Pick n Pay stores at BP garages

Petrol supplier, BP is to embark on a huge expansion of its forecourt retail offering in South Africa‚ as it partners with Pick 'n Pay to build 120 convenience stores at fuel stations over the next five years.

The partnership‚ expands on Pick 'n Pay's 17 existing Express convenience stores and will compete with Engen's relationship with Woolworths Food‚ which currently has 45 convenience stores.

"We have reached a standard agreement with the National Empowerment Fund to help mainly black women franchisees to become successful BP franchise owners‚" Iain Conn‚ BP's chief executive of refining and marketing‚ said on Tuesday (23 April).

He said the expansion‚ part of a R5bn southern African investment programme‚ would also see BP increase its own retail service network with 50 new stations in South Africa and Mozambique. This would take their number to about 700 in the next five years.

In total‚ BP would spend about R2.7bn on its retail network in Mozambique and South Africa over the five-year period.

"This is BP's clearest demonstration of its commitment to creating and preserving jobs in southern Africa‚" Conn said.

Pick 'n Pay will open 40 new Express stores in the current financial year‚ it said at its results presentation on Monday (22 April).