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Reuters
Опубликовано
31 окт. 2016 г.
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Smooth succession for South Africa's Shoprite as long-serving CEO retires

Автор
Reuters
Опубликовано
31 окт. 2016 г.

The chief executive of Shoprite will retire in December, the company said on Monday, ending his nearly four decades at the helm of the supermarket group he transformed from an eight-store start-up into an $8 billion behemoth.


Whitey Basson - Shoprite


Whitey Basson, 70, will be replaced by Chief Operating Officer Pieter Engelbrecht, a 20-year veteran of the Cape Town-based company, at beginning of next year.

"Whitey has been a very strong and charismatic leader, who has managed the company through market transitions and challenging times, taking calculated risks to turn the supermarket group into the leading retailer on the continent," said chairman and top shareholder Christo Wiese.

Under Basson, an accountant, Shoprite grew from a business worth 1 million rand ($73,000)in 1979 into a Africa's biggest groceries retailer with outlets across the continent in countries including Ghana, Angola and Nigeria.

His 47-year old successor, Engelbrecht, inherits a company that continues expansion elsewhere in Africa to offset weak growth at home, where it is grappling with tough competition from the likes of Wal-Mart's Massmart and Pick n Pay Stores Inc.

"Fortunately, effective succession has always been a key focus for the management team and over the past few years many of the key operational responsibilities had already been successfully handled by the senior management team," Basson said in a statement.

Shares in Shoprite rose 4.2 percent to 199 rand after the company reported a 15.7 percent rise in quarterly sales in a separate statement, helped by a robust showing at its supermarkets outside South Africa.

Analysts at Arqaam Capital, which rates the stock a "buy", said the sales update was "pleasing" and described Engelbrecht's appointment as positive for the company.

"We think this ensures consistency within the group as Shoprite's strategy should be maintained, with no major changes in the company operations expected. We also think this is a positive for the company but not a surprise," Arqaam said in a note.

$1 = 13.6200 rand


 

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