Boxer Retail creates 3 000 jobs amid store expansion network in South Africa

JSE-listed Boxer Retail added nearly 3 000 new jobs in the 53 weeks to March 2 after it opened more than 40 new stores and met the financial forecasts it had made to its investors on the JSE months ago.

- EDWARD WEST

The soft discount retailer added 48 net new stores during the period, bringing its store network across South Africa and Eswatini to 525. The plan is to open another 60 stores—25 superstores and 35 liquor stores—in the new financial year.

Additionally, there are plans to expand the distribution centre capacity for the stores, particularly in northern KwaZulu-Natal, CEO Marek Masojada said in an interview with BR.

The additional employees brought its full staff complement to close to 32 000 and demonstrated the retailer’s growth, and its efforts to uplift the communities and towns where it operates, he said.

On the financial front, the retailer outperformed its pre-listing guidance with a 5.4% 52-week trading margin, which is ahead of the 5% forecast made prior to the listing.