Ah, December is here and the holiday season sales started in earnest last week, with local online retailers catching the USA's Black Friday fever as early as Tuesday. From item discounts to store discount coupons, my inbox was overflowing. And I have to hand it to them all, as a hardened last-minute Christmas shopper, even I couldn't help but start early this year. While Cyber Monday continues to rage today, let's see what else has been happening this past week. Just in time to jump on the Black Friday bandwagon, Hypertext Media introduced its new discounted deals site. Staying in the e-commerce industry, Silvertree Capital made a purchase of its own - a stake in Cybercellar.com. Moving to brick-and-mortar, Massmart has just launched its new format stores, Pick n Pay's new premium store opened at the V&A Waterfront last week, Shoprite Checkers marked the opening of its 1000th store, and Alert Steel has just unveiled its new branded megastores. With security being a crucial element around this time of year, SACSC's CEO Amanda Stops advises retailers and centre managers to look at safety first. With the schools closing around the country on Wednesday and many holiday-makers hitting the road, be safe and have a wonderful week!
Shan Radcliffe, Group Head - Retail (@Biz_Retail)
Image: © Brad Pict - Fotolia.com

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