Best wishes - 15 Dec 2008
[Shan Radcliffe] read more

[The season of pearls and swine] The season of pearls and swine - 8 Dec 2008
[Shan Radcliffe] The festive season is a time when we find ourselves particularly stressed and strapped for cash, worrying whether the two turkeys, side of lamb and hunk of gammon is going to be enough to feed the 10 people coming for lunch, while the kids whine about some new gaming console ("But you got one last year..." - "Yes, but it's outdated and doesn't play this..."), when all we actually want to know is whether that 52" LCD TV has dropped below the R20k mark. But few things make me feel more grossly over-privileged than a couple of cashiers at the checkout counter baulking over my R300+ grocery bill while muttering "...so few items...". read more

[It’s the thought that counts] It’s the thought that counts - 1 Dec 2008
[Rod Baker] OK, we're all counting the sleeps until Christmas, we're winding down - though some Gautengers wonder if Capetonians ever wind up - and the malls are full of begging children and their parents hoping to pay it all off by next July. And there are more gifts inserts in the newspapers than news. read more    (1 Comment)

[Catch-22 of car sales] Catch-22 of car sales - 24 Nov 2008
[Shan Radcliffe] I've recently been checking out my options for a new set of wheels - two to be exact, considering, among other things, the global economy and yo-yoing fuel prices. Pointing over to a sweet little machine, I queried its price tag: "How negotiable are you?" The reply came back like a shot, "A little while ago, I was, but now with the yen dropping out the bottom..." Now, I may be a girl, but I'm not that gullible. read more

[How to become a billionaire] How to become a billionaire - 17 Nov 2008
[Shan Radcliffe] Casually dressed in a t-shirt, with hair at a length that wouldn't quite pass the principal's inspection (and did I hear someone say "earring"?), Justin Letschert is more likely to be mistaken for a soundman than the owner and CEO of a billion rand corporation. Billed in the last slot of the ECR conference's first day, Letschert was faced with the difficult task of attracting our waning attention. read more

[Jawellnofine] Jawellnofine - 10 Nov 2008
[Shan Radcliffe] What is the first word that South Africans will say when they're asked if they enjoyed the conference? This question was posed by Michael Broughton of the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa, as a few of my colleagues and I stood chatting to him at the ECR Conference recently. "No" being the correct answer. read more    (1 Comment)

[Oh sheet!] Oh sheet! - 3 Nov 2008
[Rod Baker] After my last book I swore with the same sort of determination exhibited by a new mother in a maternity ward, “Never again.” That lasted about as long as my New Year resolutions (i.e., 13 hours 43 minutes), so here I am, busy ghost writing a book (hence the sheet) at the moment after a cunningly worded request from my previous publisher to get involved. It's a challenge, but I am enjoying it... read more

[Are you being served?] Are you being served? - 27 Oct 2008
[Rod Baker] I bought a new cell phone the other day, but for a while it was touch and go... I decided on what I wanted, and since none of a certain yellow company's 54 or whatever options appeal to me, apart from pay as you go, I wanted a phone without a starter pack. read more    (1 Comment)

[Going organic] Going organic - 20 Oct 2008
[Shan Radcliffe] If ever South Africa had an 'organic' capital, it would be the Mother City. Anyone I've ever spoken to about the differences between Cape Town and Jo'burg would agree, Capetonians are just a little more laid back and are more likely to stop and smell the flowers. read more

[Getting to know you] Getting to know you - 13 Oct 2008
[Shan Radcliffe] I was engaging in some retail therapy at a local store in a suburban Cape holiday beach town near my home last week when I was collared by one of the members of staff looking for some marketing insight. Apparently I epitomised their new market focus: not a teeny bopper, and not "er... read more

[A breath of fresh air] A breath of fresh air - 6 Oct 2008
[Rod Baker] Picture it... marketing material, packaging material, advertising that essentially says, “Don't eat too much of our product”. read more    (1 Comment)

[Silly season is open] Silly season is open - 29 Sep 2008
[Shan Radcliffe] It's only the end of September, yet I was oddly horrified to spot some chocolate bars already sporting holiday season festivities. For a split second I considered this was an attempt to palm off some old stock... read more

[Market madness] Market madness - 22 Sep 2008
[Shan Radcliffe] While it so far seems that Thabo Mbeki's resignation yesterday has had little impact on global markets, it may still be a little too early to celebrate as economist Russell Lamberti expects the next 12 months to be "...very interesting..." and will prove to be a great test of the stability of local institutions. On a lighter note, market madness appears to have hit the newly re-opened Pick n Pay in Claremont, Cape Town. read more

[Service shockers] Service shockers - 15 Sep 2008
[Shan Radcliffe] Can anyone tell me if it's possible to have a car serviced and have it returned to you without finding something else wrong with it? Please, I'd really like to know whether this unicorn is actually out there, as I certainly haven't come across it yet. It seems, without fail, that anytime the car goes in for a service (you know, that pesky 15,000km check-up that's mandatory should you want to keep your warranty), not only do they find numerous things wrong with the car that didn't appear to be a problem in the first place, but they actually send it back with a couple of other problems. read more    (4 Comments)

[Spring in your step] Spring in your step - 1 Sep 2008
[Shan Radcliffe] Spring has sprung - a leak. In its usual fashion, the advent of 1 September (otherwise known as Spring Day) has brought with it a torrential downpour to the west coast, while the north of the country begs for the wet weather to douse the fires that have been ripping through its veld this weekend. read more