On-line retailer gears up for bumper festive season
The upcoming festive season will see a record number of South Africans doing their Christmas shopping online. This is according to Gary Hadfield, CEO of online retailer, kalahari.net.

Dreaming of an e-Christmas
Online retailers will have generated around R200-million by the time stores close for Christmas this year. And the most popular item on sale on the Internet is… satellite navigation systems for cars.

Beware the festive spending bug
[Michael Appel] The season to be jolly is upon us, and brings with it hopes of buying new bicycles, Playstations and the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle figurine for the youngster, but can you afford it?

Setting Nelson Mandela Square alight
During the festive season, a night time visit to Nelson Mandela Square reveals the social and shopping heart of Sandton transformed into a living light sculpture. Nelson Mandela Square's interior and exterior will be bathed in red, with thousands of fairy lights, where kilometres of garlands and a 7m high Christmas tree create an after dark fantasy light-scape.


A bit hung over are you? Throbbing head? Too much giggle water?
As the silly season gets underway, the number of parties to attend and opportunities to drink increase exponentially and you don't want to miss out. You've already begun to diarise the number of hangovers you have to fit in to your work week.

Bleak Christmas, New Year loom for shoppers
[Sipho Masondo] Nelson Mandela Bay residents face a bleak Christmas, and a tough time going into the New Year as food and oil prices continue to rocket.

Don't be silly this season!
The festive season is upon us and many people will fall into a debt trap once again by succumbing to the urge of spending money they don't have.

Cape tops
The Cape Peninsula University of Technology has taken the lion's share of the awards in the CN Business Furniture “Changing the Design of Tomorrow's Workspace” competition.


She's the Boss

click to enlarge

The first Boss womenswear store in Cape Town launched at the V&A Waterfront on 5 December 2007, at an exclusive event as sophisticated as the design collection itself. After the official ribbon-cutting ceremony, guests were invited inside to view the Boss Black pre-collection, which includes businesswear, leisure outfits and formal fashions as well as fragrances and cosmetics, shoes and accessories, eyewear and watches. The store will also carry the Boss Orange range which is more casual and sporty with attention to feminine tailoring and detail. The range includes bags, shoes and jewellery. The store can be found on the 1st floor, number 6214 of Victoria Wharf, just a short distance from the Hugo Boss menswear division.

NCR gets order on finance firm
The NCR has obtained a provisional liquidation order against Rudco Finance in the Cape Town High Court.

UBA aims to be Africa's sixth largest bank in 2010
According to the group MD and CEO of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Tony Elumelu, the Nigerian bank's ambition is to become the 6th largest bank in Africa by 2010, with long term plans to mature as the leading African bank.

A chicken meets Mr Balls
To mark a milestone 20th birthday, Nando's has created a heart-stopping, unique and limited edition 250ml XXX HOT Peri-Peri sauce.


Amakhosi in support of its supporters
Yesterday, 9 December 2007, Amakhosi launched the various tiers of Supporters Club Cards in a family festival style format at the Dhlamini Sports Complex in Soweto. The event was held in conjunction with artists, entertainers, skydivers as well as their benefits partners, which included Black Like Me.

DaimlerChrysler renamed Mercedes-Benz SA
Following the sale of its Chrysler partner to an American company earlier this year, DaimlerChrysler South Africa has now formally changed its name to Mercedes-Benz South Africa.

Bringing a human face to big business
Name change from Master Foods to Mars Africa brings company into the limelight.

Facebook says sorry
The Beacon episode appears to have unnerved more than a few social networkers by highlighting just how transparent their online actions are to Facebook – and how easily the site can convert those actions to monetised assets. Even users who weren't burned looked a little askance at Beacon.

Mars looks to Africa for growth openings
[Nicola Mawson, Consumer Industries Correspondent] Mars Africa, the fast-moving consumer goods company, intends expanding its presence on the continent.

Vines to grow on to greater things
Hot on the heels of the acquisition of the Boschendal winery, DGB has claimed another stake in the Franschhoek valley with the purchase of Franschhoek Vineyards Ltd.


Some TLC for tired eyes
[ActivRetail] Aspen, a longstanding client of Unlimited subsidiary TLC, turned to its trusted washroom advertising partner to ensure maximum exposure for the latest Safyr Bleu eye drops campaign.


Consumers demand, dairy delivers
[ActivRetail] Douglasdale Dairy has introduced low-fat milk in a 1 litre bottle after many requests for a 1 litre packaging option.


Retailer rewards radical thinking
A few years ago, two young technicians involved with Woolworths' IT had a vision of doing things differently for corporates. The retailer decided the concept was worth supporting, and the rest, as they say, is history…


CIC using JSE to grow
[Nicola Mawson] It wasn't a great first day for fast-moving consumer goods company CIC Holdings on Friday, when it became the first foreign company to have a primary listing on the JSE's AltX. The company has plans to expand operations into southern Africa in the next couple of years.

No beer drought — SAB
[Nicola Mawson] South African Breweries is confident the country will not run out of beer over the festive season.

A class act of culinary delights
The mother-daughter team of Judy Druck and Linda Nathan have put their culinary talents to the test to produce an exceptional no-frills recipe book titled Class Act.

Synovate and c.i.a in the NOW
The Consumer Insight Agency (c.i.a.) has teamed-up with Synovate, one of the world's largest market research companies, to quantify its unique study of South African society – the NOW project.

Study reveals US viewing patterns
First major study in five years shows three-quarters of users turn to Interactive Programming Guides (IPGs) from the moment they switch on TV; 80% consider them a ‘necessity' for viewing.

Honda Jazz wins top honours again
The Honda Jazz has for the fourth consecutive year won top honours in the J.D Power and Associates 2007 South Africa Initial Quality Study.


Creating value for B2B print advertisers
[Rob Bertrand] The continued emphasis on e-media solutions as a way of offsetting the ongoing decline in print revenue for trade publications and their corresponding websites, has presented online publishers with numerous challenges.

Applying lessons learned from TV ads to online video
[Richard Heath and Christina Goodman] Online video has the potential to extend media reach, influence consumer behaviour and build brands. In this article, we look at what makes an effective online ad and how we can apply knowledge gained from TV advertising to derive the most value for money from online video.


Now is the time to be doing your research
[Marc Ashton] So 1 December 2007 arrived and South African business switched off... I've spoken to a couple of colleagues and they've thrown their hands up in the air and said "Agh, December is a write-off. We'll come back in January and hit the ground running..." That's all good and well but if you don't use this quiet period to do some planning – how exactly are you going to know where you are running to?


Consumers want excitement!
Flavour trends are evolving as consumers seek higher levels of experiential pleasure and sensation from products.

Who do you trust for food information?
USA - Consumers have greater faith in activists and retail grocers than either government or food companies when it comes to providing information about food choices. That's according to a new GfK Roper Public Affairs and Media survey commissioned by Morgan&Myers, a communications firm specialising in food and agriculture.

Consumer confidence nears record highs
Consumer confidence has surprisingly rebounded to close to its previous record. This is according to the latest FNB/BER consumer confidence index (CCI) of First National Bank and Stellenbosch University's Bureau for Economic Research released on Tuesday.

Stop before you shop
According to the BIGresearch American Pulse Survey of 4,069 respondents in the US, 52.1% of consumers say they would rather receive a gift card or cash for Christmas.

Online shopping: a blessing and a curse?
Electronics Web site Etronics.com has launched a feature that pops up a "live chat" window after a consumer hesitates for more than a minute during checkout, says Mayer Balser, a founder and vice president of marketing.

Retailers gear up for a not-so-festive season
Having achieved record festive season sales in 2005 and 2006, retailers are bracing themselves for a more challenging holiday period in 2007. Results from the latest Bureau for Economic Research (BER)/Ernst & Young Festive Season Retail Trends survey reveal that retailer confidence is down significantly amid expectations for slower sales growth over the festive season.

Checking out the The Next 48hOURS
After four years of guiding Capetonians and visitors to what's on in the Mother City, The Next 48hOURS, has now become even more accessible. Cape Town Checkers and Checkers Hyper shoppers throughout the Cape Town Metropole and surrounding areas will now have all the latest leisure and entertainment information at their finger tips.

Soweto gets own Toyota dealership
Toyota South Africa has joined forces with Barloworld Automotive and Soweto entrepreneur Richard Maponya to establish the first Toyota dealership in the country's largest township.

African leaders refuse to accept EU's trade deal
[Sholain Govender] Most African leaders have stood together at the 2nd European Union (EU)-Africa Summit and refused to accept the EU's proposed Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), signing instead interim trade agreements.

Shortage looms for Denmark's best-selling Christmas trees
A Christmas tree is virtually obligatory in every home where children are waiting for Santa to pay a visit. However, there could be a supply problem…

OPEC to discuss increasing oil output
[Lavinia Mahlangu] As South African motorists braced themselves for a 43 cents per litre petrol price hike on Wednesday, 5 December 2007, oil producing states may ease international prices by increasing their output.

Wine shelves empty at Wonderpark Woolworths
There's no wine to be had at Woolworths in Wonderpark, after it apparently failed to renew its liquor licence.

Woolworths insists it backs transformation
[Nicola Mawson] The BMF said that companies should be prepared to have transformation issues scrutinised in public.

Speedy security for mall mobility
Atterbury Property and its partners have joined the fight against crime by contributing towards a unique mode of security personnel transportation at 10 of the most prominent shopping centres in the country.

Manufacturing faces hard slog to rebound
[Mariam Isa] Manufacturing activity dipped again last month will battle to rebound from a contraction seen over much of this year.

Genetically modified yeast for wine rejected
[Tamar Kahn, Science and Health Editor] A scientist and his business partners cannot sell genetically modified yeast to local wine producers, following a government decision.

Why Google isn't New Coke - but Microsoft and Yahoo may be Pepsi
[Chris Copeland] One of the great product launches of the late 20th century and one of the greatest product failures of all time was New Coke. Launched as a counter to the rise in popularity of the Pepsi Challenge, the new formula of Coke was designed to be a sweeter version of the long-standing category leader.

Universal music giveaway
[Nic Fildes] Nokia has teamed up with Universal Music to allow mobile phone users unlimited free downloads from the largest music company in the world's catalogue, a move that should stimulate significant mobile music usage and put pressure on Apple's iTunes, which dominates the download market.

Microsoft takes to nagging pirates
[Walaika Haskins] Users of Windows Vista caught running afoul of Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) software verification program will retain use of the operating system (OS) following the release of Vista's first service pack (SP1) early in 2008, Microsoft announced Tuesday.

Walkie-talkie marketing
[Steve Smith] You know the irritating drill. You are in the supermarket and the person with the cart in front of you is on the cell phone loudly consulting with someone at home about what to buy.

Next-generation DVD players: What consumers want
[Chris Roden] George Santayana's adage "those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it" is particularly appropriate in the market for consumer video formats and players. Consistently, manufacturers have been unwilling or unable to develop formats compatible over a broad range of CE devices, and consumers have suffered as a result.

Taking the virtual route to payroll qualification
eLearning is being pitched as a means of addressing problems with service delivery in education.