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Retailer Checkers on Friday placed an advert in Australian publication The Sydney Herald, as well as the UK's London Evening Standard, highlighting what it called its "value offering" – despite having no stores in Sydney or London.
In a statement, Mike Middleton, chief marketing officer for Checkers, said the retailer wanted to "remind the many South Africans living abroad that our country is a great place to live".
In mid-2022, just shy of a million South Africans were living abroad, according to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs’ 2020 International Migrant Stock report. The largest number of SA emigrants lived in the UK, with Australia coming second.
Checkers says it wants to remind emigrants of savings back home.
"When it comes to good food and wine, the grass is certainly not greener on the other side of the ocean," Checkers said in its statement.
"The advert shows exactly how much cheaper it is to buy products like Moët & Chandon, Coca-Cola, matured rump steak and laundry capsules at Checkers versus stores such as Coles, Aldi, and Woolworths in Australia.
"For example, at Checkers a bottle of Moët & Chandon costs R408 less than at Woolworths in Australia and R288 less than at M&S in England."
According to Checkers, the rationale behind the advert is to communicate that it does not "just sell groceries".
"We are selling a better lifestyle," Middleton said.
