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Johannesburg - Wal-Mart's South African unit, Massmart, is losing ground expanding into fast-rising sub-Saharan economies after news that rival Shoprite plans to open 47 stores outside South Africa.
Massmart earlier reported a 10% fall in first-half profit, hurt by a weak market and slow expansion into other African countries.
Shares in Massmart, which are down about 20% this year, were down 2.9% to 150.17c on Thursday afternoon, underperforming a slightly higher JSE Top-40 index.
"We want to slightly shift our focus away from South Africa and put more resources into African growth," said chief executive Grant Pattison at the company's presentation of first-half results.
Massmart, 51% owned by the world's biggest retailer, said all but 10 to 15 stores to be opened over the next three years would be in South Africa.
Analysts said Massmart's expansion could be quicker if key markets such as Nigeria had modern shopping infrastructure for its flagship Game stores.
"If Massmart considers smaller, stand-alone stores they would probably expand faster," said Patrick Ntshalintshali, a portfolio manager at Vunani Fund Managers.
Massmart operates 29 stores in 11 African countries outside South Africa which contribute about 8% to its total sales.
Foreign outlets
Rival Shoprite, by contrast, runs 153 supermarkets and could double that number in three to four years, chief executive Whitey Basson said this week.
Massmart could also boost presence on the continent with acquisitions, but Pattison said there were few retailers that would fit into its stable.
He declined to comment on news that Massmart was looking to take a controlling stake in Kenyan supermarket chain Naivas, a deal which could double its foreign outlets.
Massmart, which sells everything from groceries to televisions, said headline earnings per share fell 9.9% to 181c in the first six months of the year.
Headline EPS, South Africa's primary profit gauge, excludes certain one-off items.
Massmart said favourable currency swings added R134m to the bottom line, causing headline EPS to increase by 52%.
Sales increased 8.9% to R32.4bn and the company maintained its dividend payout at 146c per share.
"There's little on the macro-economic horizon that suggests any improvement," said Massmart.
"We believe the remainder of the year will continue to see sales under pressure."
South African retail sales grew by a smaller-than-expected 1.9% in June, government statistics showed last week.
Massmart earlier reported a 10% fall in first-half profit, hurt by a weak market and slow expansion into other African countries.
Shares in Massmart, which are down about 20% this year, were down 2.9% to 150.17c on Thursday afternoon, underperforming a slightly higher JSE Top-40 index.
"We want to slightly shift our focus away from South Africa and put more resources into African growth," said chief executive Grant Pattison at the company's presentation of first-half results.
Massmart, 51% owned by the world's biggest retailer, said all but 10 to 15 stores to be opened over the next three years would be in South Africa.
Analysts said Massmart's expansion could be quicker if key markets such as Nigeria had modern shopping infrastructure for its flagship Game stores.
"If Massmart considers smaller, stand-alone stores they would probably expand faster," said Patrick Ntshalintshali, a portfolio manager at Vunani Fund Managers.
Massmart operates 29 stores in 11 African countries outside South Africa which contribute about 8% to its total sales.
Foreign outlets
Rival Shoprite, by contrast, runs 153 supermarkets and could double that number in three to four years, chief executive Whitey Basson said this week.
Massmart could also boost presence on the continent with acquisitions, but Pattison said there were few retailers that would fit into its stable.
He declined to comment on news that Massmart was looking to take a controlling stake in Kenyan supermarket chain Naivas, a deal which could double its foreign outlets.
Massmart, which sells everything from groceries to televisions, said headline earnings per share fell 9.9% to 181c in the first six months of the year.
Headline EPS, South Africa's primary profit gauge, excludes certain one-off items.
Massmart said favourable currency swings added R134m to the bottom line, causing headline EPS to increase by 52%.
Sales increased 8.9% to R32.4bn and the company maintained its dividend payout at 146c per share.
"There's little on the macro-economic horizon that suggests any improvement," said Massmart.
"We believe the remainder of the year will continue to see sales under pressure."
South African retail sales grew by a smaller-than-expected 1.9% in June, government statistics showed last week.
