Checkers Sixty60 scooters are known to zip around - sometimes dangerously - in the suburbs in the major cities of Joburg, Cape Town and Durban, but in a first for a grocery retailer, the brand is flying even higher after partnering with LIFT Airlines to have their own branded aeroplane.
Emblazoned with “Sixty60” on its sides and “Checkers” on its belly, the plane was first spotted at the OR Tambo International Airport last week.
The teal Airbus A320 conducted its maiden flight between Johannesburg and Cape Town at 10am on October 24.
The retailer said it would continue to operate on regularly scheduled flights between Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town this summer.
Pick n Pay is laying low as it tries to recover
While Checkers is reaching new heights, its competitor Pick n Pay is trying to claw its way back to the top as the country’s most popular retailer.
Earlier this week, Pick n Pay released its latest financial results and despite the group’s efforts to become more profitable, the company posted a R827.4 million loss for the interim period of 26 weeks ending August 25, 2024.
The group noted that its financing costs were R1.13 billion for the year, and this resulted in a pre-tax loss of R1.05 billion, a further decline of 25.7% from 2023.
Pick n Pay said that its trading losses grew by 9.1%, in line with budgets, to R718.9 million, due to the financial year 2025 gross profit margin contraction.
FNB partnership
There is therefore a huge drive to get more people into Pick n Pay stores as the company tries to become solvent.
In a bid to regain momentum in the supermarket retail war with Checkers, the struggling group has partnered with FNB to offer eBucks rewards-hunters more bang for their bucks.
Pick n Pay will offer customers up to 30% back on their spend in eBucks, the highest of any retailer thus far.
The rewards bonanza is expected to start in November.
IOL BUSINESS