Johannesburg – Shares in Pick n Pay plunged as much as 14% on Monday morning after the South African supermarket chain warned investors of a significantly wider loss for its 2026 financial year, blaming a weaker-than-expected performance during the crucial Black Friday trading period. The stock was trading down 9% at 10.55am local time, according to reports.
The retailer now anticipates its headline loss per share for the year ending March 2026 to exceed the prior year’s 61.54c/share loss by more than 12.31c, a worsening of over 20%, according to a trading statement released on February 9th. This revised forecast represents a substantial deterioration from previous guidance, which had suggested a loss broadly in line with 2025.
Whereas overall turnover for the 48 weeks to February 1st, 2026, grew by 3.2% – with like-for-like sales up 3.4% – the company reported a sharp slowdown in the second half of the period. Group turnover rose only 1.3% over the final 22 weeks, a marked deceleration from the 4.9% growth seen in the first half. The company attributed the weaker performance to “general market conditions” and a particularly soft November coinciding with the extended Black Friday sales window.
The Black Friday disappointment was especially pronounced in the clothing division. Pick n Pay Clothing standalone stores, which had previously recorded like-for-like growth of 7.5% in the first half, experienced a 6.8% like-for-like decline in the final 22 weeks.
A bright spot for the retailer was its online sales, which surged 31.8% during the period, driven by the Pick n Pay asap! delivery service and its grocery offering on the Mr D app. However, the growth in online sales was insufficient to offset the overall weakness in in-store trading, the company stated.
Pick n Pay South Africa recorded like-for-like sales growth of 2.9%, with company-owned supermarkets performing slightly better at 3.5%. However, total turnover in South Africa declined by 1.4%, linked to the ongoing closure and conversion of underperforming stores, a strategic move aimed at stabilizing the business in the long term.
The Boxer discount retailer, which was unbundled and separately listed in 2024, offered a contrasting performance, recording turnover growth of 11.9%.
The warning from Pick n Pay comes as the retailer continues to execute a turnaround strategy initiated by CEO Sean Summers, who returned to the company in 2023. The group had previously cautioned that the recovery would be gradual and uneven, a prediction now appearing increasingly accurate.
Pick n Pay did not provide updated earnings per share guidance, stating it does not yet have reasonable certainty on the figure for the year-end.
