Wal-Mart's South African Business Massmart Posts Weaker Like-For-Like Sales

Massmart, Wal-Mart's majority-owned retail business in South Africa, reported same-store sales dropped almost 2 percent in the first five months of 2017. Wal-Mart acquired a controlling stake in the company via a $2.4 billion deal seven years ago. Since then, the retailer has had to deal with economic slowdown in the region. Sales were also affected by consumer reluctance to spend and by a downgrading of credit ratings of South Africa, which accounts for 91 percent of Massmart's total sales in the region.