Do you ever get that feeling that life is speeding up and you can't keep up with the latest developments? There's a term for it: the Law of Accelerating Returns. In his best-selling novel, 'The Age of Spiritual Machines', Ray Kurzweil reasons that the rate of change, especially where technological advancement is concerned, increases exponentially. 16 May 2019
One of the largest meat processors in the UK, supplying supermarkets across the country with beef, pork, and lamb, has launched a plant-based meat alternative. ABP is the first UK meat producer to do so and its decision marks a significant shift for the industry. Before long, the meat producers could take over this growing market for meat-free alternatives. 16 May 2019
Five new restaurants - Café Rio, JB's Corner, Ono Poké Eatery, Rodizio Brazilian Grill and Tapas and Tiger's Milk - will open in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg during the course of the year. 16 May 2019
The pharmaceutical sector - both locally and globally - is following suite with general retail and going through uncertain times. More consumers are shopping the basics with baskets of necessities only. 15 May 2019
Celebrating 160 years in the industry, Grasshoppers shoes have transcended generations to remain one of South Africa's favourite homegrown footwear brands. 15 May 2019
While there is a giant push to reduce the use of plastics, and especially non-biodegradable plastic shopping bags and straws, Hadley Dean, CEO of JSE-listed EPP, suggests taking another step too: stop shopping online. 15 May 2019
The results of the second annual BrandZ Top 75 Most Valuable Global Retail Brands report were revealed by WPP and Kantar today. The research - which looks at luxury, apparel, retail and fast-food outlets - shows that the world's most valuable retail brands are worth $339 billion more this year than last, a total of $1.4 trillion. 14 May 2019
"Ugly" or "wonky" veg were blamed for up to 40% of wasted fruit and vegetables in 2013, as produce was discarded for failing to meet retailer appearance standards. 14 May 2019
Instagram has launched a @shop account, essentially a curation of posts from online merchants that sell products through the image-sharing app. 14 May 2019
Mugg & Bean has introduced a new 'Move Thru' store format with the first outlet opened in Cape Town today. The Move Thru concept has been launched to support the M&B On The Move business strategy. 14 May 2019
In #FreshOnTheShelf, we round up some of our favourite food and beverage products that have hit the shelves recently. 13 May 2019
The winners of the 2019 International Visual Merchandising (VM) Awards were announced at the RetailExpo, a European retail trade event, in London earlier this month. 13 May 2019
Rwandan PaaS (platform as a service) startup Ared has marked its first international expansion by setting up 10 women-run 'smart business in a box' solar-powered kiosks in Uganda. These kiosks have been set up in Kampala as well as in the refugee camps of the Arua district. 13 May 2019
EBITDA excluding special items US$187 million (Q2 2018 US$211 million)
Profit for the period US$72 million (Q2 2018 US$102 million)
EPS excluding special items 13 US cents (Q2 2018 17 US cents)
Net debt US$1,680 million (Q2 2018 US$1,632 million)
13 May 2019
Entries are now open for this year's South African Council of Shopping Centres' (SACSC) Retail Design and Development Awards 2019. SACSC is calling on shopping centre developers, owners and retailers to submit entries for the awards, which aims to identify and award exceptional shopping centre developments and retail store design within the South African property industry. 13 May 2019
LVMH, the world's largest luxury group, has announced the launch of a new Paris-based luxury fashion house, developed by Robyn Rihanna Fenty. 10 May 2019
The Cannabis Expo is making its way to Sibaya Casino in Durban, a city famous for the specific strands of cannabis that grow in the region. The Expo, presented by Go Life International, will be showcasing innovative products and businesses from across the globe. 10 May 2019
Sappi's sustainability strategy builds on our 2020Vision, people and core assets and aims to create real value by contributing to business growth within the context of the constantly changing external environment in which we operate. 10 May 2019
Nike has launched a new in-app scanning solution in the US, called Nike Fit, that provides customers with their recommended shoe size in each of the company's footwear products. The tool measures the full shape of both feet using a proprietary combination of computer vision, data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence and recommendation algorithms. 10 May 2019
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