South Africa’s Braai Day is a time of coming together around the fire to cook some of the country’s finest cuts of meat. And there are few better to offer tips on how to treat these than Shoprite’s crew of Master Butchers.

The Shoprite Group distributed 130 garden-in-a-box starter kits and essential gardening tools to equip learners from primary schools and hostels in Parys to establish their own food gardens.

2021 was a challenging year for the countries in which we operate but as a result of the Group’s commitment and execution we increased sale of merchandise by 8.1%. In rand terms, this growth equates to an additional R12.6 billion in sales on last year’s restated base to total a record R168.0 billion in sales for the year. Adjusting for the extra week included in this year’s reporting period, on a 52-on-52-week basis our rand sale of merchandise growth on last year’s base measured R9.1 billion.

As the latest unemployment figures in South Africa scales new heights, the Shoprite Group continues to create and retain jobs, with a special focus on youth.

Small supplier, Ree Collective, has increased its turnover by 144% since it started supplying its baby bags, custom-made for South African parents, to more than 100 Checkers and Checkers Hyper stores.

Shoprite Zambia served more than 4,000 cups of soup to health workers working on the frontline of the Covid-19 pandemic at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka.

Mzansi’s new boerewors champion is Vikash Bachu (38) from Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal. He entered the competition no fewer than 12 times before being announced the winner of the 2021 Championship Boerewors competition – South Africa’s leading boerewors competition – earlier today.

Fifteen community members from Qholaqhwe Village, near Phuthaditjhaba in the Free State, recently secured Shoprite’s support to aid the development of the food garden at the Qholaqhwe Creche.

Shoprite is the first South African retailer to launch an instant electronic funds transfer (EFT) service. The EFT service enables customers to instantly send vouchers to another person in just three simple steps. Senders only need to enter the recipient’s mobile number and the amount they wish to pay. There is no need to download an app in order to transfer funds.

Residents at The Ark City of Refuge in Cape Town - a temporary home to destitute men, women and children – are being empowered through gardening. What started out in 2013 as a small vegetable garden has, with Shoprite’s assistance, become a beacon of hope for those seeking refuge at the home.

The Shoprite Group has launched its new ground-breaking digital business hub, ShopriteX which is combining data science, technology and innovation with its operational strength to provide increasingly enhanced customer experiences. Incubated over the past year, ShopriteX is combining data science and technology create more personalised shopping experiences for customers.

Shoprite is once again stepping up to enable entrepreneurs to grow their businesses with the 2021 Shoprite Hustle competition. The annual competition boosts small business development and will celebrate established and promising small business owners who stand to win a share of more than R1 million in prizes.