Informal Retailing in South Africa

#FreshConnections: Maryla Masojada on the state of fresh produce retail in SA

Maryla Masojada from Trade Intelligence discusses the trends affecting the produce supply chain and their impacts on the way companies do business...

By Lauren Hartzenberg 12 Sep 2017

How safe is the food on your plate?

It can take up to three months or even more for food to travel from the farm to table. “The longer this supply chain, the less control you have over the product and the harder it is to maintain quality and safety.”

19 Sep 2017

CCBSA's innovative route to market creating opportunities for female entrepreneurs

Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa have realised the benefits of utilising informal markets as an alternative distribution channel and it has seen an impressive growth of female-led LDP's across the business...

17 Aug 2017

Celebrating women as custodians of artistic and cultural heritage

"I often wonder off the beaten track looking for the pulse of the region and the heartbeat of the community, the local artisans, the storytellers and elders of a village, the sacred values of the area..."

10 Aug 2017

Absa invests R10,5m in spaza development

An investment by Absa Bank aims to transform spaza shops into sustainable businesses, able to compete with mainstream retailers...

31 Jul 2017

SA mobile startup helps informal traders compare and order stock

South African startup Last Mile for BoP is rolling out a mobile application that enables informal traders to compare bulk prices and order stock from their phone...

By Tom Jackson 24 Jul 2017

Selling Brazilian fashions, the women of Angola's ‘suitcase trade' spot trends and pedal dreams

Angola, a Portuguese-speaking country, is strongly influenced by the cultural output of Brazil...

By Léa Barreau Tran 17 Jul 2017

Commission needs more time to understand opaque retail sector

The deadline for completion of the Competition Commission's market inquiry into the grocery retail sector has been pushed out from May 2017 to March 2018, which will be 28 months after the inquiry was launched back in November 2015...

By Ann Crotty 14 Jul 2017

Inquiry seeks data on informal retail

The four big national supermarket chains will be fighting hard to ensure the Competition Commission inquiry into the grocery retail sector includes detailed figures...

By Ann Crotty 14 Jul 2017

Food economies at risk of distortion by formal sector grocery retail

The Grocery Retail Sector Market Inquiry, initiated by the Competition Commission, has received input from the Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation...

6 Jul 2017

Malls should give spaza shops rent-free spaces, Malema says

Township spaza shop owners should either be given shares or space in township malls, which are bankrupting them, EFF leader Julius Malema said...

23 Jun 2017

Senegal's corner shops go digital to track trade

Corner shops, markets and street traders are still the traditional way most Senegalese do their shopping, but micro-businesses are turning to digital means of tracking clients...

19 Jun 2017

Coca-Cola's Bizniz in a Box helps turn the tide against youth unemployment

Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) rolled out its Bizniz in a Box initiative in 2016 as part of the company's Youth Empowerment Programme...

14 Jun 2017

Township shops 'bear brunt of unfair practices'

SA's top retailers were accused of anticompetitive behaviour in townships at the Competition Commission's first public hearings on the retail market in Pretoria...

7 Jun 2017

International

Google weaves touch controls into Levi Strauss jacket

SAN FRANCISCO, US - Levi Strauss this week begins selling a denim jacket with touch controls woven into the fabric in the first fashion offering stitched from a collaboration with Google.

4 hours ago

Unilever making up to S.Korean skincare company

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands - Anglo-Dutch food and consumer products giant Unilever said Monday it was buying a leading South Korean cosmetics and skincare company for €2.27 billion ($2.69 billion), seeking to boost its Asian presence.

6 hours ago

QNet boosts direct selling operations in Tanzania

Asian direct selling company, QNet, is expanding its operations into East Africa. The company, which forms part of the $200 billion global direct selling industry, aims to offer quality consumer products and elevate standards of living by encouraging the spirit of entrepreneurship.

22 Sep 2017

Food labelling pact aims to cut food waste

NEW YORK, US - Many of the world's largest retailers and food companies have agreed to better labelling of products by 2020 in a bid to radically cut food waste, they announced Wednesday.

21 Sep 2017

Hot new talent lights up Milan Fashion Week

MILAN, Italy - Fashion week roared into Milan on Wednesday with a line-up of hotly anticipated shows from fresh talent as well as luxury titans ranging from Moschino to Armani, who are battling for their share of a rebounding market.

21 Sep 2017