Shoprite’s former chairman Wiese meets board seat opposition

Christo Wiese, the former chairman of Shoprite, and largest individual shareholder met opposition from other investors in his efforts to retain his board seat at Africa’s biggest grocer.

Almost half of ordinary shareholders voted against Wiese’s re-election at the Cape Town-based company’s annual general meeting on Monday. The motion was brought because of a legally required rotation period.

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Wiese, 80, ended his three-decade reign as the chairman a year ago after a majority of ordinary shareholders voted against his re-election.

Shareholders also objected to Shoprite’s pay policies on Monday, with 41% of ordinary shareholders voting against the remuneration plans. That’s the second consecutive year they’ve protested in this way and comes even after Shoprite proactively invited shareholders to talk to the board prior to the meeting. Chairman Wendy Lucas-Bull said the company will offer further engagement on this issue.

The shares extended gains, adding 1.4% to R200.51 as of 9:15 a.m. in Johannesburg. That’s the highest intraday level price since December 2018. The stock rallied 6.9% on Monday after Shoprite said sales in its core South African supermarkets rose almost 12% in the first quarter through September.

© 2021 Bloomberg