Merc Strategy Business Strategy and Guidance

Shoprite gave R1 billion in discounts and grew profit. Here's how.

Shoprite cut prices on 14,400 products, boosting sales and customer visits to R136.8 billion. Uncover the operational engine that makes deep discounts profitable.

By Strategy October 14, 2026 5 min read

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Unit Economics

Is your most profitable product actually destroying your business?

By Strategy October 11, 2026 6 min read

Starbucks learned the hard way: a high-margin sale can tie up capacity and kill overall profit. Learn why profit per hour, not per item, is the only metric that matters.

Business Models

The R1.9 billion cash trap that blindsided SPAR. Could it hit your business?

By Strategy October 1, 2026 4 min read

Working capital, the cash flow between paying suppliers and collecting from customers, caused SPAR's R1.9 billion debt surge.

Turnarounds

Starbucks almost collapsed under its own complexity. Here's how it recovered.

By Strategy September 29, 2026 5 min read

The coffee giant became a 'food-service labyrinth' with endless options, driving customers away and profits down. Discover the radical simplification that saved it.

Post-Mortems

A single warehouse cost SPAR R123 million. Here's how it happened.

By Strategy September 19, 2026 6 min read

SPAR's centralized distribution model promises efficiency, but a single KZN warehouse exposed its critical vulnerability, leading to a staggering R123 million loss. What went wrong?

Business Models

Why Nike walked away from Amazon: the real cost of bad partners.

By Strategy September 17, 2026 5 min read

Nike's bold move revealed how short-sighted channel strategies erode brand value. Learn why focusing on partner purpose is crucial for sustained demand.

Unit Economics

Why SPAR's massive Black Friday sales actually cost them millions.

By Strategy September 6, 2026 5 min read

The retail giant saw trolleys full and queues long, yet deep discounts eroded R212 million from their operating profit. Was it a failure of measurement?

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From the archive

4 years ago

BUSINESS MODELS AND UNIT ECONOMICS

Shoprite gave R1 billion in discounts and grew profit. Here's how.

Shoprite cut prices on 14,400 products, boosting sales and customer visits to R136.8 billion. Uncover the operational engine that makes deep discounts profitable.

By Strategy October 14, 2026 5 min read

Shoprite gave R1 billion in discounts and grew profit. Here's how.

Latest

Is your most profitable product actually destroying your business?

The R1.9 billion cash trap that blindsided SPAR. Could it hit your business?

Starbucks almost collapsed under its own complexity. Here's how it recovered.

A single warehouse cost SPAR R123 million. Here's how it happened.

Why Nike walked away from Amazon: the real cost of bad partners.

Why SPAR's massive Black Friday sales actually cost them millions.

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From the archive

Shoprite gave R1 billion in discounts and grew profit. Here's how.