Retail giant Walmart opens its first South African store this week

Walmart has a long-standing presence in South Africa through its wholly owned subsidiary Massmart, which operates retail chains such as Game, Makro and Builders. But until now it has not traded under its own name. 

According to local media reports, Massmart has also converted one of its Game stores at Fourways Mall into a Walmart. An opening date has not been confirmed. 

Walmart’s strategy for its SA launch phase promotes daily low prices, exceptional customer experiences and meaningful community impact. 

A press statement emphasises the ‘low-price’ strategy and quotes Miles van Rensburg, Massmart CEO and President, as saying: “Around the world, Walmart’s every day low prices help millions of customers have access to quality products at affordable prices, every day.  

“With the opening of our Clearwater store, customers on the West Rand will be able to shop on their own schedule and trust that they will always get an every day low price on their basket of purchases without having to wait for short-term promotions or worrying about constantly changing prices.” 

Increased competition for established retailers 

In SA, Walmart is up against the likes of Shoprite – the dominant local player which has multiple retail brands competing at different levels of the market – and Pick n Pay. 

The US retailer entered the country in 2022, when it fully acquired Massmart. 

Globally, Walmart has more than 10,750 stores and numerous e-commerce websites in 19 countries. 

In a media statement issued in September, Walmart said SA customers “can also look forward to digital capabilities to enhance their shopping journey”, indicating that it intends to be an e-commerce player as well.  

Amazon and local e-commerce giant Takealot.com are among the established key players in that sector.