Top story is the opening of the first Starbucks store in South Africa, which saw fanatics lining up from the night before. A second Starbucks store will open in Attacq's R5bn Mall of Africa in Midrand on Thursday. "In two years, we think the market will have between 12-15 stores," Taste Holdings CEO Carlo Gonzaga said, adding that the company was also looking at a drive-thru concept. Competitor Famous Brands today announced that it has bought a 51% stake in Lupa Osteria, a chain of three Italian restaurants in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), for an undisclosed amount. "In the short term our plan is to grow Lupa's footprint to six restaurants in KZN; over the long term, we believe that a network of 35 restaurants in SA and select African countries is achievable," said Famous Brands CEO Darren Hele.

This week, #CommerceMonth features Mario Toscano on why uAfrica's eCommerce Awards have been put on hold. Robyn Cooke explains how The Foschini Group is innovating customer functionality, and Georgia Barry gathers insights into Cape Union Mart's three sub brands: Poetry, Old Khaki and the recently launched Tread+Miller. Bonnie Cooper also lets us in on how Roman's Pizza cracked the recipe to a successful franchise. For more, go to the #CommerceMonth special section.

Jessica Taylor, Retail Editor (@Biz_Retail)
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