As Day Zero looms in Cape Town, many businesses have pledged their support to help mitigate the impact of the water crisis. Among them are bottled water companies, who will no doubt experience an uptick in sales as concerned consumers stock up.
Aquellé been working with NGO Water Shortage South Africa to donate just under 30,000 litres of bottled water to the elderly and infirm, and is said to be assessing where and how they can help further. Meanwhile, Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages (CCPB) in partnership with the Coca-Cola Foundation and participating suppliers are in the process of finalising the details to provide millions of litres of relief water. CCPB also says it has implemented a discount structure with its retail customers on the BonAqua 1.5 litre water.
In other top news, Antony Bourne from IFS details the game-changing trends for the manufacturing industry in 2018, and Morne Cronje from FNB Business shares his top franchising trends to look out for.
H&M has found itself in the spotlight once again after it recalled a line of children's socks after complaints from shoppers that a pattern on them appeared to resemble the word Allah written in Arabic. There's been a call from food safety experts for a designated food control agency as the Listeriosis outbreak continues to claim lives.
Lastly, the growth in Africa's consumer goods and retail sectors is being driven by the expanding middle class as well as the continued development of the African technology and telecommunications industries.
Have an inspiring week!
Lauren Hartzenberg
Retail Editor: Bizcommunity.com
