SPAR Group's newly appointed CEO Reeza Issac
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The SPAR Group’s new CEO Reeza Isaac say the retailer, which has been selling its overseas operations to bolster its Southern Africa business, will continue to focus on smooth operations, a recovery of profit margins, and long-term value creation.
Isaac addressed shareholders for the first time at the annual general meeting in Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday. All resolutions were passed, except for two non-binding advisory notes on remuneration, which would require further shareholder consultation.
The group has more than halved debt over two years and has sold its Switzerland and Poland businesses, while the sale of a business in South-West England is far advanced.
Last month, the previous CEO Angelo Swartz stepped down while the Isaacs, previously CFO, took the helm as new CEO.
The share price traded 2.56% lower to R66.49 on the JSE Wednesday afternoon, a price almost half the R126.71 that the retailer traded at a year ago.
Isaac said in a statement he was stepping “into the CEO role with absolute clarity on where we are and what must be done to accelerate the turnaround of our core business. SPAR remains a strong, cash-generative business with a powerful independent retailer network.”
He said their focus now was on increasing the pace of execution - strengthening performance in Southern Africa, improving margin resilience, and ensuring that the work already done to simplify the group and strengthen the balance sheet translated into sustainable performance improvement.
Isaac said recent trading performance reflected deliberate actions taken to support shoppers and independent retailers amid ongoing consumer pressure.
“Heightened promotional activity in a highly competitive, low-inflation environment supported customer value, but impacted margin conversion. We are now refining our promotional approach and strengthening commercial discipline to ensure that revenue growth increasingly translates into sustainable profitability.”
Isaac said SPAR’s core Southern African operations remained the group’s immediate priority, supported by continued investment in its independent retailer network. “We are focused on enabling retailer success through better procurement, private label expansion, improved distribution efficiency, and more disciplined promotional execution.”
“In my first weeks as CEO, I am prioritising direct engagement with Guild leadership structures. Strong retailer alignment is fundamental to restoring performance momentum and ensuring we move forward together.”
Chairman Mike Bosman said the group had made significant progress in strengthening its balance sheet and simplifying its portfolio.
“SPAR remains a fundamentally strong business, with around 4,400 stores across nine countries and annual revenue of about R140 billion. Over the past two years, we have reduced debt by more than half, positioning the group for a more capital-light, cash-generative future. This provides a meaningful operational runway, with clearly defined levers to support margin recovery,” he said.
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