PAXI, the affordable counter-to-counter parcel service which allows its customers to send, collect, and return parcels in a safe, convenient and affordable way, has experienced exceptional growth since its launch in 2018 by leveraging the extensive Pepkor store footprint. PAXI now has over 2 100 parcel service points countrywide through the Pep store network and
South Africa’s SPAR Group has reported a turnover increase of 13.5% to R124.3 billion (€6.79 billion) for the year ended 30 September 2020. The group’s extraordinary performance comes as consumers supported SPAR’s local and trusted retailers during this time of crisis. The group represents SPAR business in Southern Africa, Ireland, Switzerland, and Poland. The group
RFG reported a resilient performance in the year to September 2020 as turnover increased by 8.3% to R5.9 billion, despite COVID-19 impacting sales and profitability in the fruit juice and pie categories, and severely curtailing exports to China. The Western-Cape based food producer, which owns market-leading brands Rhodes, Bull Brand, Magpie, Squish, Bisto, Hinds and
Standard Bank Instant Money has partnered with some of South Africa’s major retailers and selected spaza shops; growing its footprint to over 15 000 cash out points nationwide. “Innovation and access to financial services is crucial for Standard Bank and that is why we have expanded our retailer footprint to offer our customers more options for
The annual MTN Business App of the Year Awards, which took place virtually last month for the first time, celebrates the very best of South Africa’s app development talent. The winner of the Best South African Solution for 2020 is BOTTLES, an app that provides a delivery service not only for your groceries, but also
Checkers Sixty60 picked up a gold award in the Service Design category at the 2020 Loerie Awards. Sixty60, the first one hour grocery delivery service from a South African supermarket chain, also recently won at the 2020 MTN Business App of the Year Awards and the 2020 BCX Digital Innovation Awards. “We are thrilled to have won a gold Loerie
Spur Corporation has reported a sharp decline in sales and profitability as the COVID-19 lockdown adversely impacted trading in the last four months of the financial year to June 2020. After restaurant sales increased by 6.0% in South Africa and 4.0% in the international operations in the eight months to February 2020, sales declined dramatically
The New House of Busby received approval from 91% of its creditors in support of its business rescue plan scripted and executed by Hans Klopper and Dawie van der Merwe of BDO Business Restructuring. The company will now be rebranded to FrontierCo and its Head Office has relocated from Germiston to George in the Southern
Checkers Sixty60 has won the 2020 BCX Digital Innovation Awards, which recognises excellence in digital innovation in the corporate category. Sixty60, the first 60-minute grocery delivery service from a South African supermarket chain, also recently won the People’s Choice Award and the Best Enterprise Solution at the 2020 MTN Business App of the Year Awards. These awards recognise
The no-frills guide to what South African shoppers are doing online The South African e-Commerce industry has experienced a massive boom in 2020. Accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Rand Merchant Bank estimates that the value of e-commerce transactions in South Africa will surge 150% to R225 billion by 2025. To better understand South Africa’s online
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a serious toll on shopper behaviour not only from a decline in spending but also in how they shop. With social distancing restrictions, a possible second wave of infections, and adaptations to new lifestyles, the crisis is driving more traffic to South African eCommerce merchants than before. To help
Excitement is sky-high among bargain-hungry shoppers as Konga Yakata, the Black Friday sales of Nigeria’s e-commerce giant is known, kicked off in the early hours of today, Wednesday, November 11, 2020. Already, thousands of eager shoppers expectedly kept vigil on the Konga website – www.konga.com to be the first to grab the special commencement deals.
Shoprite was voted the Best Convenience and Grocery Store of the Decade in the 22nd annual Sunday Times Top Brands survey. “This acknowledgement is testament to us continually striving to better serve our customers and staying true to our dedication to bring them lower prices they can trust, always. It is a wonderful recognition during
Jumiahas announced that its logistics service is now available for use by third parties. Until today, Jumia’s logistics services were reserved for ecommerce and food vendors operating on its marketplace. Jumia’s logistics services are now open to third party businesses who wish to leverage its network, technology and expertise for last mile deliveries across 11
United Exports has been reliably informed that the Dutch Customs Authority has intercepted and seized another shipment of fresh blueberries from South African grower, Ross Berries (Pty) Ltd. The 40ft reefer container containing a 16,600 kilogram (16,6 tonne) shipment of fruit was confiscated in terms of the European Union’s Intellectual Property, Counterfeit and Piracy Regulations.
Smart Made Simple: Local talent solving local business challenges In less than 12 months, the Checkers Sixty60™ online shopping app has become a household name thanks to its unrivalled convenience and speed of delivery. This scalable solution, an app that accommodates hundreds of concurrent users, and thousands of orders per day, has won Best Enterprise
E-commerce giant, Jumia Nigeria has partnered with Standard Chartered Bank, Samsung, and other brands for the 2020 Black Friday campaign, which is scheduled to begin on Friday, November 6th till 30th, 2020. Other partners include Pernod Ricard, Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser, Intel, Defacto, Umidigi, Michelin, Stanbic IBTC, and others. The chief executive officer of Jumia Nigeria,
It has been 25 years since the Shoprite Group blazed a trail to introduce world-class shopping in Zambia with the opening of its first supermarket on Cairo Road in Lusaka on 26 October 1995. The retailer was the first to bring the “shopping under one roof” concept to Zambia, while not straying from its core
The Shoprite Group’s Portfolio Management Office (PMO) has gained international recognition for its world-class project management skills as one of the top four finalists in the 2020 PMO Global Awards. The Shoprite PMO was a finalist in the coveted World PMO of the Year Award, competing with companies from Honduras (Americas), Ukraine (Europe) and the United
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, retailers across the SPAR network have reacted quickly to ensure stores remain safe spaces for shoppers and store team members. Although instore digital technologies have been on the rise for several years, they are playing an increasingly important role in maintaining a safe and comfortable shopping environment in
The Checkers Sixty60 app is the winner of the People’s Choice Award and the Best Enterprise Solution at the 2020 MTN Business App of the Year Awards. South Africa’s first 60-minute grocery delivery service from a supermarket chain launched in November 2019 and in less than 12 months Sixty60 has become a household name thanks to its unrivaled convenience and
TelrShops enables merchants to create an e-commerce site in just 5 minutes Assists all merchants across a number of industries in offering their products and services online A meticulously designed platform to manage, scale and grow businesses online Allows integration with the Telr Payment gateway and offers user flexibility through the TelrShops App A new
The linear customer journey has been scrambled. Today’s path to purchase includes multiple touchpoints both off and online. Brands are having to prioritise and measure their data strategy to keep up with the demands of more informed customers, with a range of competing products at their fingertips. The evolution of the omnichannel shopper, who uses
Massmart has announced the assignment of (Theodore) Sylvester John, the Walmart North America Vice President for Last Mile Delivery to lead the Massmart e-commerce team. John, who will report into Chief Operations Officer, Richard Inskip has extensive senior level retail experience in the US and Africa, having worked in a wide range of business development
As the climate crisis continues and natural disasters become more frequent due to global warming, the United Nations warned last week that not enough is being done to stop the world becoming an “uninhabitable hell” for millions of people. To keep the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees, we will need to reduce global greenhouse gas
Clicks Group delivered a strong and resilient performance in the COVID-19 environment, increasing diluted headline earnings per share by 13.7% to 754 cents for the year to August 2020. Earnings growth was driven mainly by tight cost management, solid retail health and beauty sales and the strong performance of UPD, the group’s pharmaceutical wholesaler. Shareholders
Pick n Pay published its interim results for the six months ended 30 August 2020. The result was delivered almost entirely in the unprecedented conditions of COVID-19. The Group successfully pursued two primary goals over the period: feeding the nation in a safe and reliable way as an essential provider of food and groceries, and
Woolworths today announced its commitment to invest R1billion in its prices over the next two – three years, with a R750million investment planned in the Foods business, to ensure it continues to provide Woolies exceptional qualityTM products at great value to customers, every day. Commenting on the announcement, Woolworths SA CEO, Zyda Rylands, said, “Over the
Ahead of World Food Day on 16th October, Jumia has published its 1st Africa Food Index showing the impact of COVID-19 on food trends in Africa. Online food delivery is changing habits in unexpected ways for businesses and consumers due to the pandemic. The growing popularity of fast food, coupled with the growing trends for convenience and
The Competition Tribunal (the Tribunal) has conditionally approved the transaction whereby K2020211444 (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd (“K2020”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Truworths Limited (“Truworths”), will acquire the business (assets and liabilities) of Barrie Cline Clothing (Pty) Ltd (Barrie Cline) as a going concern. Upon implementation of the merger, K2020 will exercise sole control over
SPAR is continuously looking to integrate sustainable solutions in their operations, with partners exploring ways to minimise CO2 emissions, energy consumption, and waste. The solar plant project at SPAR South Africa’s distribution centres (DCs) offers a prime example of the successful incorporation of sustainable, energy-efficient technologies. As SPAR continues to grow, so does our potential
The Tribunal has confirmed, as an order, a consent agreement between the Competition Commission (the Commission) and Shoprite Checkers (Pty) Ltd (Shoprite) whereby the retailer agrees to immediately stop enforcing exclusivity provisions in its long-term exclusive lease agreements with its landlords against small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and speciality and limited line stores such
The Shoprite Group is launching a rewards programme for its Shopite branded stores on Monday 12 October 2020. The new Shoprite Xtra Savings card will benefit customers with immediate cash savings and launches a year after the Checkers Xtra Savings rewards programme, with more than 5 million customers signed up for and which put more than a R1bn
South African businesses can now get an ecommerce-ready website, including a full payment suite, integrated delivery service and free hosting for just R349 per month. SA’s largest payment service provider, DPO South Africa, launched DPO Store, described as ecommerce-in-a-box, its specifically designed to help start up and small businesses move online easily, quickly and securely.
MACmobile, a provider of end-to-end cloud-based FMCG value chain solutions and platforms, has launched STOREApp for FIELDForce, a self-service mobile application aimed at empowering main market retailers to manage their own ordering process. This innovative application runs off any smartphone or browser, enabling spaza shop owners and other small retailers to place their orders directly
Zamleather has pledged continued support to the growth of the leather industry in Zambia and called for a crackdown on cattle rustling to help preserve the sector. The tannery and shoe division of Zambeef – and the company behind the popular Zamshu footwear brand – is committed to continue sourcing hides from local livestock farmers.
Inspired by the World Food Day celebrations on Oct 16th, this month-long event will also showcase the diversity of the African food industry. Africa’s E-commerce platform Jumia (NYSE: JMIA) has announced the launch of a Food Festival Campaign which will take place from the 1st to 31st October 2020. The campaign is organized in partnership with local
CEO Val Nichas (58) has been appointed as an executive director and group Chief Executive Officer of Spur Corporation with effect from 1 January 2021. She will succeed Pierre van Tonder who will be retiring from the group with effect from 31 December 2020 after 38 years’ service. Val is a highly experienced strategist who
Innovation has enabled the Shoprite Group to continue to serve its customers and launch new services during extremely limiting lockdown conditions. “During the pandemic, necessity has truly been the mother of invention,” says David Cohn, General Manager: IT of the Shoprite Group. “The limitations that the crisis brought about and the desperate need of businesses
The Tribunal has approved, with conditions, the proposed merger whereby Foschini Retail Group (Pty) Ltd (Foschini) will acquire Edcon’s Jet Division i.e. the assets and business conducted by Edcon Ltd as a going concern under the “Jet” division out of certain Edcon physical retail stores in South Africa. In considering the proposed transaction, the Tribunal
OneView Cloud Expense Management, the latest module available in Nebula’s OneView Technology Expense Management platform, has launched in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace. Given the incredible growth of cloud-based SaaS solutions and the rise of self-service B2B marketplaces – we wrote more about the trend here – this is a no-brainer as the geo-expansion approach for Microsoft
Edcon has announced that the sale of parts of Jet to The Foschini Group Ltd (TFG) has been concluded. TFG is home to a comprehensive portfolio of 29 retail brands that trade in clothing, footwear, jewellery, sportswear, homeware, cell phones, and technology products from value to upper market segments in more than 4085 outlets across
Private Label products experienced startling double digit growth during the initial period of South Africa’s lockdown. This was particularly evident during March where a massive 27.2% increase in sales took place, amidst pre-lockdown stockpiling, versus the same month in 2019. This positive performance continued throughout April (19.3%), May (18.5%) and June (18.2%), with broader year
NCR Corporation has announced a collaboration with Microsoft to power NCR Digital Connected Services (DCS). NCR’s Digital Connected Services Internet of Things (IoT) management software will run on top of Azure IoT AI technology. That means data can be turned into insights faster, and incidents that could potentially impact availability can be identified sooner, increasing uptime.
SPAR South Africa has recently not only been awarded the Rural and Township Development Award at the 2020 ABSA Business Day Supplier Development Awards in South Africa, but also claimed the prize of Overall Winner for its SPAR Rural Hub Programme. The SPAR Rural Hub Programme is a collaboration between small-scale farmers, communities and retailers
COVID-19 continues to leave behind a trail of disruption as industry after industry has been forced to adapt to a new way of working in the face of the national lockdown. It’s no secret that the restaurant industry has faced dire challenges in order to keep food on the table. While some have had to
Edcon announced that the sale of parts of the Edgars business in South Africa to Retailability (Pty) Ltd has been implemented, with all approvals from regulatory authorities and all conditions precedent either fulfilled or waived. The sale includes the transfer of approximately 120 stores in South Africa together with the businesses conducted therein. Retailability, a
She is the first-ever female factory manager in Nestlé Central and West Africa Across Africa, most schools have closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several international organizations have warned that school closures will hit girls hardest during this time. While many girls will eventually continue with their education once schools reopen, others will never return
Checkers this week launched its Sixty60 on-demand one-hour grocery delivery service in the Eastern Cape and Free State. Sixty60 first launched in a few neighbourhoods in the Western Cape and Gauteng in late 2019. Customer response has been exceptional due to the service’s lightning fast service and ease of use. “COVID-19 has also seen a
Since the start of lockdown, Checkers Sixty60 has created 800 new jobs to meet the increased demand for this service. With delivery in as little as 60 minutes, at a fee of just R35, it is South Africa’s fastest and cheapest on demand grocery delivery service. After three months of successful beta testing, Sixty60 launched in
