Initiative comes as new study finds consumers are increasingly embracing ecommerce and digital payments over cash and cheque. Study finds consumers are considerably more cautious with 69% avoiding rush hour. Shopping habits transformed during COVID-19 with 69% of consumers only visiting shops for essentials, though 30% of consumers say that they still use cash on
Service workers can receive cashless tips directly to their card account, thanks to a new feature of the Way4 Tip Payments solution by OpenWay. Acquirers on OpenWay’s Way4 platform can introduce Way4 Tips Payments to restaurants, delivery services, taxis, hotels, and beauty salons – any service sector merchants whose customers often leave tips. According to
Apollo Brands Pty LTD (the official distributor of Under Armour in South Africa) launched their Ecommerce platform in South Africa on Monday the 8th June 2020. Amidst an ever-evolving retail landscape, the business pulled out all the stops to take the development head-on despite a global pandemic and stringent national shutdown laws. Timing could not
The appointed Business Rescue Practitioners (BRP’s), Messrs. Piers Marsden and Lance Schapiro, published the Edcon Business Rescue Plan (“the Plan”) on the 8th of June 2020, after meetings and consultation with the Creditors, Landlord and Employees Committees, and communication with SACCAWU. The Plan has been prepared on an “accelerated sales process” basis, as interest to
The world’s largest food retail voluntary chain, SPAR International, has reported sales of €37.1 billion for the year ending 31 December 2019, representing a 4.35% increase in revenue on a constant currency basis. At the end of the year there were 13,320 SPAR branded stores operating across 48 markets worldwide in four continents, an increase
By Jaco van Jaarsveldt, Client Decision Analytics Officer at Experian South Africa South Africa moved to level three lockdown allowing more businesses to operate, essentially opening up the economy. However, the COVID-19 crisis and lockdown in South Africa has had a significant impact on most industries directly or indirectly. Further compounding this issue is the
With the gradual increase of COVID – 19 infections across the country, Nestlé Kenya has stepped in to support the Kenya Red Cross Society and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ efforts to respond to the pandemic. Nestlé Kenya is donating KSh17.99million in cash to bolster sensitization, food relief, water, sanitation and hygiene initiatives by the
Arcserve Southern Africa has revealed the results of research conducted by Arcserve, LLC, the world’s most experienced data and ransomware protection provider. The research aimed to measure how cybercrime influences purchasing behaviour and brand loyalty. It found that while most consumers are taking necessary security precautions to protect their online accounts, businesses may not be
The V&A Waterfront is partnering with one of South Africa’s leading Click and Collect service providers, to offer an alternative for shoppers who want to avoid possible exposure to COVID-19 by queuing in shops, but who still want to collect their own goods. The new Click and Collect Drive Through service will allow customers to
Consumers can now pay for services from thousands of small businesses, schools, and non-profit organisations by scanning a QR code with their mobile phone Leading payment solutions provider Netcash has collaborated with Mastercard to launch Quick Response (QR) code payments across its multi-channel billing platform, as part of its efforts to help Small and
By Gareth Hawkey, Group CEO of redPanda Software South Africa’s small but aspirational e-commerce sector has been ushered into sharp focus as a result of the entirely unexpected shock of Covid-19 and the resulting national lockdown. As consumers have turned to online offerings to avoid the need to travel and come into contact with others,
Fair Cape Dairies has launched a limited edition of yellow-lidded EcoFresh milk bottles to commemorate the 254 155 kWh of renewable energy produced and used since October 2018. Since the Fair Cape Solar Switchover took place on 24 October 2018, all milking during daylight hours has been powered purely by solar energy, saving carbon emissions
Easing of lockdown restrictions reflected in trends across retail categories; DIY and sportswear recover while growth in home office and electronics supplies levels off Global eCommerce sales continued to show strong growth in May, with certain sectors experiencing triple-digit year-on-year growth, according to an analysis by ACI Worldwide of hundreds of millions of eCommerce transactions from global
The food manufacturing sector continues to fight valiantly in the face of mounting economic pressure compounded by the ongoing uncertainty and immense cost implications that increased COVID-19 infection rates might have on productivity. Now is the time for these businesses to radically rethink one of their biggest operational costs – energy consumption. This is according
Braintree, the consulting and integration division of Vox, has been named as LS Retail Diamond and LS One Gold Partner for 2020, highlighting the company’s momentum within the partner network as a result of its performance in sales, service and support for customers using the LS Retail solutions. LS Retail is a world-leading provider of
Retail employees, who prior to the health pandemic were assets to the business, have become invaluable as they continued to serve customers throughout lockdown while most people stayed home. To thank them for their service and heroism, FreshStop, the largest and fastest-growing convenience store retail brand in South Africa, launched a #ThankYoufromFreshStop digital campaign to
Revenue up to R7.8bn (2019: R7.7bn) Headline earnings per share up to 417 cents (2019: 316 cents)* Cash generated from operations (adjusted for IFRS 16 impact) up to R1.1bn (2019: R1.0bn) Operating profit up to R912m (2019: R847m)* * Includes impact of adoption of IFRS 16 Famous Brands is Africa’s leading food services franchisor. The
SALIENT FEATURES Headline earnings per share for continuing and discontinued operations of 0.3c (2019: 115.7c) R2bn gross proceeds from asset disposals R677m cash generated up 277% Strong cash transfers of R1.6bn from Angola and Nigeria CONTINUING OPERATIONS: Revenue down 17% to R6.5 billion Trading profit down 39% to R633 million R3bn impairments in Nigeria and
Vivo Energy Uganda, the distributor and marketer of Shell branded fuels and lubricants in Uganda has embarked on a deep cleaning and sanitizing exercise at its Shell service stations countrywide in preparation for the resumption of vehicular traffic on the roads and consequently, the increased demand for fuel and complementary non fuel related services. The
Delivering tastier, healthier and value to nutritional dairy products that benefit consumers whilst supporting the dairy industry; is one of the important pillars of Nestlé across the East and Southern Africa Region (ESAR). This was a view shared by the company as it marked today’s celebration of World Milk Day. Twenty years ago, the Food and Agriculture Organisation
British American Tobacco South Africa (BATSA) is (May 29, 2020) commencing urgent legal proceedings to challenge the government’s decision to extend the ban on tobacco sales during Level 3 of the COVID-19 Risk Adjusted Strategy. BATSA is supported in this action by Japan Tobacco International (JTI) as well as groups and organisations representing the tobacco
Over 11 million South Africans do not have a bank account and, in lockdown, receiving wages is logistically challenging. Many businesses have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and employees have been laid off. People are running out of cash and hunger is now a more immediate threat than the virus. The payment needs
DHL (www.DHL.com) acquires a stake in their strategic partner company, Link Commerce, in support of growing e-commerce in Sub-Saharan Africa and other global emerging e-commerce markets; Africa’s online retail market predicted to reach an 11-digit dollar value in 2020. DHL Express has announced its minority stake acquisition in Link Commerce, the UK-based e-commerce firm that
The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) has on behalf of its members involved in the E-Commerce business welcomed the decision by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr. Ebrahim Patel to allow the resumption of the sale of the full range of products through E-Commerce platforms. CGCSA has been lobbying the Government,
RFG’s fruit canning factory in Tulbagh has reopened after being closed for four days for deep cleaning and decontamination following nine employees testing positive for Covid-19 over the past three weeks. On Friday 8 May the Department of Employment and Labour (DOL) ordered the company to close the factory and contract a third-party service provider
The Commission has referred to the Competition Tribunal an agreement with Shoprite Checkers to be confirmed as an order in which the retailer agreed to no longer enforce the exclusivity clauses contained in various lease agreements against SMEs and specialist line stores with immediate effect. Furthermore, Shoprite Checkers has undertaken to immediately cease exclusivity against
In terms of paragraph 3.4(b) of the JSE Limited (“JSE”) Listings Requirements, the Board of Directors (Board) is satisfied that a reasonable degree of certainty exists that the Group’s financial results for the year ended 29 February 2020 (“review period”) will differ by at least 20% from those reported for the year ended 28 February
A new partnership between Game Stores and Uber Eats will allow customers to order Game products online, and have them delivered to their doorstep. The partnership enables the retailer to provide food and other much-needed essential products to its customers more effectively during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the country currently on a Level-4 lockdown. The
RFG increased group turnover by 9.6% to R2.9 billion in the six months to end March 2020 as the regional business across South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa grew sales by 11.5%. The Western-Cape based food producer said sales for the month of March were 22% higher as households stocked up on essential foods following the
In what is expected to be South Africa’s biggest year for the adoption of ecommerce, The Ecommerce Forum South Africa (EFSA) Board has announced a new Chairperson, Karen Nadasen, Country Manager of PayU, the world’s leader in emerging market payments. Since Minister Patel’s lift on the ban of unfettered ecommerce last week, online shopping has
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with Jumia Uganda, the leading e-commerce company, have launched an online platform – to enable small and medium enterprises to connect with consumers to sustain livelihoods in view of restrictions on movement, stay at home measures and social distancing guidelines which were instituted as part of the
The acquisition of valuable, next generation clients has become a hot bed of innovation according to e4 CEO, Grant Phillips. In the wake of celebrating the company’s 20th anniversary, Phillips says one of the biggest evolutions over the past decade is the nature of the client relationship. He admits that technology lies at the heart
Online payment gateway PayFast has seen a 226% year-on-year increase in new business account registrations in the food industry since COVID-19 led restrictions were put in place in mid-March. In order to continue trading during the lockdown, many businesses have pivoted their product offering to provide essential goods, resulting in a significant spike in this
Dis-Chem Pharmacies has announced that it has entered into an agreement where it will acquire 100% of the issued share capital in and shareholder claims of specialist destination baby retailer Baby City. Dis-Chem will pay a purchase consideration of R430 million upon closure. Baby City was founded in 1992 in Durban and operates a network
The service will give foreign national workers living in South Africa the ability to provide for their families back home with basic staples. Mukuru, one of Africa’s leading remittance providers, has launched Mukuru Groceries – a service that will give South African based customers the ability to send groceries to their families and communities back
The COVID-19 crisis continued to drive global eCommerce sales in April, with the general retail sector experiencing 209 percent growth compared to the same period last year, according to an analysis by ACI Worldwide of hundreds of millions of eCommerce transactions from global online retailers. Following general retail, the gaming segment saw the biggest bump, up 126
In a Mastercard global consumer study, 75 percent of South African consumers say they use contactless payments 88 percent of South African respondents view contactless as a cleaner way to pay, with 71 percent preferring to shop at merchants where contactless is accepted In South Africa, the number of contactless transactions grew 13X in March
The Coca-Cola Company has announced a five-year agreement with Microsoft Corp. to standardize its business operations on Microsoft’s cloud and deliver rich new digital experiences that will provide innovative solutions to modernize how the company engages with employees and customers. With this agreement, the companies will utilize the capabilities of Microsoft Azure, Dynamics 365 and
Jumia, the leading e-commerce platform in Africa has announced the launch of its portal in South Africa to help consumers access essential products at the lowest price (www.jumia.co.za). The launch of the Jumia portal will provide a steady supply of hygiene & sanitary products such as diapers, soap bars, disinfectants, and liquid hand wash at
Jumia, Africa’s leading e-commerce platform and Mastercard today announced a partnership to incentivize the use of cashless payments platforms as people look for safer ways to pay in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this initiative, consumers who purchase essential products using their Mastercard on the Jumia platform will receive up to a 10
Following a partnership announced between Visa and MYDAWA, it is now simpler and safer to purchase medication through the online pharmacy. The partnership is part of a drive to encourage consumers to embrace cashless payments and avoid leaving their homes where possible in support of calls by the government for citizens to observe social distancing
Platform uses AI, drones and software to help farmers manage crop health and predict crop yields Aerobotics helps sustain South Africa’s food security Naspers announced a R100 million investment in agritech business Aerobotics, through its early-stage business funding initiative Naspers Foundry. Aerobotics is a subscription-based artificial intelligence (AI) company that provides intelligent tools for the
Shareholders are referred to the announcements published on SENS on 23 March 2020 and 3 April 2020. In compliance with Government-legislated lockdowns implemented across our trading jurisdictions, namely South Africa (SA), the rest of Africa and the Middle East (AME), and the United Kingdom (UK), the majority of the Group’s restaurants have been closed, with
It’s clear that the Coronavirus has changed the landscape for FMCGs – in some ways permanently. However, despite its similarities, the impact has not been the same across its subsectors and through the supply chain. Itumeleng Merafe, Head of Interest Rate Structuring, Investec Corporate & Institutional Banking says; “The lockdown has hit the economy hard
In a crisis, the urgency of need must trump market barriers. Now more than ever business must come together and act to save the vulnerable among us, writes Mary-Jane Morifi, Tiger Brands’ Chief Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Officer. Covid-19 has split our already divided economy down two lines: either you’re essential or you’re not. So
Pick n Pay has published its annual results for the year ended 1 March 2020. The Group delivered turnover growth of 4.7% in a tough trading environment. The Group’s South African operations delivered turnover growth of 5.1% against a strong prior year base, reflecting operational challenges in the second half of the year including the
SPAR South Africa is turning the egg challenge – a global social media craze – on its head. While the original challenge requires participants to drink an egg with a scoop of sugar and then chase it down with alcohol or another beverage, the SPAR version encourages shoppers to donate daily essentials to those in
Leading food producer scales up COVID-19 support, delivers six hygiene stations to Chisamba, Chibombo and Lusaka Councils Zambeef Products has donated hygiene stations, bulk hand sanitiser, thermometers and masks to Chisamba, Chibombo and Lusaka councils, reaffirming its commitment the fight against COVID-19 and ensuring its operations align with government’s mitigation measures. The Chibombo and Chisamba
Clover confirms that five employees have tested positive for COVID-19 at its Bloemfontein factory. This includes four cases in the past week and an initial positive case three weeks ago which was unrelated. Clover’s teams have continuously been interacting with the Department of Health (“DOH”) and initiated a process in line with its internal procedures
While its customers have been filling their trollies, the Pick ‘n Pay IT finance team has been filling out spreadsheets. Today, they’re using a Microsoft Azure-based solution called OneView to automate the process. As South Africa’s largest supermarket group, Pick ‘n Pay needs to manage a multitude of supplier relationships to keep both its technology
