Pick N Pay’s Army of Franchisees Sees the Future of Retail

A little-known fact about Pick n Pay relates to the size of its franchise network, and over the next few years the group will further strengthen the division. Nearly half of Pick n Pay stores in South Africa (excluding Boxer) are owned and run by franchisees. This large footprint emphasises the important role these stores

The Power of Regular ERP System Updates for Manufacturers – SYSPRO Africa

By Marius Wessels, Manager: Professional Services for SYSPRO Africa In the fast-paced world of manufacturing, staying ahead of the competition requires constant adaptation and optimisation. Tempting as it is to stick to the ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ credo, one crucial aspect of maintaining a competitive edge lies in regularly updating Enterprise Resource

Pick N Pay Works to Further Reduce Emissions With Help of WWF South Africa

Pick n Pay has extended its partnership with WWF South Africa as it works to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across its Group by 2050. The collaboration with WWF was initiated in 2006 to restore over-exploited fish stocks and evolved into a long-term, transformative partnership. While initially focused on fisheries improvement projects, Pick n Pay and

Humans of RCL FOODS – Sbu Khumalo

Meet Sbu Khumalo, a Senior Graphic Designer for the Do More Foundation. Since joining RCL FOODS in 2022, Sbu has made an impact in both the office and beyond, having recently illustrated a children’s book for underprivileged Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres. In 2022, non-profit organisation, Book Dash, came to Durban, seeking local artists to

Starlink and Jumia Collaborate to Expand Internet Service in Africa

Jumia, the leading e-commerce platform in Africa, has announced an agreement with Starlink, a satellite internet service, to retail the Starlink Residential Kit in Africa. With this partnership, Jumia aims to bridge the digital divide by delivering Starlink’s high-speed, low-latency internet to previously underserved regions of Africa. The agreement will initially cover Nigeria, with plans

Shoprite Group Recognised for Transformative Youth Employment Initiatives at Esg Awards

South Africa’s largest private sector employer, the Shoprite Group, has been honoured for its outstanding contribution to the ‘Social’ component of ESG at the Youth Employment Service (YES)’s inaugural Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) Awards this week. The YES programme is a business-driven initiative in partnership with government and labour to build economic pathways for

Makro Launches New Online Offering to Serve Businesses Across South Africa

In its latest move to become the leading eCommerce player in South Africa, Massmart has launched a bespoke business (B2B) website to meet the needs of business customers, who are facing similar economic challenges to end consumers. This ‘Makro Business’ branded website will offer businesses of all sizes, an online platform tailored to meet their

Ecommerce: Awakening the B2B Experience – Schneider Electric

Most of us have engaged in eCommerce one way or another and are likely to frequent our tried and tested online providers for years to come. We can navigate B2C eCommerce comfortably and enjoy the ease of finding great products, seamless services, and fast delivery. In fact, the eCommerce user experience (UX) continues to get

Pick N Pay ASAP! Launches New Fresh Way of Shopping, With Unlimited Free Delivery!

Pick n Pay asap! has relaunched its fast-growing on-demand delivery app, and to celebrate, it is offering unlimited free delivery for its customers in October. More and more customers are enjoying shopping with Pick n Pay asap!, which has delivered exponential growth into 2023. The upgrades will give customers a smoother, faster and ‘fresher’ way

Sean Summers to Return as Pick N Pay CEO

Pick n Pay announced today that Pieter Boone is stepping down as Group CEO and will be replaced by Sean Summers. Sean returns to the Group following a previous, highly successful, tenure as CEO between 1999 and 2006. Pieter will assist Sean through a short handover period. Chairman Gareth Ackerman commented: “I want to thank

Pick N Pay Pilots First Zero-Waste Supermarket Store

Pick n Pay has launched its first zero-waste supermarket pilot in Cape Town, reinforcing its commitment to reducing food waste. The pilot tests a net-zero waste model by diverting food waste to local farmers, composters or waste-to-energy facilities. All edible surplus food – food that has passed its sell-by date but not its use-by date

How Can Embedded Payments Drive Better Online Retail Customer Experiences? – Paystack

By Joel Bronkowski, Country Lead, South Africa at Paystack With South Africa’s online retail space now worth more than R50 billion and growing continuously, the sector is only going to become more competitive. That’s true for online retailers of all sizes too. At the top of the market, online-only players that have long been dominant

Q3 Absa Manufacturing Survey Shows Encouraging Results

Confidence levels in the manufacturing sector improved by 6 points to 23 on the back of better business conditions, but the sector remains under pressure, the Q3 Absa Manufacturing Survey shows. Overall, respondents to the survey noted an increased level of sales (domestic and export sales up 27 and 31 points respectively) and production (up

RFG Revenue Up 10% Despite Slower Consumer Spending

RFG overcame challenging trading conditions to increase revenue by 10.0% in the 11 months to August 2023. Growth was driven by price inflation of 13.5% as the group continued to recover the higher input costs encountered over the past two years. CEO Pieter Hanekom said slower consumer spending and increased competitor promotional activity created volume

Leading For the Greater Good in Education – Spur

Investing in early childhood development is known to be one of the most effective means of eradicating poverty, which is why the Spur Foundation focuses on projects that put the young child first. The Spur Foundation supports early childhood development with a focus on training of principals and teachers at under-resourced day care centres. We’ve

OneCart Enables Comparative Shopping for Cash-Strapped Consumers

In the face of rising food, fuel and electricity prices, recent Walmart acquisition OneCart has unveiled a revolutionary new shopping app that allows customers to instantly compare pricing between multiple retail stores. They can then place an order from as many stores as they’d like, and have their curated basket delivered in a single transaction,

Checkers Xtra Savings Plus on a Mission to Make Additional Savings Possible for Customers

In an African retail first, Checkers has launched Xtra Savings Plus, a monthly subscription offering unlimited free Sixty60 grocery deliveries, even more personalised offers and an additional in-store discount. After a successful beta trial with customers, the subscription offer is now being made available to all its consumers, at the same price of only R99

How the Shoprite Group is Redefining Shopping in South Africa

The ‘Retail Store of the Future’ is no longer a distant concept. With the integration of cutting-edge technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID), digital advancements and data science, it’s already a reality. To be at the forefront of this evolution, the synergy between business and technology is critical. Technology and business should not

Unified Payments Taps Compass Plus Technologies for its New Payment Gateway Platform to Future-proof its E-commerce Acquiring Business

Unified Payments (UP), Nigeria’s premier financial technology service provider, has successfully launched its e-commerce gateway services built on the new state of the art payment gateway platform from Compass Plus Technologies. The strategic move further strengthens the 18-year partnership between the two technology titans and has enabled UP to become the first institution in the

Rentoza Secures Funding from Vumela Enterprise Development Fund and Edge Growth

Started by 4 friends with the goal of enabling more South Africans to access premium products and technology, Rentoza has become the country’s first pure play subscription model for digital goods and appliances. Their bold mission to democratize and dematerialize ownership of technology devices and appliances has enabled them to secure R 18m in finance

Infobip and Spryker Partner to Help Businesses Deliver More Personal Shopping Experiences

Global cloud communications platform Infobip has partnered with Spryker, a leading composable commerce platform for sophisticated use cases in B2B Commerce, Enterprise Marketplaces, and Thing Commerce. The collaboration aims to help businesses deliver more personalized shopping experiences, optimize customer engagement, and drive revenue growth. In today’s fast-paced digital world, consumers crave conversational experiences with their

Energise Africa’s Food and Beverage’s Future: Sustainable Solutions for Growth and Resilience – Schneider Electric

By Clive Roberts, Segment Lead: CPG – Anglophone Africa at Schneider Electric Africa is home to one of the world’s fastest growing populations, reaching a projected 2.5 billion people 2050. It is also this demographic advantage translates into a vast consumer base that is youthful, aspirational, and urban-centric. As a result, the demand for diverse

Mastercard SME Confidence Index: 76% of SMEs in Africa Project Similar or Increased Revenue in 2023

From surviving to thriving in the post-COVID world, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Africa are optimistic about 2023 revenue projections. These are the findings of the second edition of the Mastercard Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EEMEA) SME Confidence Index. The 2021 inaugural SME Confidence Index delved into the impact of the pandemic