Makro denies report that Walmart-Massmart fight is leaving shelves empty
Makro has denied a report claiming that some of its stores are running low on basic items due to an accounting issue between Walmart and Massmart.
This follows a City Press report on Sunday that said several Makro stores in South Africa have been without stock as a result of Massmart transferring “merchandiser accounts” to Walmart.
A Massmart spokesperson has told MyBroadband this is false.
Massmart spokesperson Brian Leroni said they have no idea what the report is referring to regarding transferring ‘merchandiser accounts’ to Walmart
“The SA food supply chain is around 97% locally supplied, including by international suppliers such as P&G. There is no logical reason to ‘transfer accounts to Walmart’,” he said.
According to City Press, a merchandiser said the shortages were because management halted new deliveries to get rid of stock acquired under Massmart and start anew under Walmart accounts.
The report said staff and shoppers were frustrated by shortages of everyday items.
However, Leroni expressed surprise at reports about concerns and complaints, as stock levels currently sit at around 92%.
He told City Press that Makro aims for stock levels of 95% and that the retailer is facing out-of-stock issues with some of its suppliers.
Leroni confirmed this to MyBroadband, saying that there are some areas “where stock levels are lower than desired that are primarily supplier service level-related.”
City Press reported that Saccawu spokesperson Sithembele Tshwete thinks the alleged shortages of everyday items relate to suppliers’ support for the union’s higher staff wage increase campaign.
“We’ve spoken to distributors to support the strike through delays, or they don’t pitch up,” City Press quoted Tshwete as saying.
Leroni raised questions about the South African Commercial Catering and Allied Workers Union (Saccawu) being quoted in the report.
He surmised the union is seeking to reinforce a particular narrative.
Last week, wage negotiations between Saccawu and Makro management broke down at the Council for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration. The union planned a ten-day strike against the retailer for Friday, 27 January 2023.
Staff demand a 12% pay hike, with Makro offering an increase of only 4.5%.
Saccawu said its core dispute is with Makro’s approach to undermine collective bargaining.
“The company has placed conditions that are unacceptable in their latest offer, which is that the union abandon the bargaining unit. This means workers at Makro are to be left unrepresented by any union,” it said.
However, Massmart disagrees. It said that despite Makro’s 2022 negotiation cycle having closed, Saccawu tabled new demands, including a two-year prohibition on retrenchment.
“This is in addition to their primary demands for a 12% wage increase and doubling of sales commission from 10% to 20%,” it added.
Makro’s parent company issued a grim warning to staff who planned to participate in the strike following its announcement.
It said Makro has a well-trained team of backup staff, each of whom has gained valuable experience due to repeated strike action from Saccawu members in recent months.
“As such, we do not anticipate trading disruption in the event of Saccawu’s further strike action and will, in line with our recent experience, likely see an increase in productivity,” Massmart said.
The company essentially said staff are not irreplaceable and implied many may even be redundant.
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