This week representatives from Walmart’s Global Sourcing team are in Johannesburg to meet with 18 of Massmart’s South African suppliers who are interested in exploring opportunities to export their products to Walmart markets. This is as a result of a discussion that took place at the World Economic Forum in Davos between Minister of Trade
The new Edgars brand concept is unlike anything we’ve seen before in South Africa, seamlessly translating the brand’s new positioning and business direction into a physical open-floor space that immediately evokes a sense of play. Ever since Edgars re-launched the brand last year, the retail giant has been collaborating with South African culture and actively
On its ongoing commitment to phase out single-use plastic shopping bags by 2020, Woolworths has announced its first trial of specially-designed paper bags for fashion, beauty and homeware purchases. In alignment with its Good Business Journey, every aspect of the impact of the new paper bags has been considered, from improved care for the environment,
• Purpose, Value, and Convenience emerge as drivers of consumption and innovation • Need for consumer-centric growth strategies The South African consumer landscape is currently fragmented and polarised, characterised by the double edged demand of the South African consumer. Some are feeling more prosperous, while others are amongst the most stretched spenders in the world.
A new payment services platform, utilised by two of South Africa’s oldest member organisations, promises to open up the buy-aid market to consumers and retailers alike. Co-Switch, a newly launched closed-loop payments platform, is currently being introduced to Cape Consumers and Iemas’ members and retail partners. Cape Consumers under their Bsmart card brand and Iemas
Checkers opened the doors to its 100th store in Gauteng at Ferndale on Republic, previously known as Brightwater Commons in Randburg, on Thursday, 29 August 2019. Almost 90 new jobs were created, bringing the full staff complement at Checkers Ferndale to 137, of which 105 are women and 108 are youth (between the ages of
Through the strategic investment, Standard Bank has launched a mobile application, powered by Nomanini, which offers underserved informal retailers financial services for the first time CAPE TOWN, 27th August 2019—Nomanini, the pioneering fintech platform for the informal retail ecosystem, has today announced a $4m funding round led by Standard Bank, Africa’s largest bank, and completed
Consumers are embracing the technology offered by virtual cards, as Standard Bank starts to see the benefits of online shopping ecosystem, nine months after the launch its virtual card proposition. In the past nine months, virtual card payments have increased by more than 300%, though they started off at a very low base. A virtual
Trendy Italian underwear, clothing and swimwear brand, Yamamay, has launched its first South African flagship store at Menlyn Park Shopping Centre in Pretoria, finally bringing its exclusive international fashion ranges to local shores. Yamamay officially opened its doors to the South African public on Wednesday, 24 July 2019, with Stefano Ligrone, the First Secretary in
Lightstone reveals how the service station industry offering continues to evolve in a demanding environment. At the Nedbank Franchising Roadshow Lightstone, the provider of comprehensive data, analytics and systems on property, pointed out that the service station sector plays a pivotal role in the franchise industry and its forecast. Linda Reid, Head of Commercial Property
UnionPay International (UPI) has announced significant progress in the South African retail payments market through their co-operation with Pick n Pay and Absa Bank. Through a tripartite co-operation agreement, Pick n Pay, a major food, clothing and general merchandise retailer, is now enabled to accept UnionPay cards at all of its till points across its
Affordable clothing retailer Pep Stores leads the pack in terms of customer satisfaction ratings in the latest South African Customer Satisfaction Index(SA-csi) for Clothing Stores, conducted by Consulta. The 2018 SA-csi for Clothing Stores ranks Ackermans, Edgars, Jet, Mr. Price, Pep Stores, Truworths and Woolworths based on highly scientific insights into the overall level of
Customers can pay bills, buy cellphones, tickets, lotto, electricity and even insurance at Shoprite’s new k’nect stores Six more k’nect stores opening before mid-August 2019 Global money transfers at k’nect stores and Money Market counters are cheaperer than any other available transfers, no hidden costs and convenient for customers The Shoprite Group is making it
The landscape of retail is transforming faster than ever before. Every day there are new smart ideas that are raising the bar for retail excellence. From innovative tailor-made apps for employees to personalised customer welcoming technology, Massmart’s first-ever Digital Bootcamp gave a glimpse at the technological innovations redefining retail. Six individuals, six weeks, two hours
GfK South Africa has launched its Smart Path solution, one of the first offerings in the local market to give brands and retailers in the technical goods and consumer durables industries a complete view of the online and offline consumer path to purchase. GfK Smart Path combines social media listening, survey data and client point
PepsiCo (PEP.O) has struck a deal to buy South Africa’s Pioneer Food Group (PFGJ.J) for $1.7 billion, the companies said on Friday, lifting Pioneer’s shares and boosting a sector that has been hit by drought and tough trading conditions. The U.S. drinks and snack group said on Friday that Pioneer’s product portfolio was complementary to
Spur Corporation increased total franchised restaurant sales by 7.2% to R7.6 billion in the year to 30 June 2019. Franchised restaurant sales in South Africa grew by 6.2%, with sales from international restaurants increasing by 16.2% in Rand terms. International restaurant sales increased by 12.3% on a constant exchange rate basis. These results include the
An Exciting Product Innovation Aimed at the Retail Sector. The Argility Technology Group has announced the release of its latest innovation: PredictRetail, a Google Cloud native application offering predictive analytics to retailers. PredictRetail enables retailers to make better business decisions, by using machine learning, data science and predictive modelling, to extract insights from historical data
Integrated ICT and infrastructure provider, Vox has introduced the Vox WiFi Retail Lite solution targeting coffee shops, restaurants, and other small service businesses where customers have come to depend on freely available WiFi access. “Retail stores can ill afford not to provide customers with high-speed WiFi connectivity given the increased connected lifestyles we lead. The
FNB has revealed that South African consumers are showing strong appetite to save after its customers initiated nearly 20 000 savings goals in just a few days since the launch of the Savings Goals feature on the Bank’s App. To date, some of the top Savings Goals that have been chosen by consumers include: saving
Footgear – backed by Old Mutual Private Equity (OMPE), has announced that it has acquired the Edgars Active and High Key chain stores, divisions of the Edcon Group, and leading retailers of branded sport and lifestyle footwear, clothing and accessories. The transaction remains subject to conditions precedent, including regulatory approvals. The acquisition, funded by growth
Game Stores Africa opened their 4th store in Namibia. The prominent brand is proud to open their 149th store in Walvis Bay on 27 June 2019. The iconic pink brand brings all the electronics, lifestyle, and essential products at the unbeatable prices Game is renowned for to the community of Walvis Bay in a 2
Shoprite created 100 jobs with the opening of its new store in Marapyane, Mpumalanga on Thursday, 27 June. The store’s total staff complement is 137, which includes 124 youth (between the ages of 18 and 35) and 82 women. Shoppers eagerly gathered to be amongst the first to benefit from the store’s opening specials and
• 30% of the total volume of products were sold at a discounted price in 2018 • 66% of promotions don’t break-even South Africa is home to a nation of promotion obsessed shoppers. This insight stems from a newly released Nielsen report The Price of Promoting, which shows that 75% of South Africans claimed to
Two of Tsogo Sun’s flagship Western Cape hotels – Southern Sun The Cullinan and Southern Sun Waterfront Cape Town recently announced the appointment of two new General Managers. Jacques Moolman has taken over as General Manager at The Cullinan while Johann Nortjè has been appointed as General Manager at Southern Sun Waterfront. Moolman and Nortjè
Naspers creates new executive position to lead Naspers’ activities in South Africa Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa to join the Naspers management team as CEO, South Africa Responsibilities include leadership of Naspers’ flagship South African units, Naspers Foundry and Naspers Labs Naspers announces the appointment of Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa to the global Naspers management team as CEO, South Africa.
Comparison tools lead the way for price transparency in e-commerce Online shopping has become increasingly popular amongst South African consumers. Convenience, competitive pricing, and a wide choice of products make online purchasing a no-brainer for tech-savvy shoppers, but retailers need to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to standing out against the competition.
The Technology Innovator Applauds its Twenty One Year Journey with Retail Giant Argility – a member of the Argility Technology Group has revealed details of its twenty-one year journey with the Shoprite Furniture Group, trading under the brands of OK Furniture, House & Home and OK Power Express. In 1998 Argility was appointed by the
Local retailer to offer customers a wider range of package-free fruit and vegetables Pick n Pay has launched a ‘nude’ fruit and vegetable produce wall – a dedicated plastic and packaging-free zone in 13 stores across the country as part of a trial to measure customers’ readiness to switch from pre-packaged food to loose products.
Woolworths is pleased to announce the official launch of its first intake of candidates from the Youth Employment Services (YES) programme, a government-led partnership with business, labour and civil society which aims to empower one million young South Africans by offering paid, quality work experience. Through the YES programme, Woolworths will recruit approximately 450 learners
Restaurant franchise group Spur Corporation has entered into an agreement to acquire the 10% stake in the company sold to Grand Parade Investments (GPI) in 2014. The value of the transaction is R260 million, equating to R24.00 per share. Spur Corporation concluded a broad-based black economic empowerment transaction with the black owned and controlled GPI
Rhodes Food Group has received the award for the Best Reporting and Communications in the consumer products sector in the annual Investment Analysts Society of South Africa (IASSA) awards for excellence in financial reporting and communications. The awards are voted by members of the IASSA who are the country’s investment decisionmakers and recognise the standard
“THIS WAS A TRANSFORMATIONAL YEAR FOR NASPERS. WE ENTERED FY20 WELL-POSITIONED AS A GLOBAL CONSUMER INTERNET GROUP,” CONFIRMED BOB VAN DIJK, GROUP CEO. Group highlights for the year Revenues increased 29% year-on-year to US19.0bn (2018: US$16.4bn). Trading profit grew 22% year-on-year to US$3.3bn (2018: US$3.0bn). Core headline earnings grew 26% to US$3.0bn (2018: US$2.4bn). Transition
Edcon, South Africa’s largest non-food retailer, made a commitment in 2016 to a localised cotton initiative – from “farm to shelf” – by participating in the Sustainable Cotton Cluster (SCC). What started as a pilot project with a commitment of 600 tons of cotton lint from South African cotton farmers has now grown to a
Shoprite Botswana recently opened its own world-class distribution centre (DC) in Taung, Gaborone. The 3 700 m² state-of-the-art facility is the first in the country that can handle storage across multiple temperature disciplines, contains tropical ripening rooms as well as offer value-added packing facilities. Most of the space – some 2 700 m² – will
The Carter App Simplifies Automobile Purchasing for Consumers. The Carter platform was developed with the express purpose of helping consumers successfully make one of the biggest purchasing decisions they will ever make: buying a new car. “The whole process of buying a new car is extremely complex and user-unfriendly. Our app aims to help consumers
RFG has recently completed the acquisition of a protein snack food business from RCL Foods Consumer (Pty) Ltd for R30 million. The business produces a range of protein snacks for Woolworths, including meat balls and chipolata sausages. The new business has been integrated into the Western Cape ready meals factory at the Groot Drakenstein production
Food retailer on track to launch new concept stores in all 10 provinces. Former Republican President Rupiah Banda officially opened the Zambeef Petauke Macro this week, the first of the company’s new concept stores in Eastern Province. Mr Banda, who is himself an avid farmer, commended Zambeef and said that the company’s decision to choose
Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) in Namibia inaugurated a new, sustainable solar power supply at their Windhoek factory. As a proud industry leader in developing increasingly sustainable ways to manufacture, distribute and sell their products, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) in Namibia, has recently installed 1 740 solar panels and nine solar inverters on the roof of
It’s hard to imagine that just 10 years ago, the consumer’s experience of shopping in a forecourt convenience store (c-store) was completely different. In the 2000’s, forecourt convenience retail was still dominated by garage stores that specialised in the 5c’s – cigarettes, chips, chocolates, instant coffee and cool drinks. However, the industry was about to
A consortium led by Apis Growth Fund I, a private equity fund managed by Apis Partners LLP, and Crossfin Technology Holdings, a fintech investment company announced today the acquisition of Sureswipe (Pty) Limited and the formation of Crossfin Transactional Solutions, South Africa’s largest independent payments and merchant acquiring solutions platform The acquisition of Sureswipe complements
Lewis Group has reported the continued turnaround in the performance of its traditional retail brands in the year to March 2019, with strong merchandise sales growth and the early benefits of its diversification strategy driving headline earnings per share 24.3% higher to 376 cents. The group’s total dividend has been increased by 17% to 234
Two large players in the tobacco industry, Gold Leaf Tobacco and Philip Morris South Africa, have been recognised as participants in the ongoing large merger proceedings involving British American Tobacco and Twisp Gold Leaf Tobacco and Philip Morris South Africa recently applied to the Tribunal for leave to intervene in the merger proceedings. The Tribunal’s
Rhodes Food Group Holdings (RFG) reported an improving performance for the six months to March 2019 as turnover increased by 9.3% to R2.7 billion and operating profit by 6% to R173 million. Headline earnings recovered to increase by 2.1% to R84 million. The Western Cape-based food producer, which owns market-leading brands Rhodes, Bull Brand, Magpie,
· Almost 40% of those surveyed are moving away from consuming entertainment through traditional channels and rather streaming daily or more. · More than 50% of Gen Z consumers are streaming daily or more. · 33% of South African consumers go to social media first to hear about current events. Consumers are increasingly using digital
South Africa’s leading online retailer takealot.com has launched over 25 highly anticipated collection facilities across the country. Its flagship Takealot Pickup Point at the New Road off-ramp in Midrand spans the N1 highway, the busiest highway in Africa, allowing motorists travelling in both directions to easily collect their online orders. The newly renovated, 1 177
Woolworths Proprietary Limited, a leading South African retail chain, has successfully implemented Centric Software’s Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution. Centric Software provides the most innovative enterprise solutions to fashion, retail, footwear, outdoor, luxury and consumer goods companies to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals. Woolworths South Africa, part of Woolworths Holdings Limited, is a
The Commission has recommended to Competition Tribunal (Tribunal) that the proposed acquisition of WeBuyCars (Pty) Ltd (WeBuyCars) by MIH eCommerce Holdings (Pty) Ltd (MIH eCommerce), an entity of the Naspers Group, be prohibited. MIH eCommerce wishes to acquire 60% of WeBuyCars. MIH eCommerce is mainly an investment holding company and does not itself supply any
SPAR Zimbabwe is excited to announce the launch of its new SPAR Online Shop – becoming the first major supermarket in the country to offer such a service. Online shopping, particularly for grocery and food items, is a relatively new concept in Zimbabwe, with much of the population having no or limited access to the
Dis-Chem results for the 12 months ended 28 February 2019 Highlights • Group revenue up 10% to R21.4 billion • Headline earnings up 7.4% Midrand, 16 May 2019 – Despite a tough economic environment and prolonged industrial action, which affected almost a third of the financial year, Dis-Chem reported positive results with improved market share
