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# A Malaysian retail giant worth over R56 billion is rapidly expanding across South Africa
- URL: https://www.businessbagel.com/mr-diy-nine-south-african-stores-local-suppliers/
- Published: 2026-08-24T03:30:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-24T03:29:59.000Z
- Description: The Malaysian chain says it wants that at 20%, and has set out how it decides which South African suppliers get onto the shelf.
- Author: Christian Maidman
- Tags: Companies, Business Bagel News, #big

A ninth Mr DIY store opened in South Africa last week, at Highveld Mall in eMalahleni, five days after the eighth opened at Saxony Westwood in KwaZulu-Natal. The stores run past 1 000 square metres each and carry between 17 000 and 18 000 products, from hardware and household essentials to stationery, toys, decor and small electronics, sold under the line *Always Low Prices*. South Africa is the fourteenth country in a network that began as a single hardware shop in Malaysia in 2005 and now runs close to 5 000 stores across Asia and Europe, and it is the company's first market in Africa.

## How a supplier gets onto the shelf

The company sources 12% of its South African range from 46 local suppliers across 11 departments, and says it wants that at 20%. Procurement specialist Khumo Mabe says there is no limitation from a local sourcing perspective, and that the aim is to keep finding suppliers who can add to an already extensive catalogue. Candidates are assessed on product quality, their ability to meet demand at scale and their experience supplying retail chains, along with their sourcing and sustainability practices and their willingness to establish a long-term commercial relationship. Mabe says the company places a lot of value on suppliers who see the arrangement as a genuine partnership where both sides grow. The network was built by starting with brands South African shoppers already recognised, focusing on products that offer value without giving up appearance, quality or performance.

Demand feeds back the other way as well. A team picks up on products that customers ask about or expect to find in the stores, and that feedback is combined with sales data to respond to purchasing patterns and seasonal demand.

## Why most of the range still comes in by ship

The rest of what fills those shelves is imported, much of it carrying the Mr DIY name and made specifically for the company. Imports manager Lara-lee De Jager says local and imported sourcing are not in competition with each other: local sourcing supports South African businesses and communities, while the main drive behind the imports is to bring Mr DIY-branded products to South African consumers. She describes the import operation as running from supplier level straight through to market level, with trade compliance a very important part of it, from international regulations to the requirements of South African governing bodies