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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.
www.boxer.co.za 37