Retail reverts back to shareholders

The termination of the joint venture relationship entails that the AFGRI branches in the eastern parts of South Afrika will continue to conduct business as  AFGRI whilst Senwes branches will keep on servicing its customers as Hinterland in the western areas. 

The termination is subject to approval by the Competition Authorities  but the planned date for implementation is 1 October 2020 (“the Effective date”). It will be business as usual and all prevailing suppliers’ agreement and arrangement will remain in place. 

Clients with accounts at Unigro or Senwes Credit will be affected and will only be able to purchase goods and services on credit after the Effective date at the relevant Afgri (Unigro) or Senwes (Senwes Credit) retail branches.

“The realignment of the retail business will still focus on the customer and we see this as an opportunity to offer more tailormade solutions to our customer base” said Francois Strydom, Chief Executive Officer of Senwes. Jacob de Villiers, Chief Executive Officer of AFGRI is of the view that the separation will enable each of the mother companies to focus on their own individual strengths.