Clicks passes R50bn, but retail volume growth remains modest

By SA Business Lens

Clicks added stores and pharmacies in a difficult consumer market, but its latest results show why a bigger sales total does not necessarily mean stronger household demand.

Prepared and facts last checked: 23 October 2026. Publication date: 23 October 2026.

Clicks Group has taken annual turnover above R50 billion for the first time, reporting R50.4 billion for the year ended 31 August 2026, up 5.4%. The results were released on 22 October. Clicks FY2026 results

The more revealing figure for South African shoppers is the company’s reported retail volume growth of just 0.3%. Comparable-store turnover rose 1.8%, with retail selling-price inflation of 1.5%, according to its analyst presentation. Analyst booklet, printed page 28

That suggests expansion is doing important work while spending at existing shops remains subdued. It also cautions against reading the turnover milestone as evidence of a broad consumer recovery.

The results at a glance

Retail and wholesale tell different stories

Retail turnover grew 4.2%. This division includes Clicks, UniCare, The Body Shop, Sorbet corporate stores and KwaMakhi. Pharmaceutical wholesaler UPD grew reported turnover by 9.2%, but its trading profit fell 10.4%. Clicks attributed that profit decline to a lower medicine-price adjustment and lost distribution contracts. Retail trading profit, by contrast, rose 9.9%. Company SENS announcement

UPD also supplies the group’s own pharmacies, so adding the two divisions’ sales would double-count part of the business. The different profit outcomes matter too: faster turnover growth does not automatically translate into better profitability.

The slowdown becomes clearer against the previous year. In FY2025, retail turnover grew 6%, while comparable-store growth was 4.3% as reported, or 4.7% after adjusting for the extra trading day in the preceding year. The company then reported volume growth of 2.1% on that adjusted basis. FY2025 results

What the expansion means for customers

Clicks finished August with 1 031 branded stores, a net increase of 41. The group’s pharmacy network grew by 60 to 840, but these were not all Clicks-branded additions: it ended with 835 Clicks pharmacies and five UniCare pharmacies, compared with 779 and one respectively a year earlier. Analyst booklet, printed page 16

More outlets can bring shopping and medicine collection closer to customers. The national totals, however, do not establish whether a particular underserved community gained a pharmacy or how much its residents saved on travel.

The company says ClubCard membership reached 13.1 million and cashback paid during the year totalled R976 million. Company statement For households, the useful comparison remains the final cost of their own basket, including any membership conditions, rather than the size of the retailer’s overall rewards payout.

The next test is growth beyond new floorspace

Clicks plans 40 to 50 new stores in FY2027 and capital expenditure of about R1.5 billion. Planned spending covers stores, pharmacies, refurbishments, systems and the supply chain. These are company plans, not completed openings. Company SENS announcement

In an EWN interview report, chief executive Bertina Engelbrecht emphasised cost control and strengthening the core business while pursuing new opportunities.

For readers assessing the next set of results, comparable-store volumes and UPD’s profitability deserve as much attention as the store count. Stronger volumes would provide firmer evidence of demand improving at existing outlets; wholesale profit recovery would show that higher sales are converting into earnings.

The SBL bottom line

Clicks’ R50.4 billion milestone reflects a larger network and a stronger sales total, but reported retail volume growth of 0.3% shows that demand at existing stores remained modest. The next proof point is whether comparable-store volumes strengthen and UPD turns higher sales into improved profit.

How we reported this

SA Business Lens checked Clicks’ 22 October 2026 results, analyst booklet and company statement against its FY2025 results, with EWN used as an independent reporting cross-check. Figures were checked on 23 October 2026. The interpretation above is SBL’s analysis of those disclosures.

Featured image: AI-assisted SBL editorial illustration of pharmacy retail and shopping. It does not depict a real Clicks store or location. The Clicks Group identifier is used for editorial identification; no endorsement is implied.