New spirit for the V&A
Esprit, the international lifestyle brand opened its first South African store at the V&A Waterfront on Saturday, 1 December. Situated amongst a host of international fashion brands on the upper level of the newly expanded Victoria Wharf, the store carries the latest designs, covering both Women's and Men's collections. A second store will open in Canal Walk at the end of December.

Major facelift for Greenmarket Square
South Africa's second oldest public square, Greenmarket Square in Cape Town, is to receive the largest multi-million Rand facelift in its 300-year existence.

US retail and automotive strong radio users through 3rd quarter
According to a new TNS Media Intelligence Report, the Radio Advertising Bureau reports that Network Radio ad spending was driven by heavy investment from retail and automotive in the United States. Total retail grew 42% in 3rd quarter and nearly and automotive increased 70% in 3rd Quarter.

Video tours increase sales
It has been well documented that user-generated reviews (a social media tactic) can and will increase sales.

US adspend stumbles, but the world marches on
Updating global ad forecasts, ZenithOptimedia provides new projections that lowers US advertising growth from the previous 3.3% in 2007 to a now expected 2.5% primarily due to a credit squeeze and continued slump in housing market.

Shop stock levels worryingly high
[Adele Shevel] Rising interest rates are stifling one of the JSE's hottest sectors — but we will only really see the effects of the retail slowdown after the festive season.

Hindustan company in joint venture in SA
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has decided to set up a Joint Venture (JV) with Smollan Holdings of South Africa and the JV will be operational from January 1, 2008. The strategic tie-up aims to build long-term capabilities and bring ‘in-store' execution focus in servicing the company's modern trade customers.

Auto manufacturer gets green energy boost
Mercedes-Benz is to do its part to improve the environment through purchasing electricity generated using renewable energy (RE) from the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.

Sony's PS3 Plan: Shrewd strategy or drapes on the Titanic?
[Walaika Haskins] With sales of Sony's struggling PlayStation 3 (PS3) video game console picking up in Europe, Japan and the United States, the company's CEO, Howard Stringer, revealed details of its plans going forward for the console at a press conference held in Tokyo on Tuesday, 11 December 2007.

Always be ready to say you're sari
[ActivRetail] The popularity of Indian food in South Africa, as well as the consumer move towards healthy and flavourful meals that are easy to prepare, recently saw the Tiger Brands Tastic team introduce an authentic Indian curry range.


Entertaining specialist joins tribe, opens in Zambia
Designer entertaining specialist Loudfire has opened the first party and events production office in Livingstone, Zambia to capitalise on the huge business opportunities in the region.

Bridging the gap between plant floor and enterprise systems
Despite the disconnect existing between plant floor and enterprise systems for some time, it is only in the last few years that manufacturers have really started to try to address and solve the issue. In a new report, Linking plant floor and enterprise systems for greater manufacturing agility, independent market analyst Datamonitor examines the priorities manufacturers are placing on linking various plant floor and enterprise systems.

US store sites gain in customer respect index
[Sarah Mahoney] Brick-and-mortar retailers – once the laggards in online sales – are winning more and more respect from consumers, according to the latest ranking of the Customer Respect Group, an Ipswich, Mass.-based company that evaluates website performance.

Online consumer reviews impact offline purchasers
A new study conducted by comScore, a US global Internet information provider, with The Kelsey Group, shows that nearly one out of every four Internet users reported using online reviews prior to paying for a service delivered offline by restaurants, hotels, travel, legal, medical, automotive and home services.

SA in global top 25 for investment
South Africa has been ranked as the 18th most attractive foreign direct investment destination worldwide.

MIGA helps Madagascar increase efficiency in trade transactions
The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a World Bank Group member, has confirmed it is supporting a new investment in Madagascar to address the need for reforms in the country's customs clearance process.

SA wine firmly back on growth track
Wine exports are once again on the rise, reflecting a 16% volume increase for the first 11 months of the year, compared with the same period last year, says Wines of South Africa (WOSA) CEO Su Birch, commenting on the latest data from industry body SAWIS.


Fast and furrier... Young cheetahs go to new home – first class
DHL South Africa, the leading global express delivery and logistics company, provided air and ground transport support for the safe delivery of four young cheetahs from Johannesburg to the Casela Bird Park in Mauritius this morning.


Mozambique: What price the benefits of foreign investment?
The Mozal aluminium plant is a symbol of Mozambique's red-hot economy, touted as a symbol of the investor-friendly environment that led the Wall Street Journal to declare the country "an African success story".

Searchandise your way to success
[Corey Leibow] With thousands of companies selling products online to both businesses and consumers, it takes more than nice site design and a shopping cart to be competitive and make money. We know that effective search and navigation leads to more people finding what they're looking for and, therefore, higher conversion rates.

Talk about a classic new look
Cape Classics, one of the largest exporters of South African wines to the USA, has unveiled an eye-catching new packaging for its Indaba brand which will be rolled out with the 2007 vintage releases.

New POS product
Headspace Advertising announced recently that it has secured the African rights for a new promotional media that is allegedly taking the international marketing by storm. Pop 'n Sell and Outtathebox, a delivery mechanism for coupons/entry forms/information leaflets, is a patented system for differentiated branding opportunities and versatility.


A gateway to your imagination
Gateway Theatre of Shopping has recently launched their new exciting customer relationship program, called Gateway Imagine.


FMCG show offers opportunities to display SA products
The FMCG Show, to take place in Istanbul Turkey, from March 13-15, 2008, offers South African producers an opportunity to market their products to a wide range of potential customers.

Medical scheme gets a clean bill of health
Gen-health Medical Scheme has received an initial claims paying ability rating of A from independent rating company, Global Credit Rating (GCR).


Cricket Australia tries to corner image market
Cricket Australia (CA), the governing body of one of Australia's favourite sports, is trying to force all photographers and agencies to sign a new contract before they enter a cricket ground.

Responding to customers in 12 seconds?
Like many service industries, the glass replacement industry is about speed and convenience. Keenly aware of this, southern African glass supplier PG Glass is always looking for ways of improving upon its services. So when figures revealed that there are now over 3.8 million regular Internet users in South Africa, the company promptly decided to investigate the potential of this underdeveloped channel further.

Scorpions, Water Affairs bust syndicate
The Department of Water Affairs and the Scorpions have uncovered a syndicate which has been defrauding suppliers.

Telkom warns of cheque fraud
With the country enjoying the festive season, Telkom has called for heightened vigilance among its customers in guarding against cheque fraud also known as “refund scams”.

Safe shopping
The holiday season is underway, and to most people that means shopping until they drop, but as the holiday season gets into full swing, so do the criminals whose idea of “holiday cheer” largely involves destroying yours. Don't let them.

Santa goes camping
Cape Union Mart stores in both Canal Walk and Tygervalley shopping centres in the Western Cape have been a hive of activity with the launch of their exciting new window concepts, in time for Christmas 2007.

More Black entrepreneurs set for agribusiness
[Siboniso Ntuli] The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs is to increase black entrepreneurs in the agricultural business sector by 10% in the next two years.

A gift guide for the Mac geek in your life
[Bob LeVitus] Welcome, guys and gals, to this year's guide to gifts for geeks. Over the course of a year, I get to try literally hundreds of different products in my roles as a columnist for the Houston Chronicle, reviews director for the iPod Observer, and columnist for the Mac Observer. (I know, it's a tough job, but someone has to do it.)

The Top 10 Dumbest Web Site Decisions
[Kalena Jordan © 2007] Having worked with web sites for the past eleven years, I've seen a LOT of errors, poor judgment and embarrassing gaffs on the web.

Google News updates algorithm to reflect local and breaking news
[Loren Baker] Google News has been tweaking its algorithm to show more updated and fresh stories as well as identifying the local news media which would be covering stories which may become global events writes Sharad Jain on the Google News Blog.

Sweden launches world's first 'newspaper' phone
Sweden's Dagens Nyheter, reports The Telegraph, recently launched the world's first "newspaper" telephone: a cellphone offering the daily's subscribers access to its website.

Five tech trends to watch in 2008
As 2008 approaches, WiMax is at a crossroads. Will it become the most popular next-generation wireless WAN transport that supporters envisioned, or will it wither on the vine? "WiMax will gain a great deal of acceptance in underserved countries, but will not be as popular in industrialized nations like the U.S. and Europe," analyst Craig Mathias told TechNewsWorld.

Nokia, Zoopy partner for online imaging
On Tuesday, 11 December 2007, Nokia and Zoopy.com announced that users of Nokia Nseries 'multimedia computers'/cameraphones will be able to directly upload, organise and share photographs and videos on the South African online media sharing platform, which has become Nokia's regional imaging partner for Africa.

Touching Toshiba
Toshiba has announced its launch of its ninth generation of Tablet PC product line: the Portégé M700. This is the company's first Tablet PC to incorporate a touch screen LED backlit display, and supports both fingertip input capabilities and traditional pen-based input.

How would you like a personal transport or a violin-playing robot?
Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), better known – as the name implies – for building cars – has unveiled two new robots, a "Mobility Robot" and a "Violin-playing Robot" – the newest additions to its Toyota Partner Robots being developed to support people's everyday life.


Getting SEO-savvy: Five tips for choosing keywords
Contrary to popular belief, traffic volume should not be your primary reason for choosing keywords. Rather, traffic volume of a keyword or phrase should only be considered after the previous factors have been examined. Search volume can be used to compare the keywords that have been chosen based on the preceding recommendations.

From 'brain drain' to 'brain circulation'
The majority of Africans who acquire training abroad are returning home because of the benefits derived from their knowledge to their communities and countries at large.

New program aims boost BPO and CC expertise
The UCT Graduate School of Business (GSB) will run a program from March 2008 to develop management expertise in the South African Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Contact Centre (CC) industry.