Pick n Pay has turned to former Woolworths Food boss Spencer Sonn as its next chief executive, setting up an unusually long leadership handover as the retailer works to restore its core supermarket business to profitability.
Sonn will join Pick n Pay as CEO-designate on 1 February 2027 and work alongside current CEO Sean Summers before taking over when Summers’ contract ends in May 2028.
The appointment gives Sonn more than a year to work inside the business before assuming the top job.
Who is Spencer Sonn?
Sonn brings more than 30 years of retail leadership experience in South Africa and New Zealand.
He spent 26 years at Woolworths South Africa, including five years as managing director of its Food division.
More recently, he served as Woolworths’ Chief Customer Officer.
Sonn left Woolworths following an organisational reset announced in June 2026 under new Group CEO Sam Ngumeni.
The restructuring changed the group’s operating model and eliminated Sonn’s Chief Customer Officer position.
His extensive grocery and fresh-food experience will now be brought into Pick n Pay as it continues trying to rebuild the competitiveness and profitability of its supermarket operation.
Why Pick n Pay’s supermarket business matters
Summers returned to Pick n Pay in 2023 with a mandate to turn around the struggling retailer.
Since then, the group has recapitalised its balance sheet, separately listed Boxer, reduced its supermarket estate and invested in stores, product availability and fresh food.
There are signs of improvement.
Company-owned Pick n Pay supermarkets recorded like-for-like sales growth of 3.9% in FY26, up from 3.3%, while gross margin also improved.
But the financial numbers show there is still considerable work ahead.
The Pick n Pay division’s trading loss widened by R404 million to R1 billion as investment in the turnaround continued.
At group level, the headline loss narrowed from R408 million to R386 million, helped by Boxer, which grew turnover by 12.3% and generated R2.6 billion in trading profit.
Boxer remains a major strength for Pick n Pay
The numbers highlight the different positions of Pick n Pay’s supermarket business and Boxer.
While Boxer continues to deliver strong growth and profit, the core Pick n Pay operation remains in the middle of its turnaround.
That means Sonn will eventually inherit a group showing improvement at an overall level, but with substantial work still required to return its core supermarket business to profitability.
His background in grocery and fresh food will therefore be particularly relevant to the task ahead.
Why is Sean Summers staying until 2028?
The appointment does not mean Summers is leaving Pick n Pay immediately.
Instead, Sonn will join as CEO-designate in February 2027 and work alongside Summers until the current chief executive’s contract ends in May 2028.
The lengthy transition gives Sonn time to learn the business while Summers continues overseeing the turnaround already under way.
It also provides Pick n Pay with continuity before responsibility for the group passes to its next chief executive.
For Sonn, the move marks another major chapter in a retail career dominated by Woolworths.
For Pick n Pay, the bigger test will be whether that experience helps turn improving supermarket sales into a sustainably profitable core business.
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