It’s just a sharp right turn from Sharprite to Shoprite

Social media is abuzz after some people found it weird that just opposite the popular retailer Shoprite on Robert Sobukwe street in Sunnyside, Pretoria, there is a store named Sharprite.

While some see it as “pushing your luck” due to the familiarity, some think the competition between Shoprite and Sharprite is welcomed.

TimesLIVE visited both supermarkets on Wednesday. 

As one stands outside the door of Sharprite and looks on the “sharp right” turn, opposite the street you find Shoprite.

Inside Sharprite, the store boasts about eight aisles stocked with everything from sugar, bedding essentials to water taps. But what sets the store apart from Shoprite is that many of their products are offered in bulk.

Sharprite also has no fridges in store so there are no refrigerated items in stock.

During TimesLIVE’s visit to the store, a man who wanted to buy a cold drink turned back empty-handed after inquiring about the fridge aisle for the drinks and he was told there are no fridges there.

Besides sounding similar, there are other similarities between the two shops. Both have their names written in bold red, Shoprite has a white outline to its text. Sharprite also has a big yellow smiling emoji in front, displaying a ‘sharp’ or thumbs-up gesture.

A bottle of 2l cooking oil at Sharprite starts from as little as R43.99 [vs R59.99 Ritebrand Sunflower Seed Oil 2L at Shoprite], while a carton of six milk 1lt boxes starts from as little as R89.99 [Ritebrand R98.99]. A 10kg bag of flour costs R127.99 at Sharprite, while similar flour of the same size costs a few cents more at Shoprite at R129.99.

While in the area, TimesLIVE noticed that a lot of the foot traffic is at the Shoprite as people buy daily essentials, including cold drinks and water. A few people also entered Sharprite to buy tools and other essentials.

While Shoprite, which is one of Africa’s leading brands is owned by South African, Christo Wiese, TimesLIVE understands that Sharprite is Chinese-owned. 

The store has extended its reach from Pretoria and is also found in Middelburg, Mpumalanga. 

TimesLIVE