Is rise in grocery shopping reason to hunt for supermarket investments?

THE last two weeks saw just as many acquisitions of Malaysian grocery businesses by Singapore-listed companies, sparking the question: could supermarkets and grocers be the new M&A (mergers and acquisitions) flavour of the season?

The Covid-19 pandemic has indeed changed the face of supermarket shopping and given an unexpected boost - particularly to the e-commerce elements of the business - to an industry that was earlier predicted to be heading for difficulties. But enthusiasts keen to jump on the latest bandwagon need to take note: not all targets in this sector are created equal.

On Wednesday, Catalist-listed Malaysian marketing company shopper360 announced a RM2.4 million (S$774,774) investment in Malaysia's PB Grocery Group - its sights set on the latter's e-commerce digital platform Potboy, which links fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies with eateries and provision shops in Klang Valley and Seremban.