South African online shoe store, DC.ONE releases a brand new app for both iOS and Google Play devices. Available for download from February 2022, customers in South Africa and SADC countries will have instant access to their favourite footwear styles from their mobile devices. Since the majority of the traffic to the site is from
Spur Corporation increased headline earnings by 119.4% to R59 million in the six months to December 2021 as trading conditions improved with the easing of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and the strong increase in restaurant foot traffic in the last few months of 2021. Group revenue grew by 40.3% to R441 million due to improved franchised
Weaver Fintech, a new division of omni-channel retailer Homechoice International (HiL), has made its first acquisition, buying an 85% stake in Cape Town-based buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) start-up PayJustNow. HiL is an investment holding company, focused on fintech and omni-channel retail through its subsidiaries. It is incorporated in Mauritius and listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. According
Usave opened a new supermarket in Wesbank, Cape Town this week, creating new jobs for residents from the area. Usave Wesbank offers customers unrivalled value for money with a good range of quality, everyday products and services including Ubrand, Usave’s own product range which guarantees 100% quality and satisfaction. Customers can also save time by
SPAR Group Ltd South Africa earned the Top Employers South Africa 2022 certification for the ninth consecutive year. The company considers it an honour to be counted in the world’s top organisations through this recognition. The retention of the valued accolade bears testimony to SPAR South Africa’s focus on people practices and processes. The continuous
Engen has appointed Tebogo Mosehla as their managing director in Lesotho, with his focus being to grow and strengthen the business in the kingdom. “I’m passionate about making a positive difference to the Lesotho community through Engen’s CSR programmes, innovation and people capability development,” comments Mosehla, whose distinguished journey with Engen began in 2010 when
MoData, a leading provider of innovative, intuitive and intelligent digital business solutions for the financial services, insurance, telcon and retail sectors, has announced a collaboration with Resistant AI to help financial services safeguard themselves and customers against fraud. Resistant AI uses artificial intelligence to help financial services companies combat fraud and financial crime. The partnership
Trading conditions continued to be impacted by various levels of COVID-19 restaurant trading restrictions in the six months to 31 December 2021 (“the period”), including a prohibition on sit-down trade in July 2021. These challenging conditions were exacerbated by widespread civil unrest in specifically KwaZulu-Natal (“KZN”) in the second week of July 2021. This resulted
Forbes hails Konga as beautiful bride of African e-commerce Konga, Nigeria’s leading omnichannel e-commerce group has been identified as a strong player on the verge of dominating the African e-commerce scene. Forbes, a globally renowned media company, focusing on business, investing, technology, entrepreneurship, leadership, and lifestyle, revealed this in a special feature published in its
Nomusa Caroline Hlongwane, who blazed a trail as the Shoprite Group’s first female driver, is now training the next generation of the Shoprite Group’s highly-skilled team of truck drivers. Hlongwane, who initially had her eye on becoming a teacher, started her truck driving career in 1990 and joined the Group in 2007. Her experience and
Chocolate, often referred to as the ‘food of the gods’, is undoubtedly one of our most favourite indulgent treats. But in recent years, as global supply chains have become more transparent, long-standing issues in the cocoa farming industry have come to light, including deforestation and the generational impoverishment of cocoa farming communities. Cocoa is a
Putting customer experience front and centre of your business goals is guaranteed to reap rewards for both customers and staff and positively impact your bottom line. The most effective way to do this is to take a holistic approach to customer experience management (CEM) through the implementation of a streamlined omni-channel application platform that keeps
Checkers Sixty60 has been voted the best online grocery store in both the annual Star Reader’s Choice Awards, as well as the Pretoria News Reader’s Choice Awards. Pretoria News readers also voted Checkers the best everyday grocery store and best liquor store, whilst The Star readers identified Checkers as runner-up in the best supermarket brand
Woolworths maintains its position as leaders in quality, newness & innovation by taking home awards for eight of their food products. With Woolworths regularly launching new and exciting items to an already impressive food offering, it’s no wonder they’ve stolen the show at the 2021 Food Review Symrise New Product Competition Awards. Hosted earlier this
With a majority female leadership team and almost 80 years of combined retail experience, the team at Shoprite Verulam Highway is proof that the retail industry is definitely no longer just a man’s world. At the helm is branch manager Farhana Pillay who joined the Shoprite Group in 1989 as a part-time cashier at Checkers
Goscor Lift Truck Company (GLTC) has been awarded the coveted SPAR Group’s Supplier of the Year accolade for 2021. The award coincides with the 20th anniversary of GLTC’s partnership with the leading retail group. GLTC’s relationship with The SPAR Group (“SPAR”), one of the largest retailers in Southern Africa, dates back some 20 years ago.
As a precaution, Nestlé South Africa is initiating a voluntary recall of a limited number of KIT KAT milk chocolate products due to the possibility that they may contain glass pieces. To date, we have not received any complaints or reported injuries. We are taking this action out of an abundance of caution having discovered
Through its popular UCount Rewards programme, Standard Bank managed to put money back into the pockets of its customers over the 2021 year-end spending period, helping to stretch the holiday budgets of millions of South African consumers amid a challenging economic environment. Fayelizabeth Foster, Head of Loyalty and Rewards at Standard Bank South Africa, says
Following the period of unrest in July, which affected 10 of its stores, African retailer Game began revamping some of its best-performing affected stores in line with its overall turnaround strategy – Retail Reimagined. This week, the retailer welcomes shoppers to visit its stores in Jabulani Mall in Soweto and Chris Hani Crossing Mall in
Konga, Nigeria’s leading composite e-commerce giant, has rolled out a free delivery campaign that has heightened excitement among shoppers on its platform. Tagged “It’s the season of Love”, the Konga free delivery offer kicked off on Monday, January 24, 2022. Feelers reveal there is palpable excitement among shoppers, many of whom have wasted no time
For the six-month period to 2 January 2022 (“the period” or “the six months”), the Shoprite Group increased total sale of merchandise by 10.0% to approximately R91.1 billion. Excluding the impact of the temporary closure of the Supermarkets RSA LiquorShop business due to COVID-19 lockdown regulations, the Group increased total sale of merchandise by 8.2%.
Cloud technology specialists, 1Stream, has launched a new customer relationship management platform, 1CRM. This innovative new offering is designed to manage customer experiences and drive sales from one centralised, omni-channel platform. 1Stream’s co-founder and joint CEO, Jed Hewson, says a growing number of successful businesses are realising the value of delivering an excellent customer experience.
Brands will be the real winners in Botswana Premier League’s decision to sub-contract the management of its stadium advertising to Hello Adsales Botswana (PTY) LTD from January 2021. Talking about the 12-month renewable contract, Solomon Ramochotlhwane, sporting head at Botswana Football League, said: “The Botswana Premier League is looking forward to this stadium advertising project
Tiger Brands has appointed Barati Mahloele as the company’s Venture Capital Fund Director. She joins the business from Zebu Investment Partners where she was Vice President Investments. In her new position at Tiger Brands, Barati will be responsible for leading the company’s Venture Capital Fund which was launched in mid-2021. The fund’s mandate is to
Multinational food retail chain SPAR has selected LS Retail as the preferred supplier for retail management software for SPAR wholesale and retail partners worldwide. SPAR is the world’s largest leading voluntary group of independently owned and operated retailers and wholesalers, who work in partnership under the SPAR brand. The group includes more than 13,500 stores in
Through its Local Finance Initiative (LFI), UNCDF supported Maswa DC with a US$ 100,000 seed capital grant to cover the cost of connecting the factory to the national grid electricity Maswa District Council (DC) is among the six districts of the Simiyu region, the second poorest region in Tanzania with a population of 377,292 people
Newly unveiled platform, JAMII unites resources and partners to achieve more for Africa Coca-Cola Africa Operating Unit (“AOU”) and its bottling partners announced the launch of JAMII, the new Africa-focused sustainability platform. The platform houses the Company’s existing and new sustainability initiatives. Through this signature platform, Coca-Cola hopes to attract like-minded partners to help accelerate
The Argility Technology Group (ATG) has announced an exciting business development as it becomes part of global enterprise – the Smollan Group – an intelligent commerce solutions business, driving sustainable growth and operational excellence. Smollan has acquired ATG from Capital Eye Investments – a private equity and venture capital company that invests in technology driven
Faithful to Nature is the first retailer in South Africa to become B Corp certified, for its commitment to social and environmental sustainability. With innovations like product transparency, sustainable packaging and carbon neutral delivery, the brand has been instrumental in introducing South African consumers to more natural, ethical and sustainable products and practices, and they
For almost 90 years, SPAR has been at the heart of local communities, meeting the needs of local shoppers, often as multi-generational family businesses. There has never been a greater need for SPAR’s community support as we continue to face difficulties and uncertainties across the globe as the pandemic continues. From the volcano eruption in
SPAR Zimbabwe has again committed to finding alternatives to single-use plastic carrier bags by offering a recyclable SPAR carrier bag made from recycled SPAR UHT Milk cartons, produced entirely by hand by the Clean Marondera group. Clean Marondera (CM) is a community-based voluntary organisation working with the Zimbabwe Environmental Management Agency (EMA), local council, and
In line with its Vision 2025+ Good Business Journey transparency goals Woolworths Holdings Limited publishes Woolworths South Africa’s Fashion, Beauty & Home supplier list. With its target of having a fully transparent and traceable supply chain by 2025, Woolworths Holdings Limited has become the first major South African retailer to publish a list of suppliers
The Shoprite Group has entered into a joint venture with its existing Checkers Sixty60 logistics partner, the RTT Group in which both parties will own 50%. The transaction follows on from the rapid growth of Shoprite’s pioneering on-demand grocery solution Checkers Sixty60 in which RTT On-Demand, a division of the RTT Group, has played a
DRIVING RECYCLING AWARENESS, EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY PepsiCo is committed to changing the way packaging is made, used, and disposed across its food system. This pledge sees PepsiCo Sub-Saharan Africa become the first market within PepsiCo’s Africa, Middle East, and South Asia (AMESA) sector to reduce its reliance on virgin plastics and incorporate 20% recycled PET
Shoppers can now benefit from store credit at one of Cape Town’s most sought-after experiential retail stores RCS, the consumer finance arm of global bank BNP Paribas, has announced its latest partnership with WE ARE EGG, the award-winning, “phygital” concept store that is reimagining the South African retail landscape with its unique collaborative, omni-channel approach.
Checkers, the first South African supermarket to launch a pet shop, has opened its 10th Petshop Science store in just seven months and will have 12 standalone stores by the end of the year. This follows the recent openings of the first standalone Checkers Little Me baby store, the smaller format Checkers Foods store as well as the new MediRite
Highlights Revenue up 24% to R14bn Operating profit before net impairment losses up >100% to R1.2bn Trading profit up 109% to R1.4bn Cash generated from operations before working capital up 133% to R1.7bn Earnings of 32.1cps and headline earnings of 62.3cps, both up >100% Net debt:EBITDA 2.74 times; EBITDA:interest 4.79 times; complied with covenants Erik
SPAR South Africa has once again been announced as the winner of the prestigious Rural and Township Development category for its Rural Hub Programme at the prestigious 2021 ABSA Business Day Supplier Development Awards. The Awards celebrate companies that are building a better South Africa. 2021 is the second year in a row that the
The Shoprite Group has entered into a joint venture with its existing Checkers Sixty60 logistics partner, the RTT Group in which both parties will own 50%. The transaction follows on from the rapid growth of Shoprite’s pioneering on-demand grocery solution Checkers Sixty60 in which RTT On-Demand, a division of the RTT Group, has played a
Brands such as Jungle Oats, All Gold, KOO, Fatti’s and Moni’s and Black Cat, have found a regular place in the homes of millions of South Africans over the last 100 years, sharing special moments and memorable milestones. These brands and others are proudly produced by Tiger Brands, one of Africa’s largest independent fast-moving consumers
SPAR South Africa has once again been announced as the winner of the prestigious Rural and Township Development category for its Rural Hub Programme at the prestigious 2021 ABSA Business Day Supplier Development Awards. The Awards celebrate companies that are building a better South Africa. 2021 is the second year in a row that the
Investment into developing world-class stores by independent SPAR South Africa retailers created another two great SUPERSPAR Supermarkets opened in KwaZulu Natal province. Both offer a great shopping experience, excellent quality products, several service departments, and modern fixtures. SUPERSPAR in Umkomaas In the busy centre of this small town, the supermarket was expanded and modernised in
South African expense management solution SlipMate has announced that it has enabled e-commerce functionality for its Mastercard corporate prepaid cards, a first-of-its-kind integration for the South African market. SlipMate is an intelligent expense management solution designed by Innervation Rewards that enables South African companies to reconcile employees’ corporate expenses from their Mastercard prepaid corporate card,
Customer demands for Checkers supermarkets in their neighbourhoods inspired the newly launched, smaller format Checkers Foods which today opened its first store in Gauteng. Checkers Foods at the Weltevreden Park Shopping Centre in Roodepoort has created 71 new jobs, and with three more neighbourhood stores scheduled to open in early 2022, Checkers continues to create
Checkers is launching its first standalone Little Me store with a range of top baby brands, including maternity wear exclusively designed and manufactured by local supplier, Cherry Melon. The affordable Miyu range, exclusive to Little Me, includes a selection of top-selling, quality basics which Cherry Melon is renowned for. (Watch video here.) Checkers is the
Not only has it retained its Coolest Mall status in the 2021 Sunday Times Generation Next Awards for the fourth consecutive year, but Mall of Africa has also scooped a total of nine wins in categories across the board – one Gold, three Silver and six Bronze awards – at the annual South African Council
The Shoprite Group’s Xtra Savings rewards programmes have scooped three awards at the 2021 South African Loyalty Awards, with both the Shoprite and Checkers brands recognised. Checkers won Best Programme of the Year in the retail sector while Shoprite won Best Programme of the Year among newcomers. Checkers also won the award for Best Strategic Use of
Deep analysis by NielsenIQ has revealed that South African shoppers have dramatically reduced the frequency of their monthly shopping trips, which are down from an average of five trips per month two years ago, to an average of three. In addition, 500 000 households have been forced to stretch their monthly shop to beyond a
Nestlé announces industry-first pilot that reduces carbon dioxide emissions and recycles wastewater In partnership with The Emissions Capture Company, Nestlé has successfully piloted leading machine learning-based technology in Babelegi, at industrial scale, to deliver significant Scope 1 emission reductions, and wastewater recycling. Nestlé East and Southern Africa Region (ESAR) unveiled an industrial scale pilot project
SPAR expressed its deepest gratitude to its people, the SPAR retailers and their communities, who pulled together and worked tirelessly to protect, clean, restock and rebuild stores, bringing hope to their communities at a time when there were serious concerns around safety and food security. The business has seen changing consumer behaviour over the past
