German furniture and décor brand Kare has opened its first South African store in Kramerville, Johannesburg. The 1,000 square metre space is located on Appel Road and carries the brand’s extensive range of furniture, lighting and accessories. Having established a firm foothold in Europe, Asia and the Americas, the South African launch follows store openings
On this week’s episode of Marketplace Africa, CNN International’s Eleni Giokos meets Tertius Carstens, the CEO of Pioneer Foods. He outlines the company’s journey from its beginning in 1997 and describes some of the challenges the company has had to overcome. Carstens tells the programme how the company began: “The official starting point for Pioneer
Total South African retail sales for May 2018 grew by three percent year-on-year excluding the effects of inflation, compared to the 3.1 percent year-on-year growth recorded in May 2017. This is according to the Mastercard SpendingPulse May 2018 report, which provides a macro-economic analysis of retail spending trends in South Africa. The report shows that
New study on cash automation presents in-depth insights from retailers in 13 countries on technology which counts, validates and stores banknotes, and which is capable of fully automating cash management in stores. Security considerations drive retailers to invest in automation of cash processing Retail Cash Automation 2018, a brand new study by strategic research and
South Africa has signed the African Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement with the African Union, which will pave the way for the country to benefit from inter-regional trade within the African continent. “This agreement is an important step towards South Africa’s participation in a market of over one billion people and will create opportunities and
Pick n Pay is experimenting with compostable bags as an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic bags. To mark International Plastic Bag Free Day and as part of its efforts to reduce plastic waste, the retailer performed a one-day trial at its V&A Waterfront store to gauge customer reaction. The trial is intended to inform further
Fashion and lifestyle retailer TFG walked away with the prestigious “Retailer of the Year” award at the 2018 Canal Walk Retail Excellence Awards. The Group has 26 stores trading in the shopping centre, representing all of its local brands. Gavin Wood, the CEO of Canal Walk Shopping Centre, says that the annual Retail Excellence Awards
The South African Council of Shopping Centres (SACSC) has a new president – property sector stalwart Stephan le Roux. Le Roux has more than three decades of experience in the various aspects of the property and retail industry. After studying and achieving degrees in accountancy and architecture, the property industry was a natural calling as
The pursuit of greater electronic payment adoption among South African merchants received a significant boost with the announcement of a partnership between leading African fintech holding company Crossfin Technology Holdings and global fund manager Apis Partners LLP. According to Anton Gaylard, COO of Crossfin, the partnership with Apis will create an enlarged payments operating company
Mobecom Limited is pleased to announce it has signed agreements with two of Spur Corporations’ (Spur) franchise brands, John Dory’s and Spur Steak Ranches. Mobecom announced on 30 November 2017 that it had entered into a Master Services Agreement with Spur (MSA), as Spur’s exclusive provider of customer loyalty technology for Spur’s 590+ franchise outlets
Spur Corporation is to expand its restaurant portfolio with the acquisition of a 51% stake in the fast-growing franchise restaurant group Nikos Coalgrill Greek. Nikos Coalgrill Greek currently operates six franchised restaurants, with a further four outlets confirmed to open in the coming months. The first Nikos Coalgrill Greek restaurant opened in Durban North in
South African kitchen and homeware store Yuppiechef is set to open its second physical store on 1 July 2018 in Gardens Shopping Centre in the Cape Town CBD. The new store launches just nine months after the first brick-and-mortar Yuppiechef store opened in Willowbridge, Tyger Valley, Cape Town. “Our first store has been incredibly well-supported,
Legwear specialists Falke South Africa will this month be establishing a retail presence in Australia, following an “extremely successful” visit to the country. “There are definitively great similarities between the target markets here in South Africa and in Australia. Our audiences share comparable lifestyles, which will provide a great fit for the Falke brand. We
Edcon, South Africa’s largest non-food retailer, has announced a renewed focus on its iconic brands, Edgars, Jet, CNA and the thank U offering. Various new strategies, the launch of new stores and enhanced product categories will strengthen the positioning of these brands in line with this renewed strategy. At an event held at the Edcon
Nestlé South Africa has transformed its Mossel Bay dairy factory into a “zero water” manufacturing site. Over the past six years, the company has installed new water recovery, treatment and recycling technology at the factory which will enable it to re-use and recycle water from its dairy operations. Between 2008 and 2010, the Mossel Bay
Media24 will be the 51% owner of a new venture which will arise from a merger between Naspers-owned online fashion retailers Spree and Superbalist, the media company and Takealot announced on Monday. The merger of the two businesses into one entity seeks to create a “larger, more focused and economically sustainable platform on which to
Woolworths celebrates World Environment Day by announcing a number of measures to reduce plastic pollution as well as committing that by 2022 all of its own-brand plastic packaging will be reusable and recyclable. As the latest step in its Good Business Journey and in line with the Group’s vision to be one of the most
Burger King SA announced that its 80th corporate restaurant has opened at the Kolonnade Retail Park in Tshwane on Friday, 8 June 2018. This is the 20th restaurant to be opened this financial year and the business is on track to open another 20 restaurants by the next financial year. Says Juan Klopper, COO of
Massmart’s second Urban Bookshelf has been launched in the township of Alexandra. The project, aimed at increasing access to books, is the second in a series of planned free miniature libraries across Johannesburg to promote reading and improve literacy. The first library was opened at Phefeni Recreation Centre in Orlando, Soweto in July 2017 and featured
This youth month Africa’s largest retailer is set to reach its target of empowering more than 12 000 youths (aged 18-29 years) to enter the retail sector or start their own business. Arguably the largest skills development initiative ever undertaken by a South African retailer, the Shoprite Group’s Retail Readiness programme launched in February 2016.
Total South African retail sales for April 2018 grew by 3.7 percent year-on-year after removing the effects of inflation, showing the highest growth rate seen in April in the past six years. This is according to the Mastercard SpendingPulse April 2018 report, which provides a macroeconomic analysis of retail spending trends in South Africa. The
Ingenico Group supported the roll-out of a secure biometric solution in Zambia in partnership with Paycode. This program allowed the distribution of 22 million dollars subsidies in rural Zambia within 3 months. Since 7 November 2017, the program has allowed registered farmers to access a government-funded program, the FISP subsidy, in which farmers make a
South Africa’s recently launched home improvement app, HomeFixer, has announced a partnership with Hirsch’s, one of South Africa’s most well-known independent home appliances and furniture store. HomeFixer Founder and Managing Director, Renaldo Bothma, says that the home improvement app is delighted to partner with one of South Africa’s most iconic brands: “We are proud to
Nielsen has announced that it will release Consumer Panel data fused with 2017 PAMS data in August this year, this is an enhanced survey that will provide the industry with rich information on 200 consumer goods categories and more than 5 000 brands. The study is being funded by the Publisher Research Council (PRC) and
Shoprite has announced the launch of Shoprite Money – a new mobile transactional banking service which is available to everyone in South Africa, even those without existing bank accounts. Using their Shoprite Money mobile wallet, this new service will enable customers to deposit, withdraw or send money as well as buy groceries at any of
SPAR South Africa’s Eastern Cape (EC) division has declared war on plastic bags as the retailer spearheads a significant step forward in the battle to protect the environment. In a move which has been hailed by environmental groups as a major development, the SPAR EC team have launched an initiative to urge customers to consider
Clicks Group will become the first major retailer in South Africa to provide fully employer-funded low-cost health insurance benefits for all its South African employees and the company’s CEO David Kneale is urging other corporates to follow suit in offering quality and affordable primary healthcare services to all staff. “While approximately 9 million South Africans
Total South African retail sales for March 2018 grew by four percent year-on-year after removing the effects of inflation, marking the highest growth rate for retail spending since May 2013. This is according to the Mastercard SpendingPulse March 2018 report, which provides a macroeconomic analysis of retail spending trends in South Africa. March’s retail performance
The fast food and quick service restaurant (QSR) sector continues to show steady growth on the back of what has been a tough economic climate in South Africa. With a contribution in access of 29%, QSR has by far the biggest share in franchising turnover. According to the Franchise Association of South Africa (FASA), the
Clicks Group reported continued strong growth in retail health and beauty sales, improved margins and robust cash flows for the six months to February 2018 as diluted headline earnings per share increased by 14.8%. Group turnover increased by 10% to R14.4 billion with the retailer generating cash inflows from operations of over R1.1 billion for
The Shoprite Group has launched a discount buying card to assist welfare organisations in their bid to stay afloat amidst trying economic times. The Act For Change card gives qualifying non-profit organisations (NPOs) access to a 5% discount across various Shoprite Group outlets. The NPOs have 30 days to pay with no interest. Further benefits
Mastercard has completed its acquisition of mobile payments technology company Oltio from Standard Bank Group. The acquisition builds on Mastercard’s longstanding relationship with Oltio, a startup that pioneered and patented several mobile payments and banking solutions, including an authentication technology. Today, that technology enables consumers to authenticate Masterpass digital wallet purchases in South Africa using
Local retailers have been under severe pressure these past couple of years, and 2018 promises no respite. Weak economic growth, regulatory changes and a fluctuating rand continue to ail the industry, while inflation (anticipated to be around 5%) erodes consumers’ disposable income. Given this reality, it could be expected that many retailers would pass on
For a small retailer or start-up to be successful and move to the next level, it’s important that systems are in place to track inventory, recon and balance merchant batch closure, manage multiple store and staff sales and have immediate access to real-time data that helps make better management decisions. SA’s long-standing fintech player, Sureswipe
After years of planning and hard work from the project team, the construction of Liberty Midlands Mall’s Phase 3 development commenced in November 2016, and will be completed and ready for trade in March, 2018. Liberty Midlands Mall is co-owned by Liberty Group Limited and Liberty Two Degrees’. Their prestigious real estate portfolio includes ownership
PayPal released data about mobile phone usage and mobile eCommerce at the Seamless Africa Conference in Cape Town earlier this week. Online shopping is on the rise in South Africa. South Africans spent R37.1 billion shopping online in 2016, an increase of nearly 30% from the previous year. These numbers are expected to continue to
The Shoprite Group produced an industry-leading performance in the 26 weeks to 31 December 2017 with growth in turnover, profit and market share. According to Chief Executive, Pieter Engelbrecht, “Results were boosted by a strong performance in our core South African supermarket operations, which grew turnover by 7.8%.” This helped offset a 0.4% decline in
Mastercard SpendingPulse reports that South African consumer spending showed a healthy improvement over the festive season, with retail sales volumes rising 3.8 percent year-on-year after removing the effects of inflation. This marks the strongest monthly performance for South African retail spending since May 2013. The latest SpendingPulse South Africa report details holiday shopping in December
The Competition Tribunal upheld exceptions taken by retailers Shoprite Checkers, Pick ‘n Pay Retailers and Spar in respect of an amended referral by Walmart-owned Massmart regarding its complaint against retailers and landlords for allegedly entering into exclusivity agreements impacting on its Game stories. In its complaint Massmart said it wishes to enter the fresh grocery
Leading health and beauty retailer Clicks continued its strong growth trend in the 20 weeks to mid-January 2018, increasing sales by 14.2%. Reporting on the Clicks Group’s trading update, chief executive David Kneale said the Clicks chain continued to show its resilience in the current tight consumer spending environment. Clicks reported real volume growth of
Nielsen South Africa MD Bryan Sun comments: “South Africa is slowly turning around from recent economic declines to low levels of growth. As inflation is contained, grocery prices have stabilised, with additional relief in many food commodities due to the end of the drought, in certain regions. However, there is declining sentiment regarding job prospects
Moving Tactics, South Africa’s leading digital signage solutions company, recently worked with Adidas to install two video walls at their new flagship store in Sandton City Shopping Centre in South Africa. They collaborated on the retail design solution so as to create a unique and eye-catching focal point to engage with and attract customers into
South African consumer spending showed a modest uptick in October this year, with total retail volumes for the month rising 2.3 percent year-over-year after removing the effects of inflation, according to the Mastercard SpendingPulse™ October 2017 report. Including the effects of inflation, total retail sales for October 2017 grew 6.4 percent year-over-year, reflecting a welcome
Recent years have shown an upward trend in the private-label (PL) category in South Africa, with improving consumer perceptions and greater focus from retailers to develop the category. Hence, despite the tough trading conditions off the back of low economic growth and curbed consumer confidence, there is excellent growth potential within South Africa’s R43-Billion Private
In a Black Friday that saw the spike in volumes challenge many eCommerce companies, payment services provider, PayU, facilitated an increase of around 8.5 times the transaction volumes from last year and experienced 0% downtime across all of their system components. “Despite the massive increase in transaction volumes for our South African merchants, our platform
Today’s customer expects to engage with retailers in an engaging and digitally interactive way in-store and retailers are focusing on this customer journey to develop the relationship and increase sales. Moving Tactics, South Africa’s leading digital signage solutions company, has recently partnered with Clicks, the largest health and beauty-focused retail chain in South Africa with
As South African consumers and retailers prepare for the shopping spree associated with the international trend of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the real achievement for the country will be the expected improvement in the adoption of e-Commerce. Dr Christoph Nieuwoudt, CEO of FNB Consumer says, South Africa’s e-Commerce is likely to get a boost
Mr Price today announced an increase in diluted headline earnings per share of 23.6% to 434.1 cents and interim dividend per share of 22.3% to 279.0 cents. ”We’re pleased with the resilience of our business model and fortitude shown by our associates. They produced really solid results in extremely challenging trading conditions and I am
Economic conditions impacting the country’s lower to middle income market continued to weigh on Lewis Group’s performance for the six months to September 2017 as headline earnings declined from R173 million to R144 million with headline earnings per share 15.8% lower at 163.9 cents. However, the group’s results show an improving sales growth trend, stronger
As it approaches its first anniversary in the South African market, Google Shopping is making its mark, with some retailers showing a return on investment percentages measured in the thousands. However, as more businesses enter the fray, companies who try go it alone will find it increasingly difficult to ensure their products stand out. Google
