TFG has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Hobbs, a contemporary British womenswear brand, through its United Kingdom subsidiary, TFG Brands (London) Limited. The agreement is subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions precedent normal for a transaction of this nature. Hobbs currently has 140 outlets comprising standalone stores and concessions
PayPal has announced the launch of its Seller Protection Programme in some Sub-Saharan Africa countries, in an effort to empower local businesses to trade online, both locally and globally with confidence and peace of mind. PayPal’s Seller Protection Programme is designed to help protect merchants from buyer’s claims, chargeback, and reversals, so that they are
Of the 33 participants in the Massmart Supplier Development Programme 13 are private label projects, eight are import substitution projects and six are exporting products as far as New Zealand. Massmart today hosted an event to celebrate local manufacturers who are participants in their Supplier Development Programme. At the event, the Economic Development Department, and
Pick n Pay, the largest online grocery business in Africa, has unveiled its new online shopping website. Designed to work alongside the recently relaunched mobile app, the website has been built to offer greater convenience, wider choice, more promotions and lower prices to its fast-growing base of online shoppers. The website is geared towards customers
Clicks Group increased operating profit by 15.4% to R1.8 billion in the year to August 2017, driven by strong retail health and beauty sales which grew by 14.7%. Group turnover increased by 10.9% to R26.8 billion and diluted headline earnings per share by 14.5% to 502 cents. The group increased its operating margin by 30
Lewis Group has announced the acquisition of United Furniture Outlets (UFO), a cash retailer of luxury household furniture to the higher income market, for R320 million. UFO was established in 2004 and has a retail footprint of 30 stores. More than half the outlets are located in Gauteng, including its flagship 5 000 m² mega-store in
Over the past four years the franchising sector has displayed resilience, consistently growing its contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 9.7% in 2014 to its present contribution of 13.3% – an upward trend that is most likely to continue despite the lackluster economy. The current growth of 13.3% is broken down by
Nominal retail sales for August 2017 grew a substantial 8.1 percent versus the same month last year, marking the quickest pace of growth the retail industry has seen in the past three months. This is according to the Mastercard SpendingPulse August 2017 report, which provides a macroeconomic analysis of retail spending trends in South Africa.
MEC for KwaZulu-Natal Human Settlements and Public Works, Ravi Pillay, together with Darryl Mayers, Head of Investec Property South Africa and EThekwini Municipality, have officially opened the 65 000m² brand new Cornubia Mall near Mount Edgecombe. The Mall opened its doors amid much fanfare and excitement from shoppers and retailers alike on the, 28 September,
Bjorn Rencken, co-owner of the family-run Ladysmith Spar, says he has implemented Pricer electronic shelf labels (ESL) to support perpetual stocktaking and a view to centralised pricing, consistently correct prices and updates, stock management, and shrinkage control for all nine of his family’s stores. XON Retail deployed 12,000 Pricer labels at his Ladysmith Spar store
Ackermans recently relocated, and re-opened its doors in one of Africa’s leading retail, leisure and entertainment destinations, Canal Walk shopping centre. The 1618m2 store will supply all the quality clothing, footwear, and more, its customers have come to expect from the value retailer – only this time, it will have a new, refreshed look. Annemarie
This week the Shoprite Group created more than 820 new job opportunities with the opening of 14 new stores across 6 different provinces in South Africa. The Group is South Africa’s largest private sector employer and created 6 027 new jobs in the 2017 financial year. This trend is set to continue with a total
Electrum, one of South Africa’s most successful fintech companies which specialises in payments technology, has been selected to participate in the Gartner Aspiring Innovators Programme. The aim of this prestigious programme is to highlight innovative providers of enterprise technology to attendees of the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo Africa 2017, which is being held in Cape Town from
Mother and daughter duo, Patricia and Samantha Taylor of Life Retreat, have combined their love for all things health and wellness to bring the Cape an experience unlike anything else. Situated at Lourensford Wine Estate in what has been referred to as one of the most beautiful places on earth, the duo have created a
Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) has released the latest consumer inflation data, as well as a report on poverty trends. The inflation data indicated a continued downward move in price pressures, which will be welcomed by consumers. The poverty report was significantly less positive, showing that poverty is on the rise in South Africa. In
Small domestic appliance (SDA) sales in South Africa declined 17% to US$228m (about R3bn) in 2016, with kettles and irons accounting for 43% of market value. Newly released data from GfK South Africa shows that is the first time the SDA market has shrunk in five years, reflecting tight economic conditions in South Africa. Electrical
Pick n Pay Coachmans Crossing has deployed more than 11,000 refurbished Pricer electronic shelf labels (ESL) from XON Retail. The labels will support an upcoming just-in-time stock keeping process that speeds up and improves the accuracy of regular daily and weekly price updates, cuts labour costs of price updates, costs of paper labels, and costs
Kalon Venture Partners, formerly Grotech, and Smollan Group SA both acquired a minority stake in South Africa’s fastest growing shopping community, SnapnSave. Kalon, a venture capital fund and Smollan Group, a leading international retail solutions business invested R7 million each. SnapnSave, founded by Mark Bradshaw is South Africa’s leading cashback coupon app that gives shoppers
South African salaries increased for the fifth consecutive month in July with average salaries and pensions rising – leading to the strong possibility of a consumer recovery. This is according to the latest monthly data from BankservAfrica’s Disposable Salary Index (BDSI) and Private Pension Index (BPPI). This is the first time since December 2015 that
The Shoprite Group delivered industry-leading results for the 2017 financial year, defying tough market conditions. Now serving over 35 million individual customers on the African continent, the Group gained market-share and grew trading profit 11.6% (15.7% compared to 52 weeks) to R8 billion. “We have now achieved 64 consecutive quarters of like for like sales
SPAR South Africa is working together with Mr Price Group to reduce youth unemployment. Invaluable retail work experience will be gained through MRP Foundation’s skills development initiative. The programme, Jump Start, empowers unemployed youth with entry level skills and links them to job opportunities in its retail and supply chain. Since 2008, the youth development
CROSSFIN Technology Holdings announced that it has financed the acquisition of the South African subsidiary of leading global corporate services company Edenred through its portfolio company Innervation. Speaking of the deal, CROSSFIN COO Anton Gaylard says the acquisition creates a compelling value proposition for South African corporates. “According to the latest Deloitte Human Capital Trends,
The largest Customer Experience Management Summit in Africa will take place on the 16th and 17th of August 2017 at the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town. Now in its 6th year, the summit has grown exponentially, already showing a 35% increase in attendees on 2016’s event. With swift advancements in technology, industries need
Despite economic pressures, investment by the South African retail sector into information and communication technologies (ICT) seems to be holding steady. New analysis by Frost & Sullivan titled “ICT Enterprise Spend in Retail, South Africa, Forecast to 2019” shows that cloud-based services, managed services and cellular connectivity are expected to represent close to ZAR1.8 billion
Every month, South African retailers receive billions of Rands in payments from their customers. Behind the scenes, payments technology plays a critical role at retailers, ensuring a fast and smooth shopping experience. It’s a crucial part of our financial backbone that most consumers take little notice of despite interacting with it daily at stores, online
Consumer, technology, trends and the future of South African retail were the pillars that made up the 2017 South African Council of Shopping Centre’s (SACSC) Research Conference. The conference, which is in its seventh year, saw more than 200 delegates who represent the country’s most respected companies and brands, in attendance. The conference highlighted the
The concept of ‘aspirations’ is not easily defined as each person has their own definition and understanding of the term. However, general consensus points towards improving one’s current state of living and improving the way one lives his or her life as the general definition. With the rapidly emerging black middle-class, consumer aspirations have become
New mCommerce platform enables mobile order and pay in retail stores by leveraging existing infrastructure. South Africa’s hyper-competitive hospitality and quick-service restaurant industry has just received a shake-up with the launch of Woolworths’ innovative NOW NOW concept, powered by mobile transacting technology specialists wiGroup. NOW NOW is built on a new mcommerce solution developed by
If you have gone to the effort of setting up and online store, you don’t want to undo all of your hard work by making the payment process so complicated that you scare away customers. Instead, you want to offer your customers as many easy ways to pay as possible through various ecommerce payment methods.
The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC), on behalf of the banking industry has released its Card Fraud Stats for 2016, which reflects an overall increase in card fraud for 2016. Credit card fraud increased by 13% from R331.4m in 2015 to R374.4m in 2016, with debit card fraud increasing by 3.1% for the
South African eCommerce merchants can now finance their businesses easily and shoppers can make purchases on credit just as easily. This is the result of two collaborations entered into by PayU, SA’s largest online payment gateway. The collaborations, with leading merchant financing company, Lulalend, and consumer credit provider, Mobicred, are set to boost an eCommerce
Mastercard unveiled the next generation biometric card, combining chip technology with fingerprints to conveniently and safely verify the cardholder’s identity for in-store purchases. South Africa is the first market to test the evolved technology, with two separate trials recently concluded with Pick n Pay, a leading supermarket retailer, and Absa Bank, a subsidiary of Barclays
SPAR Zimbabwe recently ran a campaign – the ‘Piggy Bank Challenge’ – aimed at educating children on the importance of saving money whilst at the same time providing financial support for children’s charity, Childline. Running until the end of February, the campaign saw piggy banks (money boxes) on sale in SPAR stores in Zimbabwe. Parents
Despite difficult trading conditions in both South Africa and Australia, Group sales increased by 6.7% to R37.8 billion, and profit before tax increased 37.9% following the sale by David Jones of its Market Street property in Sydney for a profit of A$172 million (R1762 million). Adjusted diluted headline earnings per share (adHEPS) declined by 2.4%
During the six months to end December 2016 the Shoprite Group comfortably outperformed the rest of the South African market. Total turnover increased by 14% to R71.30bn while the trading profit rose by 19.2% to R3.91bn. Diluted headline earnings per share grew 15.5% to 460c and the board declared an interim dividend of 180c, up
Spinnaker Software is proud to celebrate its long-standing relationship with Cambridge Food, a subsidiary of Masscash South Africa, and to announce the completion of a comprehensive integration to its SAP ERP system. The solution comprises Spinnaker’s tried and tested Arch Retail system, which offers comprehensive functionalities for managing the various departments found in typical full-service supermarkets,
The Competition Tribunal has approved the merger between Amdec and Culemborg Investment Properties, a property letting company offering specialised retail rental. Post-merger Amdec will control Culemborg. The primary acquiring firm Amdec group is a privately-owned property development and investment business. It owns a portfolio of immovable properties and property letting enterprises and actively operates within
JOHANNESBURG, 23 November 2016 Tiger Brands (JSE: TBS), South Africa’s leading fast moving consumer goods manufacturer posted a solid set of results for the year ended 30 September 2016, testament to the strength of its brands and ability of its leadership to navigate the difficult environment. The company recorded an increase in group turnover from
Friday, 11 November 2016, Healthcare group Netcare and pharmacy retail group Clicks today announced that the Competition Commission and Competition Tribunal have approved the long-term agreement which they entered into on 8 June 2016, whereby Netcare will outsource its 37 retail pharmacies in Medicross medical and dental centres and 45 Netcare hospital retail front shop
The payments business used to be simple, consumers would pay with cash or cheque and merchants would offer trusted customers credit, and even accept IOUs. Technology has marched on however, and credit cards, debit cards, prepaid vouchers, and store cards have all been added to the mix. Customers are even reaching a point where they
MyGate, one of South Africa’s leading online payment gateways has been voted the best online payment gateway in Africa for 2016 by the Corporate Vision Technology Innovator Awards. The 2016 Technology Innovator Awards were designed by Corporate Vision Magazine to recognise the individuals, departments, and firms behind ground-breaking developments in business and technology. MyGate offers
The Eastern Cape retail sector is set to benefit from key global insights when South African expatriate Troy Zunckel returns to the country after more than a decade of international retail experience in Dubai. Zunckel heads to Port Elizabeth’s R2-billion Baywest Mall in April, taking the reins from outgoing GM Sonja de Necker, who will
The iconic Mall of Africa today opens its doors for business in Waterfall City. The 131,038sqm mall marks the largest first phase completion of a mall ever in South Africa, boasts more than 300 outlets, is host to some of the world’s most famous retail brands and is valued at R4.9 billion upon opening for
There might be queues to get into the Mall of Africa, but customers who visit either the Vodacom or the MTN stores there will find a surprising smooth customer journey waiting for them, all thanks to the Qmatic systems in both branches. “We are proud to have two stores at arguably one of the most
With over 4 600 fuel forecourts currently in operation and more expected in the future, this industry is rapidly growing as a key driver of revenue for fuel stations in South Africa. Ronél Fester, FNB Franchise Industry Specialist, says the success and profitability of fuel forecourts lies in their ability to understand and meet the
Dunkin’ Brands, the parent company of two of the world’s most recognizable brands, Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, today announced that it has signed a master franchise agreement with Grand Parade Investments Limited (GPI) to begin developing Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins restaurants in South Africa. The agreement remains subject to GPI’s receipt of approval from the
For the first time since the dawn of e-commerce in South Africa, online retail in South Africa will reach 1% of overall retail during 2016. This is the most significant finding of the Online Retail in South Africa 2016 report, released recently by World Wide Worx. The report shows that online retail continues to grow at a
Speaking at the Retail Congress Africa in Cape Town recently, James House CEO of 5one, a global retail consultancy purchased by MasterCard in 2014, discussed how the evolving retail environment is changing the way retailers must engage with their customers. Customers are no longer relying on just one channel when making a purchase and this
The African chapter of the ATM Industry Association has published a commissioned study on retail payment trends in South Africa for its online member Market Intelligence Library. “With 12 million new consumers added to the economy in the last ten years, along with an expanded banked community, the payments pie is getting bigger and bigger,”
Visa is looking to displace cash in Africa wherever they can by introducing and familiarising people to various e-payment technologies. This is according to Mandy Lamb, Visa’s Country Manager for South Africa, who held a media briefing last week to discuss Visa’s plans in Africa. Mandy pointed out that one must no longer think of
