Clicks Group, the JSE-listed health, beauty and lifestyle giant, has officially reached the 1,000-store milestone with the opening of a flagship outlet in Omni Square, Bassonia, southern Johannesburg – a symbolic leap for a retailer that began life as a single Cape Town store in August 1968.
The achievement means more than half of South Africa’s population now lives within five kilometres of a Clicks pharmacy, cementing its position as the country’s most accessible healthcare and everyday essentials destination across South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Eswatini and Lesotho.
Speaking at the launch, Bongiwe Ntuli, managing executive of Clicks Retailers South Africa, described the milestone as proof of the group’s enduring “feel good, pay less” promise that has remained unchanged for 57 years. The Bassonia store, deliberately chosen for its fast-growing mix of families and young professionals, is larger than the chain’s standard footprint and showcases the next-generation design the group plans to roll out widely.
As reported by Business Day, Clicks intends to add another 200 stores over the medium term, pushing toward a 1,200-store network while continuing its aggressive pharmacy densification strategy that has already delivered more than 780 in-store dispensaries.
The new outlet features wider aisles, a significantly expanded Beauty Hall, a dedicated fragrance counter, digital promotion screens and an enhanced Health Elevation zone offering everything from chronic medication collection to preventative wellness services. Customers can fill acute prescriptions, consult pharmacists, shop cruelty-free cosmetics or pick up baby and convenience items in a single visit.
Sustainability has been woven into the design from day one: energy-efficient LED lighting and refrigeration, eco-friendly fittings, biodegradable paper pharmacy bags and deliveries by United Pharmaceutical Distributors’ growing fleet of electric vehicles all underscore Clicks’ net-zero ambitions. Many of the beauty and personal-care ranges stocked are now certified cruelty-free or sustainably sourced.
Each new store creates approximately 20 permanent in-store jobs plus five indirect support roles, adding another 25 positions to the group’s payroll with the Bassonia opening alone.
The milestone coincides neatly with the 30th anniversary of ClubCard, South Africa’s largest and most popular retail loyalty programme, which now boasts 12.8 million active members and drives more than 80 per cent of transactions across the chain.
Having evolved from a modest discount chemist into a R40 billion-plus market-cap powerhouse that consistently outperforms the broader retail sector, Clicks’ 1,000th store is more than a number – it is tangible evidence of a strategy that has blended convenience, value and clinical trust for over five decades. With the group still identifying hundreds of viable new sites and pharmacy healthcare demand rising steadily, the journey from 1,000 to 1,200 looks set to be completed far sooner than many analysts first predicted.