Dis-Chems plan to increase its store footprint by 45% over the next three years is certainly aggressive. The strategy is premised on it catching up to the amount of space its largest competitor, Clicks, has in each region.
In Gauteng, the two are head-to-head practically equal. In provinces like the Eastern Cape and Western Cape, Clicks has double or triple the amount of space.
Historically, Dis-Chem stores have been far larger than a typical Clicks, but the 39 stores it recently converted to Dis-Chem from Medicare (which it acquired in 2020) are smaller than the big box stores it trades from in large malls.
This isnt a brand new strategy it has traded from both formats for years. However, finding caverns of empty space in regions where it is not represented (or underrepresented) is difficult. Every so often, a very desirable spot becomes available in a top mall (think the vacancy created by Stuttafords at Sandton City), but these are the exceptions.
Its plan to 2026 sees it adding 21 000m 2 of space in the Western Cape and 15 000m 2 in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). Thats more than two dozen new Dis-Chems in the Cape and close to 20 in KZN.
