Clicks Group increased retail sales by 13.6% in the six months to February 2022 as Clicks gained market share, continued to expand its store and pharmacy network and supported the national Covid-19 vaccination programme. Group turnover increased by 9.0% to R19.6 billion and headline earnings from continuing operations grew by 18.3% to R1.1 billion. The
Dis-Chem rolls out new WhatsApp chat channel delivering self-help services and loyalty programme management over chat Clickatell, a CPaaS innovator and Chat Commerce leader, has been selected by leading South African retailer, Dis-Chem Pharmacies, to enable WhatsApp as its customer communication channel to engage with its customers. Dis-Chem customers can now quickly and easily access
Coca-Cola took strategic steps to reorganize and better enable the Coca-Cola system to pursue its total beverage company strategy, which led to a strengthening of its presence and focus on Africa The Coca-Cola Company has been part of Africa for more than 90 years and now refreshes consumers and communities in all 54 countries on
Tableview motorists, residents and beachgoers are set to reap the delicious benefits of a 24-hour Woolworths Foodstop, which has been added to the recently upgraded Engen Rietvlei Convenience Centre. Engen Rietvlei, which officially re-opened on 7 April, is located at 2 Pentz Drive in Tableview and offers a diverse range of products and services, including
Chat commerce is undoubtedly the way of the future, according to Pieter de Wet, President Business Development: International Markets at leading pan-African fintech enablement partner Ukheshe Technologies. “Ukheshe’s own Eclipse Chat Commerce solution offers everything a business needs – not only now, but also as an organisation grows.” Consumers are making a rapidly increasing portion
SA’s leader in enterprise software development RedPanda Software has been appointed by Flooid, the global leading cloud-based unified commerce platform, to be its go-to-market and distribution partner in South Africa and other markets, bringing even more seamless service to customers, resellers and partners. The move was the natural evolution of a long software development relationship,
Despite a challenging 18 months fuelled by the pandemic for the retail sector, customer-focused innovation has remained a top priority for retail giant Massmart. The retail group partnered with credit solutions provider RCS to unlock value for its customers amid a tough economic climate. Gavin Lomberg, Chief Commercial Officer at RCS – South Africa’s leading
Starbucks brings the sustainability theme right home with the simultaneous launch of our partnership with the inspirational Reel Gardening initiative. Reel Gardening produces a biodegradable seed tape planted straight into the ground to improve the chances of a vegetable seedling. With a similar ethos to Starbucks, Reel Gardening uses its products and expertise to make
The platform is part of a UN Women project in Cote d’Ivoire to strengthen women’s agricultural resilience to climate change. Women farmers in Cote d’Ivoire will more easily find markets for their crops, thanks to a digital platform recently launched by UN Women. Blaatto, part of the UN agency’s Buy From Women initiative, is targeting
RFG walked away with 16 awards in eleven categories at this year’s annual SA Dairy Championships, and clinched the coveted SA Champs title for six of its products. The event is the largest dairy competition of its kind in the world, having attracted more than 68 manufacturers who showcased 920 products in over 100 classes
The global merchant payment processing and services giant Worldpay from FIS is a lead sponsor at the upcoming ECOM Africa, taking place as a hybrid event from 4–5 May in Cape Town. This will be the eighth edition of this flagship, specialist gathering in the e-commerce, etailing, and fintech sectors, with limited tickets still available
The Food Lab (TFL), Egypt’s first cloud kitchen services operator, has announced the completion of a significant $4.5 million pre-seed fund raising round. This round includes investors from across the world and was co-led by Nuwa Capital, Shorooq Partners and 4DX Ventures. The pre-seed round also saw the participation of Saudi Arabia based Al Faisaliah Group and
1. INTRODUCTION Mr Price is pleased to announce that on 12 April 2022 it entered into transaction agreements (the “Agreements”) to acquire 70% (“Sale Shares”) of Blue Falcon Trading 188 (Proprietary) Limited (“Blue Falcon”), which owns the Studio 88 group of businesses (the “Studio 88 Group” or the “Business”), from RMB Ventures Six (Proprietary) Limited
SPAR is working with a preferred tech partner, Spaaza, in a strategic partnership which will see the company support the retailer internationally with the development of the next generation of SPAR’s personalised loyalty and savings platform. Strategic Partnership Spaaza, an independent tech company based in Amsterdam, offers a powerful personalised loyalty solution that will help
Woolworths certainly isn’t crying over spilt milk after the annual 2022 SA Dairy Championships! Up against dairy heavyweights in the industry, Woolworths has once again exceeded expectations by taking home 99 of this year’s most prestigious awards. With a wide variety of award winning and innovative dairy products, it’s no wonder Woolies stole the show
SmartWage, an innovative HR and communications technology startup, has raised USD$2 million (R29m). The oversubscribed seed funding round was raised to support SmartWage’s vision of transforming Africa’s workforce through digital inclusion, particularly for frontline employees like cashiers, restaurant staff, security personnel, and healthcare workers. SmartWage is giving enterprises a simple yet effective way to digitise
Months of much behind-the-scenes work has resulted in the full integration of Baby City into the Dis-Chem operations. “There has been a comprehensive focus on reinforcing the Baby City brand, which was already well-established as the unrivalled leader in its category, while strengthening the offering to shoppers to continually improve the Baby City customer experience,”
Infobip, a global cloud communication company for businesses and a leader in omnichannel customer engagement, has deployed an omnichannel platform for Stima Sacco, the second-biggest saving and credit cooperative in Africa. This platform enables the organisation to enhance customer engagement and thus improve customer experience. Client Background Stima DT Savings and Credit Cooperative Society Limited
The numbers speak for themselves. Prioritising customer experience and delivering a good end-to-end customer journey can and will positively impact your business and make it a key differentiator from your competitors. It is no surprise that customer experience (CX) is becoming a priority for businesses that realise that retaining and growing their customer base goes
Krispy Kreme doughnuts are now available at even more convenient store locations nationwide thanks to a partnership with FreshStop, SA’s largest and fastest-growing convenience store retail brand. The agreement sees the prominent doughnut brand expanding its national footprint and further growing its South African customer base. The brand’s ethos of ‘hand-crafted doughnuts, delivered fresh daily’
According to a new calculation confirmed by the Automobile Association of South Africa (AA), it’s cheaper for many South Africans to get groceries delivered via Sixty60 than to drive to stores themselves. With another petrol price increase expected on Wednesday 6 April, Checkers has calculated that the average Sixty60 customer saves 33% on fuel and
Checkers is opening its first new format Checkers Foods supermarket in the Western Cape, bringing top quality food and exclusive brands to the historic town of Franschhoek. The 1 000m² Checkers Foods store has a unique look-and-feel designed to honour the style and charm of Franschhoek and the architecture of the building in which it
SPAR Saudi Arabia in January 2022 opened two more modern SPAR Supermarkets within one week, as part of their ongoing investment in retail. The new stores are located in the capital city Riyadh. 90 SPAR colleagues manage the two stores, increasing career opportunities within SPAR Saudi Arabia for those interested in retail. The modern supermarket
The Group has acquired 51% of Lexi’s Healthy Eatery (“Lexi’s”) with effect from 1 April 2022. Lexi’s, whose slogan is “Eat more plants”, is a casual dining restaurant (“CDR”) brand, offering a full-service, sit-down, plantbased dining experience across all key day parts: breakfast, lunch and dinner. The acquisition pertains to the franchise and central kitchen
Mtembeni Jange (39), from Umtata in the Eastern Cape, discovered his passion for retail – specifically the buying and selling of goods – while participating in Entrepreneurship Day as a teenager in high school. After finishing school, he pursued his dream and enrolled for a 1-year Wholesale and Retail Sector Education and Training Authority (WRSETA)
4DX leads the round with participation from Wasoko Tushop, the Kenyan social-commerce platform that enables communities in Nairobi to buy groceries more cheaply with free delivery, has secured $3M in a pre-seed funding round, led by 4DX Ventures and with participation from JAM Fund, Breyer Capital, Chandaria Capital, TO Ventures, Golden Palm Investments, FirstCheck Africa,
The war in Ukraine has added concerns to an already tense cybersecurity environment. What’s more, recent international coverage about scammers using QR codes to misdirect funds is fuelling fraud uncertainty. But South African consumers, while wise to remain vigilant, are well protected if they stick to a few simple QR guidelines. Quick Response or QR
Herbivore Earthfoods is the first investment by Tiger Brands’ Venture Capital Fund. The fund was set up by food and beverage company Tiger Brands in mid-2021. It is meant to support up and coming consumer brands in the food and beverage sector. The fund says it plans to invest between R2 million and R20 million per
Feelers indicate that Amazon may now be ready to explore what the continent has to offer on the e-commerce front but the nous and experience of indigenous giants such as Konga will come in handy if it is not to stumble heavily in Africa’s biggest market It is no longer news that global e-commerce giant,
Plascon is proud to introduce the newly launched Plascon Store, an e-commerce platform tailor-made for retailers and contractors. In 2020, the leading coatings brand debuted its new visual identity and a plethora of advanced products. Continuing the path of reinvention, Plascon is the first in its sector to provide a Business-to-Business digitally optimised platform. Plascon’s
Despite the numerous obstacles faced over the past 24 months by the red meat industry, and indeed the entire South African agricultural sector, this year’s Cleaver Awards have proven that not only does this industry remain robust, but that our butchery standards are still amongst the best in the world. Now in their 17th year,
Covid-19 has shifted the world into the next normal, with new consumer behaviour patterns emerging in response to the changing dynamics of the pandemic. To keep up, South African retailers should embrace a multi-dimensional retail approach that connects the dots between digital and in-store experiences. In this market, a one-dimensional approach may not be enough
Strong growth in both the regional and international businesses contributed to RFG increasing group turnover by 20.0% in the first 22 weeks of the 2022 financial year. The results include an additional trading week relative to the prior period and excluding the impact of this 22nd week, group turnover increased by approximately 15.2%. CEO Pieter
The over 10 million unemployed South Africans benefitting from the R350 COVID-19 relief grant will now have greater accessibility as the Shoprite Group has stepped in to make grant payments available at its 1 286 supermarkets across South Africa. Following the extension of the grant for another 12 months, customers can now access it at
Tiger Global and Avenir Growth Capital lead Africa’s biggest-ever non-fintech venture financing round for Africa’s largest B2B e-commerce network Sokowatch, the African e-commerce company leveraging innovative technology to transform the informal retail supply chain, has today announced the close of a $125 million Series B equity round, the largest venture financing round ever raised for
Food and beverage company PepsiCo has launched the Kgodiso Development Fund, a five-year, R600 million investment to help transform the food system in South Africa. It will look to create ‘shared value’ solutions that ultimately help build a sustainable food system by creating local employment opportunities and increasing local procurement and supplier diversity. “PepsiCo aims
Checkers Sitari and the entire Sitari Village Mall located close to Somerset West, Cape Town have become South Africa’s first premium supermarket and shopping centre to run entirely off renewable energy from wind and solar sources. This is part of Checkers’ ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability and comes as the retailer launches an environmental campaign
The KITEA Group, leader in the distribution of furniture in Morocco, has just announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Furniture Palace Limited, leader in the distribution of home furniture, office furniture and house in Kenya. This transaction in East Africa is KITEA’s first acquisition outside the borders of Morocco and is in line
Global retail specialist Smollan, representing some of the world’s most loved FMCG and commerce brands, explores the benefits that business intelligence brings to the retail industry and how innovation and operational efficiency can be key drivers for growth in this space. Data governance, connected cloud, collaborative BI, self-service interfaces, humanizing data, storytelling, AI, chatbots, DQM
Vivo Energy Uganda has officially handed over a dedicated motor vehicle service bay facility installed at the Ministry of Works and Transport offices in Kampala. The facility has a capacity of 20,000 litres and will handle fleet maintenance for all government vehicles. “This installation is one of our tailored solutions for commercial customers and will
In celebration of International Women’s Day, Woolworths Holdings Limited (WHL) is proud to announce that it has become the first major South African retailer to be a signatory to the United Nations (UN) Women Empowerment Principles. Developed in partnership with the United Nations Women and the UN Global Compact Office, the Women Empowerment Principles (WEP)
Muungamunwe resident Dzhavhelo Mudau has risen through the ranks at the Shoprite Group and was recently promoted to Divisional Financial Manager at OK Furniture. Passionate about accounting and mathematics, Dzhavhelo set his sights on attending university and moved to Johannesburg in 2014. With support from the Thuthuka Bursary Programme, of which the Group was a
By integrating its offering with Eats and utilising the Uber Direct services, YUMBI has added a critical delivery component to its data-rich, fully integrated online ordering and customer intelligence solution for multi-location quick service restaurants (QSRs). Leveraging its ten years of industry expertise, YUMBI partners with multi-location QSR brands to ensure they deliver the high-quality
Key information – continuing operations • Sale of merchandise increased by 10.0% to R91.1 billion • Diluted headline earnings per share (DHEPS) increased by 25.2% to 519.3 cents (restated* H1 2021: 414.8 cents) • Adjusted DHEPS** increased by 32.5% to 536.3 cents (restated* H1 2021: 404.8 cents) • The interim dividend per share declared increased
Diebold Nixdorf is excited to announce the launch of Vynamic® Retail Platform, a cloud-native software solution enabling the future of retail. The modular platform offers retailers the functionality and flexibility they need to succeed in today’s environment of rapidly shifting customer needs. Vynamic Retail Platform connects all components of the retail operation, including customer journeys, stores
The new Business Development Manager (BDM) will be in charge of operations for Mauritius and Seychelles Nestlé has appointed Mr. Gordon Perrins as the new Business Development Manager for Mauritius and Seychelles. Perrins assumed responsibility for Nestlé Mauritius and its comprehensive portfolio of products across Breakfast, Coffee, Confectionery, Nutrition and Food categories. The role also
Philip Morris South Africa (PMSA) has appointed Buena Barnes as its new Financial Director. The appointment underpins the organisation’s goal to replace cigarettes with less harmful alternatives for those who choose to continue using tobacco, as soon as possible. “As a company we are leading the transformation of the industry in our pursuit to go
Two South African fintechs, alternative lender Merchant Capital and online payment specialist Payflex, have launched a cash advance solution that aims to breathe new life into South Africa’s growing small and mid-sized retail sector. Known as FlexiAdvance powered by Merchant Capital, the offering is customised and backed by technology to allow access to funding within
At SPAR, our people are a significant success factor of our business. In a highly competitive environment, it is our talented and dedicated people who make a difference in their communities. The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) has proclaimed February 22 Supermarket Employee Day – a time to recognise food industry employees at every level for
The Shoprite Group is further expanding its support of KwaZulu-Natal communities by investing in an additional 30 food gardens in the province. This builds on the success of the more than 15 gardens – including Thubelihle Special Opportunity School and Hlabana Magalele Supplies – in the province already supported by Shoprite. The retailer is incubating
