Retailer Massmart‚ which is owned by US retail company Walmart‚ advised on Monday (22 April) that for the 14 weeks of this year, total sales were up by 10.3% and comparable sales increased by 6.0%‚ indicating a "slower sales trend" in South Africa.
"The South African consumer environment remains difficult and sales growth may be under some pressure for the remainder of the financial year," Massmart said in a statement.
"If the current sales trends continue‚ it will be difficult to meet our objective of trading profit growth equal to sales growth," it added.
Massmart says the value extracted from integration will now be invested in prices.