Last week's proverbial fruits-of-our-labour basket has found some ripening nicely, while others are badly bruised... The repo rate and inflation have gone down again; petrol is also dropping (although by a paltry 3c per litre), with diesel tipping the scales back in favour of fuel retailers with another hike. In another win for the consumer, President Motlanthe finally passed the Consumer Protection Bill into law last week, but the new Act isn't likely to make things any easier on cash-strapped retailers. Financial results have been rolling in and New Clicks is boasting an 18.8% rise in headline earnings, while telemarketing group Verimark is suffering a 66% drop. And although Woolworths is sporting an 8.1% growth in turnover and some hot new shopping spots, the retailer is not getting overly excited, saying that trading conditions are still under pressure from the tightening of shoppers' belts. But with two major sporting events edging ever closer, there's hope for some relief as tourists start shipping in with their foreign currency; however winemakers have been foaming at the mouth over the bid to supply local wines for the FIFA Confederations Cup VIP fans. News of the tender hit the Wosa news wires on Thursday, giving producers only five days to submit their entries. Exasperation over this very limited lead time has been further fuelled by the stipulation that wines had to be "rated three-and-a-half stars or better in Platter's [wine guide]", as a number of producers refuse to have their wines graded by Platter. Only month end will tell the final score, but in the meantime, perhaps we should be thankful that the selection will be of homemade brew, and the tender hasn't been farmed out to international vintners.

Shan Radcliffe, Retail editor retailnews@bizcommunity.com Responses to this column welcomed in our new online editor's column archive.