It’s taken long enough, but Walmart is finally headed to South Africa — with fully-fledged branded stores set to crop up around the country in 2025. Retail owner Massmart today announced its entry, and “underscores Walmart’s commitment to making high-quality, affordable merchandise accessible to more customers.”
Something Walmart This Way Comes
The decision to expand to Africa’s southernmost country came after the retailer hosted its first Growth Summit earlier this year, which saw suppliers from 12 countries in Africa show off their innovations, all “grown or assembled in South Africa.” The brand ultimately recruited many of these suppliers to enable the expansion.
“Walmart’s South African stores will offer a wide range of merchandise, including fresh groceries, household essentials, apparel and technology. Walmart also will offer a variety of locally sourced products. By partnering with South African suppliers and entrepreneurs, Walmart will bring its signature Every Day Low Prices and global standards to the market, while celebrating the country’s rich culture,” said Kath McLay, the company’s international president and CEO.
Massmart has long had a presence in South Africa, with stores like Game, Makro, and Builders Warehouse sticking around for years. But the retail brand’s entry will bring with it all the aesthetics, “wide aisles,” and bright lights you’ve seen in the movies, with an assumedly mega store to accompany it. It’ll need it if the store is serious about stocking everything from groceries to hardware to tech.
Barring any major delays, Massmart aims to have the first Walmart stores open their doors locally before 2025 is over, with the official dates to be announced in October. It’s already working on sites too, which will help it compete against the likes of Takealot and Amazon SA, which didn’t have the most auspicious start locally.
