Massmart attributes sales dip to struggling South African consumers

Walmart subsidiary Massmart reports that its like-for-like sales declined at an annual rate of 0.5% during the first 19 weeks of the 2018 financial year. According to the company, “There is little sign currently of any economic recovery amongst our lower and middle income consumers.” The bulk of the company´s stores are located in South Africa.
The retailer, which counts Cambridge Food and Super Jumbo among its banners, added that “Food sales growths, especially in our wholesale channels, continue to be adversely impacted by deflation in commodity prices.” Massmart noted that a decline in the pricing of durable goods was “not attracting more customer spending because of the adverse socio-economic pressures experienced by lower- and middle-income consumers.” Like-for-like food sales fell by 2.3%.
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http://www.massmart.co.za/media-centre/sens-news/sens-news-article/?artid=a4d95c65-3191-4501-a759-0d728432b50e