by raising R4bn from shareholders to pay off debt, and has spun out subsidiary Boxer. It has also reduced the number of stores by closing loss-making outlets, while some were converted to Boxer stores.
To save costs it has leased its Eastport distribution centre, which was too big for the retailer’s needs.
Although still making losses, Summers expects Pick n Pay to break even in the 2028 financial year. “Are we where we want to be? Hell, no. But are we well on the way in this journey? Absolutely.”
He said results so far showed their turnaround was working, and they remained on track with their strategic goals. “Like-for-like sales growth has accelerated, our customer numbers are growing, Pick n Pay supermarkets’ market share has stabilised … a clear sign that we’re on the right path.”
The retailer ended the half-year to August with 984 owned stores — including clothing, hyper and liquor — and 631 franchise stores. Summers said 27 stores had returned to profitability.
Stephan Erasmus, investment analyst at Anchor, said it seemed the group was moving forward with improving like-for-like sales across its divisions. “Despite improving like-for-like sales, the group made a substantial trading loss.
“Guidance is for a FY26 trading loss in line with FY25 levels, and a break-even trading profit by FY28. The market may have expected a quicker recovery than management has guided.”
Pick n Pay is also reviving its hypermarkets with the aim of appealing to more bulk buyers, such as traders. It will refurbish five hyper stores and will end the 2026 financial year with 23 hyper outlets.
“[Hypers are] a key area of focus, really putting the real essence of hypermarket back again, and we are seeing great success. Some of our stores are converting to hypermarkets. Really getting good traction there,” Summers said.
The shopping experience and the model would be different from what hypermarkets were known for. “We’re introducing a lot of new sections, a lot of bulk departments in the stores. We are appealing to the smaller traders. So we also facilitate delivery to local businesses,” he said.
Erasmus said competition will remain fierce in the retail space, and the opening of branded Walmart retail outlets in South Africa would further intensify competition.
The giant US retailer announced it would open its first branded store at the Clearwater Mall, west of Johannesburg.
It entered South Africa in 2011, after acquiring Massmart — owner of Makro and Game stores — but chose to trade under their brands, before announcing last month that it would rebrand some of those outlets into full Walmart stores.
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