Despite the many digital innovations being made in terms of cross-border payments, retailers still have an important role to play in facilitating the thousands of remittances made from South Africa each year. African retail giant, Game stores, offers cross-border money transfer services from its 120 stores nationally through several providers, including Mukuru, Mama Money, Hello
For The Twelve Months Ended 28 February 2021 Background The announcement of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 coincided with the first month of the Group’s review period, and its impact has been evident over the entire twelve months, in varying degrees, as the respective countries’ risk-adjusted strategies progressed from total lockdown to gradual easing
Shoprite & Checkers has purchased more than 1.5 million litres of wine since the start of the lockdown to help local farms move excess stock It will be sold under a new exclusive label called Elephant’s Cousin, as well as under the retailers’ other private label wine ranges This is the latest initiative by Shoprite
South Africans can now shop online and pay later, interest-free over six weeks. Payflex has brought the buy now pay later shopping phenomenon to South Africa following its extraordinary popularity in Australia, the USA and Europe. Payflex customers can shop at Africa’s largest digital mall which includes over 500 well-known stores like Cotton-on, Superbalist and
Checkers Sixty60 has launched a South African supermarket first with a new recycling initiative for its popular brown paper bags that will help close the recycling loop for its customers. The initiative, which is part of the Shoprite Group’s zero waste-to-landfill ambition, will allow customers to return their used bags with Sixty60 drivers for recycling.
2Engage is building on its success in Africa, with customer engagement and incentive solutions that deliver value to customers and companies across multiple industries. Based and operational out of South Africa, 2Engage has a presence in eleven African countries including Angola, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. With over 200 rewards
“Thrifting” is a growing international trend in retailing that enables environmentally-conscious consumers to minimize textile and garment waste. Thrift By Flav opened in the Mall of Africa in Waterfall, becoming the first thrift store to open in a super-regional mall in South Africa. The store is the brainchild of 22-year-old Flavia Minenza, who started thrift
Customers can now deposit cash directly onto their bank card at the till point in any Shoprite, Checkers or Usave store. Together with other established in-store services like cash withdrawals, money transfers, and bill payments, this new functionality means shoppers can now perform most basic banking tasks at all supermarkets within the Shoprite Group. Cash
Spur Corporation encountered harsh COVID-19 lockdown trading restrictions throughout the six months to December 2020 while the outbreak of the second wave of the pandemic contributed to further pressure on sales and profitability. Total franchised restaurant sales declined by 29.5% to R2.9 billion for the half year. Sales from franchised restaurants in South Africa decreased
Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listed EPP, Poland’s biggest retail landlord, has launched a live stream shopping initiative for its malls and their tenants. Demonstrating agility in ever-changing retail markets, live stream shopping is the latest of several cutting-edge innovations offered by EPP to support its tenants and create exceptional experiences for Polish shoppers in both
Zambeef Products has put its corporate weight behind efforts to ensure the safety of learners and teachers as they start the 2021 academic year. “Schools are an integral part of our society, therefore, they represent an important front in the country’s war against COVID-19,” said Zambeef Chief Executive Officer Walter Roodt, who stressed the importance
Connecting to what really matters, is one of the rationales behind Smollan’s decision to rebrand. By breathing new life, reigniting passion, and representing the diversity of people, nations, cultures, and services the business represents, this new brand connection tells a story of real people and opportunities connected to countless possibilities. It has been said that
African e-commerce giant Jumia announced that its cost cuts helped it reduce fourth quarter losses by 47% from a year ago as revenues continue to slide, showing that its path to profitability was on course. Jumia, the first Africa-focused tech start-up to list on the New York Stock Exchange, is selling fewer expensive one-off products
Checkers Hyper Brackenfell offers a unique shopping experience with a coffee bar, wine store, sushi bar, pizza oven, imported rodizio grill, food truck, and in-store Kauai. The high-end bakery features well known brands like Schoon and Houwhoek Pies. A one-stop-shop, this flagship store also has a dedicated wellness section, party shop, and improved pet department.
Effective 1 February 2021, Imperial acquired 60% of eCommerce logistics business, ParcelNinja. ParcelNinja offers an outsourced warehousing and fulfilment business to South African online shops, using its custom-developed best-of-breed warehouse system and fulfilment network to ensure that clients benefit from scalable infrastructure and an innovative costing model. “Imperial’s purpose is connecting Africa and the world
The Shoprite Group now generates a substantial amount of power using solar panels Its biggest solar PV project, at the Basson distribution centre, covers the surface area of an entire soccer field Several other initiatives – like solar panels on delivery trucks, and the widespread use of energy efficient LED lamps – are further reducing
SPAR Mozambique in 2020 opened a new supermarket in Matola, one of the largest suburbs of the capital city, Maputo. Energy-efficient systems have been integrated throughout the store, including modern refrigeration technology and LED lighting, emphasising the pleasant shopping experience for their valued customers. The 1,384m2 SPAR Supermarket is in a densely populated area with
SA’s COVID-19 grants are faltering, with many unable to collect the R350 stipend initially offered to those most in need. The Shoprite Group has intensified its food security efforts, donating more than R100 million worth of food, since the start of lockdown. The Group has also continued to create jobs, in spite of tough economic
Simple and effective solution solving complex and expensive problem QR codes have been a huge hit with smaller traders, especially in the hospitality industry, weekend markets and owner-run businesses. Zapper’s continued success at Dis-Chem, however, is proving that the technology is possible at even the largest of retailers – without the expense of new pin
As snacking and healthy eating are growing trends around the world, SPAR has joined forces with the international vegetable breeding company Rijk Zwaan. In SPAR stores in India and Nigeria, new vegetable snacking varieties were introduced aimed at changing shopper behaviour. The focus is on providing innovative, high quality, locally grown healthy fresh produce options
Jumia Technologies AG is rolling out its restaurant-delivery service in Egypt, making the country the tenth where it offers the capability. Hesham Safwat, Jumia’s Chief Executive for the Egyptian market, said the ecommerce company focused on Africa is planning to launch the service during the first quarter with hundreds of participating restaurants. It will face
Inspired by Egypt’s leadership in the field of information and communications technology as a result of its well-trained cadres, the eCommerce leader in Egypt and Africa, has announced that the Egyptian market has been chosen officially to host a technology center to be the new Jumia technology center in Africa to provide its services to
MediRite now offers the cheapest COVID-19 rapid antibody tests in South Africa. The tests cost just R129.99 each, and are available from the MediRite pharmacies conveniently located in Shoprite and Checkers stores across the country. This low COVID-19 antibody test price point, and the relatively painless and hassle-free nature of the test, make understanding antibody status more
Konga leverages e-Commerce to boost fortunes of local farmers Konga shows the way, leverages e-Commerce to reposition rural farmers Konga records another first with e-Commerce-enabled Agriculture Konga, Nigeria’s foremost composite retail giant, has once again led from the front, revolutionizing agriculture in Nigeria by leveraging e-Commerce in helping rural farmers access better agricultural inputs such
Clinomix® is a zeolite-based feed additive and stock remedy that contains 90% clinoptilolite, a completely natural mineral mined and processed exclusively by Pratley South Africa. Clinomix® effectively reduces acidosis and ammonia levels. Using Clinomix® therefore improves the overall health of sheep, cattle and other ruminants. It is a mycotoxin binder that eliminates 99.9% of deadly
By installing these plugins, large and small merchants can offer Kwik Delivery’s on-demand, just-in-time delivery service to all their customers Kwik Delivery has announced that it has released its Kwik Delivery plugin for Shopify, allowing Nigeria-based Shopify merchants to seamlessly integrating Kwik’s groundbreaking last-mile delivery service. “Last September, Kwik had become the first African last-mile
It’s official: Checkers is South Africa’s best grocery store and supermarket brand as voted by readers of The Star in their annual 2020 Star Readers’ Choice Awards. Checkers is known for convenience, quality and freshness and through constant innovation has brought many unique experiences to its customers, including: world-class retail with its new Fresh X stores, such
SPAR Zimbabwe is delighted to announce the opening of its 39th store, SPAR Marondera, on 16 January. Customers can look forward to a wide range of products and competitive pricing in a modern and bright setting. SPAR Marondera will focus on the SPAR ‘Fresh is Best’ policy, with the highest quality specifications in all sections,
Written by Roger Landman, original article can be found here. In the world of the hyperconscious consumer, food & beverage manufacturers have a duty to manage risk through food traceability technologies such as those found in an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), to not only identify and respond to food safety issues, but also to support supply
True to its proud history of innovation and customer service, Engen has launched an exciting new private label convenience brand, Quickshop & Co. with all products in the range locally sourced and offering good quality at a great price. South Africans have come to expect constant innovation from South Africa’s favourite petrol station* brand, which
First-of-its-kind, portfolio of solutions was designed to provide retailers a modular, open and ‘always-on’ approach to the evolving challenges of the modern store Diebold Nixdorf (NYSE: DBD) announced the launch of DN SeriesTM EASY, a new family of self-service solutions created to address retailers’ most pressing needs: improve store efficiency, enhance consumers’ shopping experience and drive down costs.
At the regional Annual General meeting of 2020, SPAR Western Cape, South Africa, announced the winners of its Store of the Year competition. The winning stores were evaluated using an extensive assessment process throughout the year. SPAR Supermarket in Sea Point SPAR Sea Point is the 2020 Store of the Year in the SPAR Western
NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR), a leading provider of retail solutions that run the store, announced today the acquisition of grocery e-commerce leader Freshop. Adding e-commerce to NCR’s leading retail core point-of-sale platform will give retailers, especially regional and small grocery chains, the ability to quickly deploy “buy-online, pickup-in-store” capabilities to serve their customers’ needs directly. This combination enables
NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR), a leading provider of retail solutions that run the store, is among the top providers of Worldwide Unified Commerce SaaS and Software and SaaS for the retail industry according to the Unified Commerce Market Research Report conducted by the IHL Retail Executive Advisory Program (REAP). The IHL rankings highlight NCR’s exceptional industry accomplishments in the
Since 1954, Burger King® has encouraged its guests to Have it Your Way® and confidently celebrate self-expression. Today, the brand is making a leap forward by introducing a completely new visual design that will be present throughout all touchpoints of the guest experience. Inspired by real and delicious food, the more modern look marks the first complete rebrand in over 20
Playground to holidaymakers, jetsetters and sunseekers, Camps Bay is renowned for its magnificent location at the foot of the Twelve Apostles mountain range – and now also for having a Starbucks with a one-of-a-kind view. Starbucks Camps Bay offers visitors and locals alike a delicious and wide-ranging ‘something for everyone’ menu, world-class service from the
Nestlé has partnered with local sustainability consultant TS Environment to set up a plastics waste recovery programme in Ethiopia. The objective of the programme is to achieve plastics neutrality within the next 12 months. This means Nestlé has collected and co-processed the equivalent amount of plastic as contained in the products sold and prevented the further flow of plastic
In an ever-changing retail landscape, our people remain at the heart of our business. Our 370,000 SPAR team members across the world interact with customers daily, seeking to provide a consistently excellent shopping experience. To support these team members throughout their retail career, digital solutions are proving of growing importance The future of our business
Starbucks has a brand new café in Stellenbosch, located in the upmarket Checkers FreshX store overlooking Die Braak, the picturesque town square that is flanked by a beautiful Cape Dutch style church and other historical buildings. Starbucks in Stellenbosch is the second store in a Checkers FreshX supermarket, the first having opened in Rosebank Mall
A Greener World (AGW) is a new food label for farmers and retailers committed to animal welfare and sustainable livestock production. This meaningful label for meat, milk, eggs, as well as organic and regenerative products guarantees the growing number of green-conscious consumers that products have been produced with real sustainability credentials and conscientiousness. After much
KEY FINANCIAL INDICATORS Revenue R11.3bn, down 23% EBITDA R1bn, down 48% Trading profit R682m, down 56% Operating loss R283m Loss for the year R4.3bn Impairments of R4bn Headline loss of 78cps for continuing operations; headline loss of 88cps for total operations HIGHLIGHTS Operating capability sustained despite significant impact of COVID-19 R1.1bn cash generated from operations
Nestlé today announced the Skimmelkrans Net Zero Carbon Emissions Project: an ambition to create the company’s first carbon neutral dairy farm, located in George, South Africa. Nestlé has committed that by 2023, the farm will be carbon net zero. “The Skimmelkrans project is a positive step in our sustainability journey. In the context of yesterday’s global announcement by
With leading bill payment aggregator Pay@ Services offering a broad spectrum of retailer, banking, and mobile-based bill payment services to bill issuers across most industry sectors, CEO Andrew Hardie believes that the company has the unique ability to provide a helicopter view of the bill payments market in 2020, particularly the impacts of the COVID-19
Checkers today revealed its new state-of-the-art supermarket at the Rosebank Mall as it continues to introduce more and more customers to a truly world-class shopping experience. The upmarket store offers a number of unique speciality services including: A honey bar offering three unique, local varieties of honey-on-tap, namely Buchu, Lucerne and Spring Hand-stretched, stone baked
SDM Eyewear will continue to distribute top international eyewear brands under the newly named holding company: FrontierCo. This is after SDM’s previous holding company, Busby, went into Voluntary Business Rescue in July this year. SDM has been part of the Busby stable since 1998. Along with the other brands in the group, SDM underwent a
E-commerce platform leads EV revolution to combat emissions and noise pollution in Kampala Sokowatch, the innovative East African e-commerce platform, has announced the ground breaking launch of electric tuk tuks to its delivery fleet in Uganda, making the vehicles the first to be used commercially in East Africa. Built and assembled by a team led
Uganda now has an ISO certified fuel laboratory following Vivo Energy Uganda’s laboratory accreditation by the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) 17025:2017. Vivo Energy Uganda is the marketer and distributor of Shell branded fuels and products. This announcement was made at a press conference held to launch the company’s Quality Week that will celebrate the
Lewis Group overcame severe trading restrictions in the first two months of the national COVID-19 lockdown to recover strongly and increase operating profit by 13.6% for the six months to September 2020. Headline earnings per share increased by 9.9% to 236 cents and the board declared an interim dividend of 133 cents per share, 10.8%
A brand new Builders store is opening its doors at Cresta Shopping Centre on November 26, 2020. The first branch to open within a super-regional mall, Builders Cresta will offer the full Builders Express range of products and services the brand is trusted for including a garden centre and a paint tinting and mixing counter.
Konga Nigeria’s foremost composite e-Commerce giant, has been rewarded with the highly coveted Company of the Year award in the just-concluded People of the Year Awards, 2020 organized by Business Hallmark Newspaper Group. The award, a recognition of the many landmark strides of Konga in the e-Commerce space, is the latest in a growing list
