The Mozambik Group today launches its “Holidays by Mozambik” travel brand in South Africa and Zimbabwe. The restaurant group, which has seen growth circa 29% over the past 18 months, has embarked on a significant brand expansion charge in a strategic move toward customer lifestyle-centric value. Initially the brand will focus on value-driven escapes to
SAITEX, one of Africa’s largest and most well established trade exhibitions, will be back at Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg for its 27th run from 21 – 23 June 2020. The hugely successful multi-sector trade show offers importers and exporters a unique opportunity to find new trade opportunities across Africa and abroad. Staged as part
The world of entertainment is changing rapidly. Increased access to fibre to the home, as well as a growing number of content creators and video-on-demand services are forcing large entertainment companies to rethink their business strategies and innovate new and exciting ways to delight their customers. The MultiChoice Group and its companies have long provided
The Shoprite Group will be the first supermarket retailer to offer an OUTbonus, following a partnership between Africa’s largest food retailer and OUTsurance, to bring consumers more accessible and affordable insurance products. A very competitively-priced funeral policy is the first product to launch under this new partnership, with numerous additional offerings in the pipeline. The
The unexpected dip into technical recession in the last quarter of 2019 is anything but unexpected for South Africa’s beleaguered retail sector. Research conducted by customer experience specialists nlighten, shows that retailers have been hard hit by Eskom’s ongoing loadshedding that has disrupted their daily operations. “Retailers and the hospitality industry report a direct impact
In a first for Shoprite Botswana, local producers sold their produce directly to the public at selected Shoprite and Checkers supermarkets in the country. Dubbed Market Day and held on 29 February, this initiative saw eight (8) farmers, who already supply to the retail group, being hosted at Shoprite Gaborone, Shoprite Kgale Hill and Checkers
Africa’s top hotel and hospitality industry trade show, the Hotel & Hospitality Show, will launch an exciting new Game of Chefs challenge this year, where local chefs will compete for prize money and a place in the WorldChef Battlefield Champion of the Masters in Kuala Lumpur. In an action-packed three-day showdown, the Game of Chefs
Johan van Zyl, the owner of Fado Art, and his small team were planting succulents into ceramic pots in a rented garage in Bronkhorstspruit when he received a phone call that changed their fortunes. The caller was Willem Hunlun, Chief Operations Officer of Checkers, who at that time (2015) served as the Divisional Manager for Checkers
RCL FOODS has reported underlying EBITDA and headline earnings increase of 11.1% and 24.1% respectively versus the comparative period, showing resilience amidst a weak operating environment. The company attributed the underlying improvement to a significantly better performance in Sugar, albeit off a low base, and consistently strong performance in Groceries. As a result of increased
The Commission has approved with conditions the proposed transaction in which Kwande Capital (Pty) Ltd, through Isanti Glass 1 (Pty) Ltd (Isanti), intends to acquire the glass packaging business and plant Nampak Glass, a division of Nampak Products Limited (Nampak Products). Isanti is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed for the purpose of the proposed
The Competition Tribunal has found that global beer brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev) did not breach conditions relating to its merger with SABMiller PLC (SAB) through its exclusive branding rights with outlets. However, the Tribunal has ordered the Competition Commission to re-investigate AB InBev’s exclusive pouring arrangements related to stadia. This, after local alcoholic
Africa’s Big 7, Africa’s biggest food and beverage trade show, looks set to be another sold-out success when it is staged at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg from 21 – 23 June 2020. Exhibitors from around the world are clamouring to be at the 18th edition of this event, which accommodates 250 exhibitors. Featuring
Announced today, an innovative partnership between three of South Africa’s digital forces that will create an online marketplace to help small to medium enterprises (SMMEs) access the rapidly growing digital retail sector in Africa. The triumvirate consists of ICT Investment Company Ayo Technology Solutions (AYO) through a subsidiary, together with South African online retail platform
Albert Louw, Lasher Tools Marketing Manager, said that the company had gained new business as a consequence of the outbreak of coronavirus in China and the closure of manufacturing in the country in an attempt to stem the spread of the deadly virus. “For the first time, a big local retailer placed a multi-million-rand order
Responding to the opportunity to continue providing better nutrition to consumers, Tiger Brands has officially opened its brand new, state-of-the-art Oat Mill for its first and oldest product – Jungle Oats – in Maitland, Cape Town. Speaking at the opening event on Friday, 21 February, unit manager, Rees De Villiers outlined some of the innovative
Massmart has reported a total sales of R93.7 billion for the 52-week period ending 29 December, representing total sales growth of 3.0%, comparable sales growth of 1.5% and year-to-date internal sales inflation of 2.5%. Sales from our South African stores increased by 2.7%, with comparable store sales increasing by 1.3%. Total sales from our rest
Armed with its customer first approach, an aggressive pricing structure and a wealth of knowledge of the industry by the two partners, ScanZone, a 100% Level 1 female-owned ICT company, has opened its doors to provide Point of Sale and Auto Identification Solutions to the African market. Two sales and service industry giants have joined
By Ian Steyn, Product Executive at Innervation Pan African Payment Solutions Want to succeed in the retail game? Then focus less on the products you sell and more on the experiences you offer your customers. We have now officially moved into the Experience Economy, where customer experience outranks price and product in importance regarding how
Ground-breaking study reveals more than half of consumers have encountered technical issues at checkout; shoppers’ desire for simple, secure transactions and maximized loyalty benefits is driving adoption of contactless. Ingenico Group, the global leader in seamless payment, and FreedomPay, the world’s leading consumer-centric commerce platform, revealed the results of a survey on merchant and consumer
The internet blasted into common knowledge in the 1990s – and in just a couple of decades, it changed the world fundamentally. Until then, it was reserved for scholarly and military applications. The introduction of the “World Wide Web” in 1989, though, made it accessible as an information-sharing tool for the masses, too. Since then,
The 2nd annual Digital Retail Forum is set to take place on the 29th of January 2020, at Emperors Palace in Johannesburg. The forum is hosted by IT News Africa, under the theme; Digital Disruption in Retail: Apocalypse or Revolution. Following a successful 2019 event, #DigitalRetailForum will bring together over 200 local and international retail
JDA Software, Inc. has announced that it has successfully worked with Walmart in the development and rollout of the retailer’s new advanced scheduling system, supported by JDA® Workforce Management. The rollout of Walmart’s new scheduling system has been deployed to more than 1.1 million of its associates across approximately 4,600 stores. JDA Workforce Management for
Kalon Venture Partners, formerly Grotech, and Smollan Group SA both acquired a minority stake in South Africa’s fastest growing shopping community, SnapnSave. Kalon, a venture capital fund and Smollan Group, a leading international retail solutions business invested R7 million each. SnapnSave, founded by Mark Bradshaw is South Africa’s leading cashback coupon app that gives shoppers
Symphony GOLD, provider of the GOLD unified software platform for omni-channel retail, has announced that it was named as a Representative Vendor in the Gartner July 2017 Market Guide for Retail Distributed Order Management Systems. Gartner Key Findings: “As retailers and direct to consumer companies face similar multichannel order fulfillment challenges, their interest in distributed
Dollar General reached a new milestone this morning as it hosted hundreds of excited customers in Dauphin, Pennsylvania to celebrate the grand opening of the company’s 14,000th store location. “Dollar General is excited to celebrate our company’s continued growth by celebrating our 14,000th store grand opening today,” said Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s CEO. “For nearly
NCR Corporation, a global leader in omni-channel solutions, announced the deployment of Microsoft’s Windows 10 Internet of Things (IoT) Enterprise software with a leading European financial institution. The implementation, a first for the global retail banking industry, will enable banks to future-proof their ATMs and to deliver improved functionality, including contactless access, where customers can
Walgreens announced the launch of its Center for Health & Wellbeing Research, a website that features more than 50 Walgreens outcomes studies completed over the past six years. Areas of research include access to care and patient experience, adherence and clinical outcomes, digital health and member engagement, health care costs, HIV and specialty pharmacy, vaccinations
“Big Data in Retail: Opportunities and Challenges”, report discusses retailers’ Big Data and analytics related business and technology challenges, and provides a market forecast until 2020 by retail and IT segments. The report analyzes various approaches to analytics, data management and provides advice on how to generate value from data-driven solutions. Big Data and Analytics
HP Inc. is reimagining the retail industry with the unveiling of its innovative and versatile all-in-one point-of-sale (POS) system, the HP ElitePOS. The company is working with leading retail and hospitality customers and partners to reimagine how technology can transform the in-store experience for customers. With e-commerce influencing consumers’ shopping experiences, brick and mortar retailers must
CROSSFIN Technology Holdings announced that it has financed the acquisition of the South African subsidiary of leading global corporate services company Edenred through its portfolio company Innervation. Speaking of the deal, CROSSFIN COO Anton Gaylard says the acquisition creates a compelling value proposition for South African corporates. “According to the latest Deloitte Human Capital Trends,
The technology company ameria GmbH, which focuses on software and technology development, has commissioned Wincor Nixdorf to take over the services for Virtual Promoter, a digital shop window solution for brick-and-mortar retail businesses. Wincor Nixdorf will be responsible for setup, startup and maintenance of the systems that are installed at ameria’s retail and industry customers
A unique global report prepared by telecoms giants Telstra – involving 27,000 consumers across eight countries – has revealed that the millennial generation is now the most critical demographic grouping of people across the UK in terms of their “wallet size”. They have overtaken other generations in terms of their economic influence and attraction to
NCR Corporation, a global leader in omni-channel solutions, announced an agreement with Grubhub, the nation’s leading takeout marketplace, for the integration of Grubhub with the NCR Aloha Platform-of-Sale (POS). Restaurants that use Grubhub as an ordering channel will be able to manage orders from the core POS platform. Additionally, this solution will help restaurants make
Mastercard outlined plans for greater choice in retail payments through the planned expansion of its QR-based programs. Beginning this month, the company will broaden its solutions to offer QR codes that can be scanned by either consumers or merchants under a common set of global specifications. Mastercard has worked with EMVCo and other industry players to
This school year, Walmart’s backpack is loaded with new tools to help kids and parents shop for classroom essentials and dorm room deals faster than ever before. Walmart today announced it has substantially increased the number of back-to-school and back-to-college items customers can order using its Online Grocery Pickup and Pickup Today services, and introduced “Back-to-School Helpers”
Vantiv, Inc, a leading provider of payment processing services and technology for merchants and financial institutions of all sizes, announced it is developing comprehensive eCommerce payments and security extensions for the Magento 1 and Magento 2 platforms from Magento Commerce, the worldwide leader in cloud digital commerce innovation. These integrations, part of a new relationship
NCR Corporation, a global leader in omni-channel solutions, announced an agreement with DoorDash, an on-demand delivery platform operating in more than 500 cities nationwide, for the planned integration of the DoorDash marketplace to the NCR Aloha Platform-of-Sale (POS). The integration will allow restaurants to more efficiently receive and manage delivery orders placed through DoorDash, while
Mastercard announced that Masterpass will be live in the coming weeks at Costco.ca for Canadian shoppers. Costco joins a rapidly expanding roster of online merchants including Air Canada, Joe Fresh, Pizza Pizza, Indigo, Landmark Cinemas and London Drugs offering fast, easy and secure digital payment with Masterpass. “Canadians are increasingly shopping online and expect an
Total and Worldline signed binding technological, commercial and financing agreements with African fintech InTouch. Under the agreements, Total and Worldline will support the deployment of the Guichet Unique solution in eight African countries — Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Mali, Morocco, the Republic of Guinea and Senegal. Guichet Unique provides retail networks with a
On a day with incredible deals reserved exclusively for Prime members, sales on July 11 surpassed Black Friday and Cyber Monday, making it the biggest day ever in Amazon history. With hundreds of thousands of deals, this year’s Prime Day was too big for 24 hours – so Prime members had 30 hours to shop.
The largest Customer Experience Management Summit in Africa will take place on the 16th and 17th of August 2017 at the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town. Now in its 6th year, the summit has grown exponentially, already showing a 35% increase in attendees on 2016’s event. With swift advancements in technology, industries need
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.,announced a new definitive agreement with Rite Aid Corporation under which Walgreens Boots Alliance will purchase 2,186 stores, three distribution centers and related inventory from Rite Aid. The consideration for the transaction will be $5.175 billion in cash, the assumption by Walgreens Boots Alliance of the related real estate leases and the
Foremost ecommerce retailer, Jumia Nigeria has hit the five-year mark in Nigeria and is celebrating with its customers, employees and partners in the #YouMakeUsJumia campaign. Jumia is throwing a Super Birthday Sale with up to 70% discounts on Jumia.com.ng. In addition to the online promotion, the #YouMakeUsJumia campaign includes live street parties around Nigeria and
TransferTo, a global B2B Cross-Border Mobile Payments Network, has partnered up with MallforAfrica (MFA), an award-winning global e-commerce platform, to offer shoppers living in Africa with direct online access to over 200 major retailers across Europe and the USA. Over the last few years, e-commerce has been growing in popularity across Africa. According to McKinsey,
The retail landscape is evolving rapidly as emerging technologies and trends are changing expectations of the in-store experience. As retailers look to find their place in this brave new world, many are now seeing payments as an opportunity. With 92% of US retailers expecting to maintain or increase investment in payments over the next 12-18
The National Credit Regulator (NCR) has announced that it has referred Foschini Retail Group (Pty) (Foschini) to the National Consumer Tribunal (Tribunal) following an investigation by the NCR which revealed Foschini has charged consumers a club fee on credit agreements. The club fee charged by Foschini is reflected in consumers’ credit agreements. The charging of
Despite economic pressures, investment by the South African retail sector into information and communication technologies (ICT) seems to be holding steady. New analysis by Frost & Sullivan titled “ICT Enterprise Spend in Retail, South Africa, Forecast to 2019” shows that cloud-based services, managed services and cellular connectivity are expected to represent close to ZAR1.8 billion
Gemalto, the world leader in digital security, is supplying Market Pay, a payment institution wholly-owned by Carrefour Group, with payment cards and a Digital PIN solution for C-zam. This new ‘boxed’ account is available on the shelves of over 3,000 Carrefour French retail stores since 18 April. Once the account has been opened, the card’s
Magento, the worldwide leader in cloud digital commerce innovation, announced significant growth and adoption of its next generation cloud platform and solutions across Europe. The record-breaking year includes significant growth in its flagship platform with 42% year over year growth in new license revenues in Europe. The company’s impressive momentum is a product of its
nanopay Corporation, a secure, real-time payments platform provider, unveils Canada-wide availability of its new self-service MintChip Retail Payment Platform. The nanopay platform enables merchants to accept digital cash (in Canadian Dollars), which delivers all the benefits of traditional cash at a fraction of the cost of existing payment options, without charge-backs or fear of counterfeit
