Pick n Pay has quietly shut the doors of its Hyper Vaal store, marking the first closure of a hypermarket for the retailer in South Africa.
Located in the Bedworth Centre on the R42 (Barrage Road) in Vanderbijlpark, diagonally opposite the Vaal Makro, the store closed in November 2023.
This decision is unrelated to the current store closure and conversion program announced by CEO Sean Summers, which is part of the company’s strategy to focus on its core Pick n Pay business.
The closure was likely decided months, or even years, prior to Summers’ return to the company.
The surrounding area has evolved significantly over the decades, meaning the market the store once served has shifted.
Summers has emphasized that Pick n Pay will not continue operating unprofitable stores just for the sake of maintaining them.
The closure of Hyper Vaal must have been due to poor performance, as it wasn’t even left to Summers and his team to make the call.
Interestingly, two new competitors—Boxer Superstore and Shoprite—have opened in the space previously occupied by the hypermarket.
These two retailers are now set to compete directly for the same customer base, despite having slightly different offerings.
Typically, malls with two major supermarket anchors place them at opposite ends of the center, but due to the large 14,000m² vacancy left by the hypermarket, the landlord, Vukile Property Fund, had little choice but to place them side by side.
The Boxer store opened on November 1 and attracted 10,000 visits on its first day, while Shoprite opened on November 28, just before Black Friday.
Both retailers have also added liquor stores to the center, though Shoprite Liquorshop is not located next to the supermarket, unlike Boxer Liquor.
In recent years, retailers have moved away from long-term exclusive lease agreements that were once standard in malls.
Spar joined this trend in 2023, following similar agreements by Shoprite and Pick n Pay. This shift means shoppers now have more choices when it comes to supermarkets.
It remains to be seen whether the closure of Hyper Vaal is the beginning of a trend, or if other hypermarkets in areas where they are no longer considered “suitable” will be converted.
The future of hypermarkets in locations like Steeledale and Soweto (Maponya Mall) may be uncertain, but such decisions are typically made in collaboration with landlords.
Pick n Pay has already reduced the size of its hypermarkets in Northgate (Johannesburg) and Ottery (Cape Town), and it is likely looking for a solution for its large Woodmead site, which may be too expansive for its current needs.
