Over 400 KZN spaza shops remain closed after March and March protests, says Premier Group - IOL
Premier Group estimates that more than 400 spaza shops in KwaZulu-Natal remain closed following the March and March anti-immigration protests, raising concerns about the impact on informal traders and bread sales.
Premier Group has estimated that more than 400 spaza shops in KwaZulu-Natal remain closed following disruptions linked to the March and March anti-illegal-immigration protests.
Premier Group is one of South Africa's leading food manufacturers and distributors, with popular brands such as Blue Ribbon bread, Snowflake flour and Iwisa maize meal.
The March and March movement, led by former radio personality Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, organised anti-immigration protests on 30 June 2026. The movement called on undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country.
The demonstrations were followed by reports of looting, intimidation and attacks on foreign-owned shops in parts of KwaZulu-Natal.
The unrest affected businesses and traders, with some shops closing amid concerns over the safety of their owners and workers.
The company supplies supermarkets, wholesalers and informal traders, with spaza shops accounting for a significant part of its bread distribution.
Premier Group chief executive Kobus Gertenbach said the company was still assessing the impact of the closures and whether traders who had left the country would return to reopen their businesses.
Speaking during the company's interim results presentation, Gertenbach said the situation in KwaZulu-Natal remained the most affected by the unrest.
"Still seeing ongoing disruption from the March and March anti-immigration protests. Our estimate is that in excess of 400 spaza shops in the KZN market in particular have remained closed," he said.
"I think that now, in the wake of the local government elections having concluded last week, we are monitoring the situation quite closely to see how those shops respond, whether the people have permanently left the country or whether they will slowly but surely start to reopen some of those trading locations."
