Shoprite opens 50th Uniq by Checkers clothing store in Cape Town

Shoprite is taking its battle for South African consumers beyond the supermarket aisle, with its Uniq by Checkers clothing business reaching 50 stores less than four years after its launch. 

The latest outlet opened in Sea Point, Cape Town, giving Shoprite another foothold in the country’s highly competitive clothing market. The milestone comes as the retailer continues to expand its physical presence at scale, adding hundreds of stores across its South African operations in its latest financial year. 

Uniq has grown from a single store at Canal Walk Mall in March 2023 into a clothing chain spanning eight South African provinces. Shoprite added 13 Uniq outlets during the last financial year, signalling that the group sees room to build a fashion business alongside its much larger grocery operation.

Shoprite takes on fashion 

The expansion puts Shoprite in direct competition with established retailers that have spent years building clothing businesses. 

Pick n Pay Clothing, launched in 2002, has expanded to 437 stores across South Africa. The division recorded average like-for-like sales growth of 3.5% over three years in Pick n Pay’s latest financial results, with the retailer describing the performance as strong relative to competitors. 

Woolworths is another established player, although the group has recently shifted greater strategic attention toward its premium Food business. Woolworths said selected adjacent categories would continue to strengthen its customer proposition and wider ecosystem. 

Shoprite’s approach with Uniq is different in scale and positioning. The retailer is building the brand around everyday clothing, with an emphasis on simplicity, comfort, quality fabrics and accessible pricing.

3,710 stores across South Africa 

Uniq’s expansion is taking place alongside an aggressive wider rollout by Shoprite. The group opened 262 new stores in South Africa during its latest financial year, bringing its total domestic store base to 3,710. That scale gives Shoprite an extensive physical network through which it can test and expand new retail concepts. 

For Uniq, the strategy centres on premium basics for the entire family. Its clothing range uses different colours and textures designed to make pieces easy to combine, while maintaining what Shoprite describes as an accessible price point. 

Benise Spangenberg, Uniq’s head buyer, said the 50-store milestone reflects demand for clothing that combines quality, fabrics and style without the price associated with higher-end fashion.

Technology becomes part of the proposition 

Uniq is also using technology to distinguish its stores from conventional fashion outlets. Shoprite says the brand is the first fashion retailer in South Africa to introduce self-service checkout. 

Smart tags and radio-frequency identification technology allow shoppers to scan and pay for their purchases themselves, while sales assistants remain available to provide support.

The system brings a retail technology more commonly associated with supermarkets into clothing stores, giving Shoprite another way to connect its grocery and non-food retail expertise. 

For a group with 3,710 stores in South Africa, the 50-store Uniq milestone is still a relatively small operation. But its rapid expansion since 2023 shows that Shoprite is testing how far the Checkers proposition can stretch beyond food — and whether clothing can become another meaningful part of its retail growth strategy.