Massmart sales decreased during the first half of this year, CEO Guy Hayward told shareholders this week. The Walmart-owned retailer saw like-for-like sales decrease by 0.4% in South Africa. In markets outside South Africa, like-for-like sales fell by 16%. Mr. Hayward explained that the poor performance was both due to the South African economic recession and to the fall in commodity prices in the remaining Sub-Saharan Africa countries where the retailer operates. Currently, Massmart has 335 outlets across 13 countries in Africa and retails under five brands, namely Game, Saverite, Jumbo, Makro and Cambridge Foods.