Checkmate traces the astonishing ascent of Shoprite Checkers since 2017, which marked the end of the Whitey Basson era.

By almost any measure the Shoprite Checkers group holds a commanding position in the South African economy, meeting the consumer at every point across its more than 10 distinct brands. More than 50% of South Africans shop at their stores, 8 out of 10 home deliveries in the country are provided by the now-iconic Sixty60, they are largest private employer in the country, and they have become the foundation of the country’s food security and a model of social responsibility.

But in 2017 the future was far less rosy. Pieter Engelbrecht, the newly anointed CEO, was immediately hit with trouble on multiple fronts: collapsing African economies, internal IT chaos, failing national infrastructure, strikes and labour friction, the pandemic and riots.

Checkmate is the extraordinary untold story about how the company confronted crisis after crisis, leaning aggressively into sometimes risky cutting-edge technology, and built what is now a near impenetrable digital and physical retail fortress. With his own investigation as well as in-depth interviews with the senior management team, Sidley dives into the backstories of Xtra Savings, Sixty60, FreshX, the viral marketing campaigns and more.