As a small business owner, you've probably offered discounts to your customers or have considered doing so. It's a bit of a catch 22 - you are already trying to run a tight ship and need to keep your profit margins as high as possible, but discounts could help you secure a loyal customer base who will return time and time again. 25 Jul 2017
UberEats has added new features to its offering, following a successful year of expansion. With a growing restaurant community on the app comes more choices and therefore more complexity, which urged the company to develop new features to up the app's ease of use and reliability. 25 Jul 2017
The top three finalists in the 2017 Championship Boerewors competition, Queen Mathebule (from Malamulele, Limpopo), James Lebepe (from Atteridgeville, Gauteng) and Moses Mathebule (from Lenyenye, Limpopo) are ready to put their boerewors recipe to the public taste test. 25 Jul 2017
The appeal of franchising is widespread. While other businesses often struggle to keep a positive cash flow in times of stunted economic activity, franchising remains resilient and typically shows positive growth rates. This is particularly true for the franchising services category which comprises 27% of the total franchising industry and has a combined turnover in excess of R133 billion per annum. 25 Jul 2017
Food producer AVI grew its revenue 8.2% in the year to June, after increasing selling prices to mitigate the effect of a weaker rand, which inflated input costs. As a result, all business segments realised operating profit growth, the company said on Monday in a trading statement. 25 Jul 2017
South African startup Last Mile for BoP is rolling out a mobile application that enables informal traders - owner of “spaza shops” - to compare bulk prices and order stock from their phone. 24 Jul 2017
Pick n Pay has launched a dedicated online distribution centre in Gauteng, which is expected to significantly improve service to online shoppers in the province. Deputy CEO Richard van Rensburg also states that it significantly increases Pick n Pay's online distribution capacity, enabling the retailer to handle the rapid growth it's currently experiencing in online sales. 24 Jul 2017
South African beauty franchise group Imbalie Beauty has become a key player in South Africa's robust franchising industry. The company, which owns salon brands Placecol Skin Care Clinic, Dream Nails Beauty and Perfect 10 Nail & Body Studio, markets and distributes its own in-house and independent health and beauty brands to its distribution network of more than 150 predominantly franchised beauty salons as well as independent salons and selected pharmacies. 24 Jul 2017
Mpho Ntlatleng wearing the Maxhosa by Laduma designer T-shirt which can be won.
Few “colours” have been used more in global fashion through the ages than black and white - sleek and sophisticated, dramatic and disparate. Black and white is the ultimate contrast and the perfect partnership... just like that between global skincare brand, Nivea, and one of Africa's finest fashion designers, cultural icons and innovators, Laduma Ngxokolo, creator of the MaXhosa by Laduma brand. 24 Jul 2017
Modern day businesses in South Africa are dealing with a number of challenges that all contribute to consumers having less money to spend: rising living costs, currency instability and general economic uncertainty. 24 Jul 2017
The challenge of improving employees' customer service expertise, as well as performance ability, is an ongoing quest for the retail industry. 24 Jul 2017
The South African Liquor Brand Owners Association (Salba) has criticised the government's inadequate socioeconomic impact assessment of the draft Liquor Amendment Bill because of its failure to quantify the effect on jobs and the economy. 21 Jul 2017
Sean and Carlos Gomes
In 2007 brothers Sean and Carlos Gomes established health and wellness retailer Wellness Warehouse in South Africa. The retail chain, which celebrates its 10th birthday this month, has since grown to include 25 outlets across Gauteng and the Western Cape as well as an online store. 21 Jul 2017
Hisense South Africa revealed an array of new products at an event held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre last week. Among them are a range of kitchen appliances - available for the first time locally - and two new 4K Ultra LED (ULED) TVs. 21 Jul 2017
Nigerian startup VoomNow has launched its assisted shopping platform that enables users to shop and pay for all kinds of international products and services from Nigeria. 21 Jul 2017
Botswana-based Choppies may be a well-established grocery retail chain in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, but the company has found the going tough in SA. 21 Jul 2017
Pick n Pay CEO Richard Brasher. Image credit: Business Day
Pick n Pay's remuneration committee may have set the scene for a tougher approach to executive rewards in the besieged retail sector with its decision not to pay a short-term bonus for the year to end-February 2017. 20 Jul 2017
BMi Research has released its report on the drinking yoghurt category, which continued to grow in volume and value in 2016, congruent with the historical trend of the category. 20 Jul 2017
While the general retailers' index has sunk 27% from its April 2015 peak, two shares in the sector appear to be proving the so-called "lipstick theory". 20 Jul 2017
Mobile commerce (m-commerce) app, Chat Find, offers businesses and freelancers a mobile shopfront and the ability to process payment and invoice their customers directly. Unlike business promotion on sites such as Facebook, stores and service providers on the app can promote for free, with their posts popping up on the feeds of people within a 24km radius. 20 Jul 2017
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