 In 1995 the first store in Lusaka, Zambia was opened.That same year they acquired a centralised distribution company Sentra, which had been acting as a central buyer for 550 owner-managed supermarkets, thereby allowing Shoprite to expand into franchising.On 24 December 1996 a bomb exploded in a Worcester Shoprite and killed 3 people and injured over 50.It was a racially motivated act that shocked the company.In 1997 struggling "OK Bazaars" was acquired by the company from South African Breweries for one rand, adding 139 OK Bazaars stores and 18 Hyperamas to the company.