Shoprite is considering a chain of standalone toy shops under its Checkers brand, a step that would take the grocery group into a category led by specialists such as Toys R Us and Toy Kingdom, in a market Euromonitor values at about R10bn.
Daily Investor first reported, citing a company source, that the group aims to open the first stores by the end of the year and would build the range around major brands, with Lego the likely starting point. Shoprite confirmed that a standalone toy brand was one of several opportunities being evaluated but said no decision had been made.
The Euromonitor estimate puts the toy market at around R10bn in 2025, rising to as much as R20bn when video games and digital media are included. Research firm IMARC values the narrower toys segment at $584.8m (R9.6bn) in 2026 and forecasts annual growth of about 5.9% to 2034.
South Africa’s toy market at a glance
| Indicator | Figure | Source |
| Toy market value, 2025 | About R10bn | Euromonitor |
| Including video games and digital media | Up to R20bn | Euromonitor |
| Toys segment, 2026 | $584.8m (R9.6bn) | IMARC |
| Forecast annual growth, 2026–2034 | 5.9% | IMARC |
| Toy lines in Checkers Hyper stores | Up to 2,000 | Shoprite |
| SA share of Africa’s toys and games market, 2025 | 41.9% | Toys R Us SA, citing analysts |
The plan would extend Shoprite’s strategy of building separate store formats around categories first tested inside its supermarkets. Uniq Clothing, launched in 2023, opened its 50th store in Cape Town recently, and the group also runs Checkers Outdoor. Shoprite attributed Uniq’s expansion to consumer demand for affordable clothing.
Toys are already a material line for the group. In December 2025, Andy Ridge, Shoprite’s general manager for digital commerce, said shoppers were increasingly using the Checkers Sixty60 delivery app for festive toy purchases, and that stores had substantially raised toy stock from the previous year. Hyper stores carry up to 2,000 toy lines, including Lego shop-in-shop sections developed with the manufacturer.
A standalone chain would face established competitors. Toys R Us and Babies R Us South Africa, privately owned by Michmir Investments and operated under licence from the global brand, bought 13 ToyZone stores in 2025 after the Competition Commission approved the deal with conditions protecting jobs. Hamleys and Toy Kingdom also run physical stores, alongside a range of online sellers. Toys R Us SA has said the market exceeded R9bn in 2024.
Demand for toys is seasonal and discretionary, with Shoprite previously identifying the festive period as its peak. Household budgets are under strain: fuel prices reached record highs after the 7 October adjustment, and the economy contracted by 0.2% in the second quarter.
BusinessTech noted that a toy format would give Shoprite a non-food revenue stream offering some protection against food inflation, while the Sixty60 platform would provide a delivery channel that specialist chains do not match at the same scale.