Listed retailer Pick n Pay says it will develop an online warehouse in Isando, Ekurhuleni in Gauteng to grow its online activity.

Pick n Pay, which employs more than 70,000 people, said that online turnover grew 33.7% year-on-year in financial results for the 26 weeks ended 28 August 2016.

The group reported particularly strong growth in the Western Cape region  which benefits from its dedicated online warehouse, situated at the Brackenfell Hypermarket, ‘which has driven sales through a strengthened and tailored range, better availability and improved productivity’.

Pick n Pay said it has commenced the development of the warehouse in Isando to service the Inland region of South Africa. It will open in January 2017.

The group added that it also brought the delivery arm of its online business in-house during the period. “This has lowered the cost of running the service, and improved overall customer delivery,” it said.

Pick n Pay said back in 2014, that it serves more than 2,000 customers per week via its online channel.

Revenue for the interim period increased to R38.3 billion, from R35.3 billion, while trading profit was higher at R554.1 million (2015: R462.8 million).

Pick n Pay said that headline earnings per share grew by 23.7% to 82.43 cents per share, while it declared an interim gross dividend  of 29.90 cents per share.

In the bricks and mortar space, the group said that it opened 74 new stores over the period (38 owned and 36 franchise), across all formats of Pick n Pay and Boxer.

Nine Pick n Pay Local stores and 23 Express stores were opened during the period. “This reflects a growing customer demand for convenience, and the group’s ability to satisfy this through smaller, neighbourhood and forecourt formats,” it said.

“Our first ‘Spaza-to-Store’ pilot project in Soweto has been well received in the community and is trading successfully. The group is developing four more sites in Gauteng, all of which will open by the end of the year,” it said.

The Group opened eight clothing stores and 17 liquor stores during the period, on both an owned and franchise basis.

Pick n Pay said it is on track with its 2015 plan to create 5,000 new jobs per year by 2020. A further 2,100 new jobs were created in the first half of this year, it said.

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