Walmart doubles down in SA as veteran CEO leaves

Walmart is strengthening its dedication to its South African unit, with chief government officer Mitchell Slape, the Walmart veteran tasked with turning Massmart Holdings round in 2019, making ready to get replaced.

The worldwide retail big plans to purchase all the shares it doesn’t already personal for R62 apiece, a 53% premium to the final closing value, and delist Massmart from Johannesburg’s foremost bourse, the place it has a market worth of about R8.9 billion.

Learn: Retailer margins being squeezed by inflation

Jonathan Molapo, who joined Massmart in January as chief working officer, will take over as CEO a 12 months after he got here to the corporate. He’s held varied management positions in South Africa and internationally and was most just lately the CEO of Astron Vitality. His most important retail expertise has been creating retail forecourts at fuel stations.

Learn: Embattled Massmart expects larger headline losses

Walmart purchased a majority stake in Massmart in 2011 for R16.5 billion. For the reason that finish of 2019, Massmart’s share value has dropped 21% and it has needed to shut quite a lot of shops.

Learn: Massmart: Nonetheless no exhausting proof of the flip round

Slape’s job

Slape, who has labored for Walmart for 27 years, was despatched to arrest a hunch in revenue on the Johannesburg-based firm. Whereas he’s confronted a string of difficulties starting from pandemic-induced provide chain issues to per week of lethal South African riots a 12 months in the past, Slape has struggled to indicate indicators of a turnaround at household-goods chain Recreation, even after broad value cuts.

Learn: Massmart doubles down on every little thing however horror-show Recreation

Massmart on Monday additionally reported a first-half lack of R1.03 billion, narrowing from a lack of R1.07 billion a 12 months earlier.

Learn the Sens right here.