Market madness - 22 Sep 2008

While it so far seems that Thabo Mbeki's resignation yesterday has had little impact on global markets, it may still be a little too early to celebrate as economist Russell Lamberti expects the next 12 months to be "...very interesting..." and will prove to be a great test of the stability of local institutions. On a lighter note, market madness appears to have hit the newly re-opened Pick n Pay in Claremont, Cape Town. If I didn't know better, I would've thought I'd stumbled across a nightclub queue with bouncers gleefully guarding the entrance to an exclusive concert by Madonna (or someone equally famous). Fortunately, PnP's PR plans were out in full force as drinks were being served to the ever-lengthening line of people patient enough to stand outside for an indeterminable amount of time, just for the chance to have a glimpse inside and get their hands on some of those opening specials. Not being one of those with oodles of patience, I took one look at the line and headed back to the car. So I have to ask, if there's anyone reading this who did eventually make it inside, what was so special about those opening specials, and were they actually worth it? In another upswing for the retailer, it appears to have avoided the Saccawu strike action that has hit Woolworths recently, by finally coming to a wage agreement with the union. On the Woolies protests though, there were some interesting differences of opinion to note - that of Woolworths stating that the impact was minimal with none of its stores being closed, while Saccawu claims its success with the majority of workers joining the first day of the five-day strike. Is this a case of perception being in the eye of the beholder, or is this just PR damage control working at its best...?