Mass market retailer, Boxer, roasted for low B-BBEE score

Company’s black ownership sits at mere 27.63%

Retail giant Boxer Superstores, the country’s leading limited-range discount supermarket, has come under fire after receiving a Level 5 broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) rating.

The B-BBEE certificate of Boxer, which targets the middle- to lower-income consumer market, was published this week, showing that the company’s black ownership was sitting at 27.63%, far from the 51% target, while black women’s ownership stood at 11.11%, missing the 30% target.

The listed mass-market retailer was spun out of Pick n Pay and listed separately in November 2024.

With a market capitalisation of R34-billion, it scored 80% when it came to procurement recognition and was affirmed as empowering suppliers.

However, the company does not participate in the Youth Employment Service, a public-private initiative led by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office to address the youth unemployment crisis.

Companies get a B-BBEE ranking of Level 1 when they score high on all metrics, including black ownership, female representation and shareholding by youth and people with disabilities.

This ranking cascades down to Level 8 for those who score the lowest on these points.

The retail behemoth, whose lead independent director is Chichi Maponya, the daughter of late township retail pioneer Richard Maponya, owns more than 570 stores located in townships, urban areas and rural communities.

When approached for comment on Friday, the retailer said, “Boxer does extraordinary work in many of the communities we serve, and we have a proven track record in this regard spanning many years. Accordingly, we do not accept the premise on which your questions are based.”

On its website, Boxer boasts of having assisted more than 300 farmers in the Eastern Cape as part of its Boxer Agri-Project.

It is described as a project that upskills and trains farmers in the methods and processes aligned to retail-ready farming practices.

“B-BBEE remains a top priority along with the efforts to educate and assist the creation of suppliers that can contribute to the Boxer brand,” the company further noted.

But the Black Business Council – which lobbies for transformation of the economy – said Boxer’s B-BBEEE ranking shows that like much of the retail sector, it does not empower the communities in which it operates.

BBC deputy president Gregory Mofokeng said, “The only area where the retail sector will perform satisfactorily is when it comes to employment numbers because the people who work on the shop floor are black.

“When it comes to procurement, [retail stores] don’t procure from local communities. That is why there is no participation of local communities.”

Mofokeng said Boxer needs to do more to empower township and rural communities in which it operates and create sustainable employment and supplier pipelines.

He added that board members such as Maponya should hold the management accountable for the low B-BBEE score.

Duma Gqubule, who has done extensive research on empowerment, questioned how Boxer could achieve 27.63% black ownership when it has never concluded a B-BBEE transaction.

“Boxer has never done a B-BBEE transaction. How can they have a 27.63% black ownership? This illustrates the farce of these verification certificates and the loopholes that the government has made in terms of the compromises they have made when they were drafting the codes.

“There is this backdoor route towards compliance by using indirect black ownership in pension and provident funds.”

Gqubule said despite making money from black communities, retail stores had failed to provide shareholding and procurement opportunities to black communities and workers.

Zooming in on Boxer’s top leadership, he pointed out that the CEO, CFO and board chairperson were all white men.

“These are people who benefit from the little that black people have to spend, including social grants, and they don’t see the need to give back to society in terms of creating ownership schemes for the communities for procurement,” he said.

South African National Accreditation System assistant manager Lindiwe Ncube said: “A Level 1 contributor generally requires a score of 100 points or more on the generic scorecard for Amended Codes of Good Practice. For Boxer to improve its total score, the company would need to identify the elements where points were lost and implement initiatives to increase scores in those areas.

“The specific actions required would depend on the detailed scorecard results achieved and the improvements required in the identified areas.

“A B-BBEE certificate does not simply record whether a company has done a BEE deal. It measures the extent to which black South Africans participate in ownership and receive economic benefits from that ownership.”

Mpho Sibanyoni