27 June 2003
	SA's Top 20 Companies 3 PICK 'N PAY Total score: 59,4 Historic score: 33 FM's score: 77

Pick 'n Pay invited all other food retailers to take it on when it threw down the challenge of lower prices both here and in Australia, where it has bought the 70-store Franklins chain in an ambitious re-entry into the market. It has the financial muscle to do it better than most, with more than R1bn in cash on the balance sheet. A long history of strong performance in an otherwise stormy sector has made Pick 'n Pay the bluest chip in retail. It has made few mistakes - and that makes all the difference in a business of paper-thin margins. CEO Sean Summers has this to say to his competitors: "We want to make the SA food retail space a horrible place to be."