Pick n Pay Namibia, a subsidiary of the Ohlthaver & List (O&L) Group, has opened its second Pick n Pay Express Store in the country. The new store is located at fuel retailer Namcor’s Soweto service station in Katutura, in the north of the capital Windhoek.

It is the second owner-managed Pick n Pay Express store in Namibia. The first one opened at Mile 4 in the coastal city of Swakopmund in 2022.

The new store will be open 24/7. It marks part of a defined trend in Namibia towards more convenience retail. These two Pick n Pay stores are effectively a pilot for Pick n Pay Namibia. Meanwhile Shell (Vivo Energy) and Spar has extended its South African partnership for Spar Express into Namibia. The two companies have been partnering in Namibia since 2018 for convenience retail (Spar Express) – there are currently four in Namibia. OK Stores is partnering with Puma Energy Namibia to open 12 new OK Express convenience stores across the country.

Another key trend for Pick n Pay is its exploration of discounter grocery retail with the Supa Shop format. It launched its first store at B1 City in Katutura (Windhoek) in March 2023 The store is branded as “supported by Pick n Pay” and described by the Pick n Pay Namibia Managing Director as follows: “Supa Shop is a brand owned by Pick n Pay Namibia and is a value-based brand that serves the growing middle-to-lower income shopper.”

Supa Shop is designed to liberate Pick n Pay from its existing price/quality proposition to compete more directly against OK Stores and Choppies in Namibia. As the company puts it: the operational arrangement between Supa Shop and Pick n Pay it to “operate the Supa Shop store with much more flexibility in terms of look, feel and we relooked all aspects of the business including lowering our cost to serve.” In other words, it can operate and look more like a no frills discounter.