| | | iCar. Are uSure? | I see that there is some speculation that Apple and Volkswagen might just collaborate in a joint venture to build what the said speculators are calling the iCar – a marriage of Apple's and VW's technologies to produce a sort of office on four wheels. Great – since computers have a habit of driving us round the bend and up the wall, we might now have one with wheels that will drive us round the corner as well – to the local café. Most pundits seem to be taking the view that they will believe it when they see it, but there are a couple of precedents, of a sort... Ford, in co-operation with Microsoft, is apparently intending to introduce Sync, an in-car communication and entertainment system, that will allow you, the driver, to have text messages read to you aloud, and select the digital music you want to hear. BMW and Intel got together to create a mobile office apparatus for its Series 7, giving drivers access to wireless LAN and to a Bluetooth-enabled printer. But that's a far cry from what speculators reckon Apple and VW could be planning, which, if they are correct, would be a complete integration of the two technologies. So, no one is actually holding their breath of this one. Probably just as well – what happens if it freezes at a traffic light, or crashes twice a day, or asks you “Are you sure?” as you hit the brakes just 15m from the car in front – it's stationary but you're doing 60...
Rod Baker, Content Manager: Send your news to: retailnews@bizcommunity.com; or visit https://www.bizcommunity.com.
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| | Headlines | Branding for the environment: legislative aspects and costs
Get up to speed on the latest trends
The right way to complain
Will DVDs be the death of cinema?
PPI comes in lower at 10.3%
Plug warning: this could kill you!
Trends in the premium car market
Madam & Eve goes to the cleaners
Loss prevention programs: essential for retail
ACA extends APEX awards from Cape to Cairo
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Retail | | Branding for the environment: legislative aspects and costs
[Pierre Mare] The previous columns looked at the circumstances and knowledge surrounding climate change, the impacts and aspects of consumer branding. To recap, climate change is having severe impacts on most facets of life, consumers are developing varying degrees of awareness and preference for environmentally sound brands but price premiums and resource scarcity complicate the process.
Get up to speed on the latest trends
Whether you're a publisher, magazine editor, retailer or someone in the entertainment or hospitality industry, your business is better geared to fly if you're up-to-speed on the latest trends. And when the competition gets tough, it's the well-informed who come out on top. Day two of multi-topic trend conference, the 2007 Flux Trend Review, presents an overview of the “state we're in” across several disciplines.
Stationery for schools in need
JetMart, part of retailer Edcon's discount division, has handed over stationery worth more than R2 million to schools throughout South Africa.
The right way to complain
[Howard Badler] How often have you heard stories of customers shouting at the top of their voice in a store or when calling into a call centre when complaining? How often have you just lost it yourself when you received poor service and you got upset to a point where your blood pressure increased significantly?
Madam & Eve goes to the cleaners
 Comic strip duo Madam & Eve are about to hit supermarket shelves under a new range of household cleaning products branded Magicmaid, thanks to a co-branding venture between Rapid Phase and industrial cleaning group SAFIC Holdings, conceptualised and orchestrated by marketing expert Roman Cylkowski.
Will DVDs be the death of cinema?
[Roman Cylkowski] With the pace of technology constantly bringing with it new options, the old phenomenon of going to the movies is being replaced by the ‘let the movies come to us' revolution. Intuitively it would appear that the local cinema industry seems to be losing the war to the emerging ‘let's catch a flick at home' market.
ACA extends APEX awards from Cape to Cairo
 The Advertising Performance Excellence (APEX) awards have just increased in magnitude following a decision by the custodians of the awards, the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA), to extend entry to the rest of the continent.
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Banking & Finance | | Inflation quickens to 6.5%
[Michael Appel] July's CPIX figure has risen by half a percentage point to 6.5% for July 2007, according to figures released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), on Wednesday, 29 August.
Do you have the X-factors?
A University of Cape Town study reveals X-factors for financial sector entrepreneurs.
Corporate investment group chooses Pretoria PR agency
Real Africa Brands Holdings, a national provider of corporate investment and franchise opportunities, has appointed Pretoria-based MicroZone Public Relations to provide proactive, industry-focused marketing, media and PR services.
PPI comes in lower at 10.3%
[Michael Appel] South Africa's Production Price Index (PPI) has dipped a further 0.1 of a percentage point to 10.3% year-on-year, revealed Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), Thursday, 30 August.
Major broadcaster selects Indian supplier for its DTH African operations
MagnaQuest Technologies Pty Ltd, a global customer management and billing solution provider with its headquarters in Hyderabad, India, has announced that its flagship product MQSubscribe has been chosen by Gateway Broadcast Services.
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Brand news | | Salad dressings with some creative licence
 Heinz, a worldwide leader in ketchup, condiments and sauces, recently selected Creative Licence, a graphic design and brand mentoring company, to design the packaging of their new range of salad dressings.
Suiting up for summer
 USA - Tropi-Ties Swimwear recently unveiled its swimwear collection for Spring/Summer 2008, at the Miami Swim Show. The look and feel for this year's collection is funky and off-beat with a touch of street savvy. There's lots of custom, vintage prints, some 60s hippie chic stuff, a couple of swash buckling, pirate influenced designs, as well as an earthly, environmentally sound group of hemp fabric bikinis.
Grand-Pa turns 90
 Students across the country were recently invited to capture a legacy while visually interpreting 90 years of fast pain relief.
Sahara merges with Simeka to enter JSE
Local supplier of information, communication and digital lifestyle technology, Sahara, has confirmed its merger with listed IT group Simeka BSG. The merger is with the operating subsidiaries of the Sahara Holdings company and as such, will acquire 510 million shares in Simeka and thereby secure its position as majority shareholder in Simeka and its reverse listing on the ALTX board company.
Unfiltered but fruity
 Fleur du Cap has released two rewarding new red vintages in its premium range of unfiltered wines – Fleur du Cap Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 and Fleur du Cap Unfiltered Merlot 2005.
W880i is phone of the year
Sony Ericsson's W880i walkman handset has been named best phone of the year at the 2007 Nigerian Telecoms Awards in Lagos, hosted annually by Logica Telecom Awards Limited. Other nominees in this category included the Nokia E61i and the Motorola V3. The W880i sports a brushed stainless steel finish available in Steel Silver or Flame Black and is able to store 900 full length tracks on its 1GB Memory Stick Micro. Locally, the W880i retails for between R4400 - R4639, depending on the service provider.
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Consumer research | | Game console sales: Like Christmas in July
 Game console makers saw a surprising sales boom in July, traditionally one of gaming's slower months. Nintendo sold 425,000 units of its Wii console, more than double the sales of Microsoft's Xbox 360 or Sony's PlayStation3, according to NPD Group. Sony focused on its increase in sales over the prior month, rather than wallowing in its last-place finish. Fred Aun of the E-Commerce Times reports.
Retailers look to customer magazines to build relationships
 “The increasingly competitive retail industry is proving to be the perfect platform for the customer magazine market in South Africa, which is estimated to be worth over one billion rand,” says Bridget McCarney, MD of New Media Publishing.
Trends in the premium car market
 As the global vehicle market continues to grow, the overall picture has become increasingly blurry. Brand ownership has been consolidated broadly into massive motor company empires, only to be unbundled again recently.
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Franchising | | Bloemfontein gets more living space
 @home, the homeware store, will open their third @home livingspace store in the Loch Logan Waterfront in Bloemfontein on 1 September.
Café franchise serves up its winners
 The Dulcé Café franchise group has announced its top performers at its annual conference.
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Health & Safety | | Wash up for food safety month
USA - September marks 2007 National Food Safety Education Month®, which will run under the theme "Viruses: They're in Your Hands" and focus on the procedures necessary for proper handwashing and reporting of illness. This annual food safety campaign strives to build awareness of the restaurant and foodservice industry's commitment to serving safe food, heighten awareness about the importance of food safety education and encourage additional food safety training for all industry employees. To obtain materials and information on how to get involved in National Food Safety Education Month, visit the NRAEF Web Site at http://www.nraef.org/nfsem. - eMediaWire.com
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Import/Export | | Trade alerts direct to your desktop
TradersCity.com, a fee-free import and export marketplace has released free trade alerts software that brings the latest trade offers to importers and exporters desktops.
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Logistics | | On track with new GPS fleet software
Telogis has released OnTrack 5, its latest real-time GPS Fleet Tracking solution. The new features in this release include Routing, Find Nearest, Giant Maps, and Quicklinks.
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Merchandising | | Looking at tiles in a new light
 Tile Africa, a leading supplier of local and international tiles and bathroom and kitchen fittings, has launched a new concept store at Rivonia Crossing (corner of Rivonia and Witkoppen roads) where customers can view tiles in what the company says is a unique way.
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Packaging | | UK follows Australia's lead on graphic visual warnings on tobacco packaging
In a bid to make the dangers of smoking clearer to smokers, the Australian authorities introduced images on tobacco-related products, to graphically show consumers what the affects of smoking can be. Now the United Kingdom is following suit.
Rinse, fill and cap - bottling in one
Jieh Hong, beverage machinery manufacturer, in a collaboration with Shanghai Triowin Technology Company, have produced the "Three-in-One Unit Bottle Rinsing Filling Capping Machine", its latest beverage turnkey solution.
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Promotions | | Go for the taste of Egoli
 Fancy savouring something deliciously different this spring? Of course you do – and Taste of Jo'burg will re-awaken your taste buds when it takes place for the first time in South Africa.
Pumping up sales through potent promotions
Moving forward successfully into the future, today's retailers must vary the types of the promotions they offer, to maintain a high level of consumer satisfaction toward their brand.
Bank celebrates teen achievements
Launched in 2005 and sponsored by Standard Bank, the seventeen Top Teen Achiever Awards competition is an inspirational initiative focusing on great role models and the encouragement of teen girls to achieve their dreams.
Pushing the boundaries
Wonderbra has been causing a stir in Johannesburg recently while marking its participation in Joburg Fashion Week and the launch of its new 101 bra. Professional climbers donned their Wonderbras and scaled the massive billboard, abseiling across to change the bra straps on the poster to reflect the ability of the bra to change in 101 different ways. The activity stopped traffic at the busy intersection of Rivonia Road and Fifth Street in Sandton. The women are set to be doing their thing for the rest of the month but if the ratepayers have their way they won't be there much longer...
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Regulatory | | New standards for sunscreen testing
USA - UVA ultraviolet radiation is just as harmful as UVB when it comes to causing skin cancer and premature aging of the skin; and up to now, it hasn't been required to test sunscreens for UVA protection. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently announced the new proposed standards for formulating, testing and labeling UVA protection for over the counter sunscreen drug products.
Plug warning: this could kill you!
 The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) warns consumers against purchasing or using Ampax Electrical (Pty) electrical adaptors as they can cause fatal electrical shock and fires.
US General calls for separate food regulation agency
USA - Retired US Army Major General Albert N. Stubblebine III, President of the Natural Solutions Foundation, has returned to Washington DC this week for a series of briefings designed to educate Congressional staffers on pressing food safety issues. He will be recommending to senior staff members and Congress that a new food regulation agency be set up, so that food and drug regulation responsibilities are no longer handled by a single agency, the FDA.
Making permanent cosmetics safer
USA - The Alliance for Safe Practice, a non-profit organisation supporting permanent makeup technicians, trainers and suppliers will present their proposal to reform state regulations governing permanent cosmetics at this year's International Intradermal Cosmetics Expo (IICE 2007), to be held in Dallas, Texas from 5 - 8 October 2007.
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Retail services | | Restaurants get in touch with customer loyalty
Silver Stream Marketing has announced the launch of nTouch Loyalty, a complete marketing system enabling restaurants, and retail businesses, to reduce customer turnover, increase average order value and encourage repeat business.
Finding that perfect diamond online
 USA - Firenze Jewels introduces an innovative diamond search tool that allows website shoppers to search by colour, size, and price range for diamond jewellery of their choice.
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Security | | Loss prevention programs: essential for retail
As the retail and supermarket sectors become increasingly competitive, with operating results becoming ever more important, it is essential for retailers to battle stock shrinkage.
Security provider boosts expertise in retail market
 ADT, a major security provider, has identified the retail market as a target for 2007 and has therefore hired a retail specialist, Buddy Anderson, to take over the reigns as retail specialist and grow the sales in this area.
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Supply chain | | Govt plans to invigorate textile sector
[Zama Feni] South Africa's Customs Sector Programme (CSP), which is aimed at breathing new life into the clothing and textile sector, has been finalised.
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Technology | | Integrating the iPhone into enterprise
Ahead of the planned autumn launch in Europe of Apple's iPhone, and with the availability of the smartphone in the US, a number of mobility solution vendors are positioning themselves to support the device. Mark Blowers, senior research analyst with IT research and advisory organisation Butler Group, points out unapproved devices could compromise corporate information.
The online 'rules of engagement'
Consumers are the new brand managers – they define the rules of engagement online, and brands need to engage with this change. So... are you moving fast enough? Join Andrew Felbert, Tom Acquaviva of Nielsen/NetRatings UK and Matthew Buckland of the Online Publishers Association in Joburg and Cape Town as they discuss 'A match made in heaven' and 'Rules of online engagement'.
Sony cuts the ties that bind Walkman
Sony unveiled two new Walkman music players yesterday, 30 August - the NWZ-A810 and NWZ-S610. The two new players bring video storage and playblack capabilities to the iconic Walkman brand, and are the first in the digital players from the company not tied down to Sony's ATRAC (Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding) audio format, writes Walaika Haskins of TechNewsWorld.
Africa sees its first commercial DVB-H mobile television launch
Details Nigeria, MultiChoice Africa's local business partner in Nigeria, has launched Africa's first commercial mobile broadcast TV service in the city of Abuja.
What is a business worth?
BizBuySell, an Internet-based marketplace for buying or selling small businesses, have announced that for the first time business owners and buyers can find out the value of a business at no cost by using its unique "Valuation Report."
Sounds good
 Bad acoustics will almost certainly seriously impair an otherwise good recording, be it of a piece of commercial music, or a piece of music or other audio for an advertisement or marketing campaign.
Talk is cheap!
 In a country where the cost of calling clients, friends and family is high, a Cape Town-based company has developed software that they claim makes the cost of cell phone calls a great deal cheaper.
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| | People on the move | | | Four new appointments for Zollanvari - more info | | More... Submit a Person | | |
| | Events to diarise | 2007 Flux Trend Review Flux Trends - Auckland Park, Johannesburg, 7 September
The 2007 Flux Trend Review, in association with Bizcommunity.com, is a two day trends conference aimed at both business and consumers aimed at anyone who needs to navigate the ever changing face of South African business. | | |
| | Upcoming events | Sign Africa 2007 and the Africa In-store Show Sign Africa - Johannesburg, 5 September 2007 Flux Trend Review Flux Trends - Auckland Park, Johannesburg, 7 September Soweto Wine Festival 2007 - Johannesburg, 7 September | More... Submit an event | | |
| | Jobs offered | Specialising in Media Sales, Advertising
and Marketing placements |  |
| Clothing Store Manager - Pretoria
Branding Women is a professional work wardrobe retail outlet and promises a dynamic and exciting working environment in the fashion industry, offering opportunities for personal and professional growth. read more
| Admin Supervisor - Fourways - Johannesburg
Your methodical approach, cool-headedness and strong sense of responsibility will enable you to successfully meet the demands of this position which is based in our beautiful showroom in Fourways. read more
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| | Quotes | | | "The finest clothing made is a person's skin, but, of course, society demands something more than this." - Mark Twain | | "Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, "Make me feel important." Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life." - Mary Kay Ash | | "Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like." - Will Rogers | | "Our personal consumer choices have ecological, social, and spiritual consequences. It is time to re-examine some of our deeply held notions that underlie our lifestyles." - David Suzuki | | "On the one hand, shopping is dependable: You can do it alone, if you lose your heart to something that is wrong for you, you can return it; it's instant gratification and yet something you buy may well last for years." - Judith Krantz | | More... Submit a Quote | | |
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