Walmart to open first SA store in Clearwater Mall with ‘exclusive’ products

Walmart has announced that its first South African store will open in Clearwater Mall, located in Johannesburg’s West Rand, with another branch planned for Fourways Mall in the near future.

The opening of the Clearwater Mall outlet marks the official debut of the American retail giant’s own-branded stores in South Africa.

Brian Leroni, Senior Vice President for Group Corporate Affairs at Massmart, explains why Clearwater Mall was selected as the first Walmart store in South Africa.

"It's a good commercial decision. It has very high densities and a good, broad economic representation.

"This store would probably remain amongst our top five stores in terms of turnover and profitability for the next few years."

One of the ranges Walmart brings to South Africa is Drew Barrymore's 'Brewtiful' kitchenware range.

"We believe that it's priced affordably and it's reallybeautifully designed," says Leroni. "It's on-trend appliances that we think we can make accessible to our customers and that they will find appealing.

"It is an experiment, and that's what happens with new formats. You introduce new products, you see how they go, you adapt and change depending on market reaction. We will, on an ongoing basis, broaden our range and experiment with other products.

Shoppers can also look forward to a range of exciting confectionery and snack products, including Warheads extreme sour gummies, scorching hot cheese curls, Dr Pepper sodas, Pop-Tarts, and more.

To listen to Leroni in conversation with Mandy Wiener on CapeTalk and 702's Midday Report, click below: