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AFRICA’S FAVOURITE DISCOUNT          with the opening of a branch in Burgersfort. By late
                                            1997, a new corporate identity logo was adopted,
       SUPERMARKET                          and the trading retail name was changed to ‘Boxer
       The fully-fledged retail business we see today as   Superstores’ to better reflect its role, as a retailer.
       Boxer has carved a very interesting 44-year journey.   Flying under the  retail  radar,  Boxer  Superstores
       Throughout its existence, one thing remains true...   continued to grow and expand where the company
       they were, they are, and they always will be “the   believed it could satisfy consumer needs. At the end
       people’s champion” fighting for low prices, quality   of August 1997, the company merged with one of its
       goods and ensuring the upliftment of their respective   parent companies, Goss & Co., adding three outlets in
       communities.                         the Transkei. In October 2001, Boxer Superstores’ first
       This maverick retailer’s journey began in April 1977   step into the North-West Province, namely Mafikeng,
       when KwaZulu Cash & Carry was established, in the   was taken. The next province that Boxer Superstores
       centre of Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The   entered was Limpopo, in the town of Tzaneen in 2002.
       company commenced operations as a conventional   In the same year, Boxer Superstores successfully
       wholesaler, trading in the essential commodities,   concluded negotiations and announced the
       such as maize meal, rice, samp, sugar, oil and beans.   acquisition by Pick n Pay. This ideally placed the
       However, in the late 1970s the company re-positioned   group in a position to tackle the middle to lower
       itself into complete retailing - supplying the informal   LSM section. 2003 saw the rollout of an aggressive
       market, the bulk consumer and retail consumer. With   store-expansion programme with seven new store
       this new identity the company prospered and in March   openings across the various provinces. In 2020
       1979 a second branch was opened in Empangeni.  Boxer celebrated the opening of its 300th store and
       The company was taken over from the original   4th Distribution Centre.
       founders by an independent group of investors in   With  the  success  and  expansion  of  the  Superstores
       1988. This was an interesting time for the company as   brand, Boxer saw an opportunity to develop a new
       it embarked on a development programme aimed at   trading division within the company, through the
       identifying new store sites in other areas of KwaZulu-  launching of a Boxer Build store in Port St Johns,
       Natal. In 1991, a name change was made due to an   Eastern Cape in May 2004. Adopting its own identity,
       expansion  plan  with  the  desire  to  branch  out  into   the Boxer Superstores logo was uniquely modified
       other provinces. All trading stores were then re-  to  differentiate  the  builders’  hardware division.  The
       launched under the name of ‘Boxer Cash & Carry’.  reason for these two logos was to prevent customer
       East London and Queenstown were the first two Boxer   confusion and clearly differentiate the supermarkets
       Cash & Carry stores to be launched in the Eastern Cape   from the builders’ hardware outlets. Boxer Build
       in September 1995. The next year, the Boxer Cash &   outlets can be found in both the Eastern Cape and the
       Carry concept was further extended to Mpumalanga,   KwaZulu-Natal provinces.

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