Pick n Pay chairman Gareth Ackerman has said the grocery retailer is ready to face competition from Walmart once it enters South Africa. “We have modified our business to deal with the challenges,” he said.

After exiting Australia, Ackerman confirmed that Pick n Pay will now focus expansion exclusively on markets in Sub-Saharan Africa. The company expects to open three to four more stores in Zambia and to enter Mozambique and Mauritius before the end of the year.

Ackerman said that commodity price inflation continues to be a “big challenge” in the region.