Today sees the launch of our special focus feature on shopper marketing, edited and curated by Louise Marsland. Expect a week of exclusive, must-read content on how technology is changing how people shop as well as how digital signage will transform the retail environment. Also sharing on the 'best new products this year', Marsland thinks she might have discovered hers for 2016 already: a cat collar called Catterbox that makes your cat 'talk' back. The case of Candace Payne and the Chewbacca mask is one of the best examples Sarah Britten has seen of social media working in tandem with a retailer. She explains what marketers can learn from it. A number of announcements:

• Toy Kingdom has acquired local company Intencity Entertainment and franchise rights to US-based Build-A-Bear Workshop.
• Famous Brands has acquired 100% of Lamberts Bay Foods, a wholly-owned subsidiary of JSE-listed Oceana.
• Pioneer Foods and Energy Partners will install large commercial solar systems at five of Pioneer's manufacturing facilities as part of a national solar programme.
• Woolworths Holdings Limited (WHL) has set its Good Business Journey goals for 2020. For the first time, these targets will incorporate WHL's international businesses, including the rest of its African operations, David Jones and Country Road.

Jessica Tennant, Retail Editor (@Biz_Retail)
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