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S. Africa's Massmart to restructure after forecasting loss

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S. Africa's Massmart to restructure after forecasting loss

S. Africa's Massmart to restructure after forecasting loss

South Africa's Massmart Holdings, majority-owned by U.S. retail giant Walmart, forecast a full year loss on Thursday as it battles tough trading conditions.

Matthew Larotonda reports.

South Africa's Massmart Holdings says that it intends to restructure its operations after forecasting an annual loss for the full year.

The company, majority owned by U.S. retail giant Walmart, has been battling tough trading conditions And the announcement comes after - earlier this month - it already said it could cut over 1,400 jobs and close some stores.

Low growth, high unemployment and a rising cost of living have hurt South Africans' spending power.

Massmart expects to report a headline loss per share of between 342.9 and 384.5 cents for the year ending December 29.

Massmart, which says it is the second largest distributor of consumer goods in Africa, announced it will now reorganize its wholesale, warehouse, hardware and discount stores businesses into just two divisions - wholesale and retail.

The company owns brands such as Makro, Game, and Builders Warehouse.

A number of Massmart's rivals, such as Shoprite, have also struggled amid difficult market conditions as well as currency weakness elsewhere in Africa, especially Zimbabwe and Nigeria.




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