US newspaper heavies form online ad flotilla
One of the problems with online ads is that they can be geotargeted, which means they targeted to a specific geographical area such as, say, the Bay Area; but advertisers cannot control which sites the ads appear on. "Much of the advertising is blind and therefore not appealing to brands," Sterling Market Intelligence Founding Principal Greg Sterling said.

Business takes a pounding
[Melvin Chagonda] I hope we have all settled nicely into 2008 and businesses and households have adapted to the Eskom switching and load shedding patterns.

New Clicks BEE board appointments
New Clicks Holdings has appointed three new female directors to its board with the aim to enhance transformation and diversity within the company.

Direct marketing pays off big for US auto retailers
A recent survey in the United States reveals that for every dollar US auto retailers spent on direct marketing, their ROI was almost US$34.

Worst retail Christmas since 2001
[Robert Laing] Retailers suffered their first sales slump in six years after inflation was taken into account- prompting some to ask, did Tito do too much?

Email's future: Marketers who adapt will rule
[Loren McDonald] Should email marketers be worried about statistics claiming that young people don't use email anymore? That the most pervasive and utilised electronic communication method is in peril because kids would rather text or IM or message each other via their social-media networks? This opinion piece relates to the US market, but there are lesson too for SA.

On-line shopping rockets
Such has been the growth in on-line shopping around the world that now 85% of world's online population shopped on the web.

The perfect storm
[Neil Saunders] Retail in the United Kingdom faces one of its toughest ever years as like-for-likes go negative.

Italy and Spain to see further strong growth in the out-of-town retail market
A new report, "European OOT retailing 2008", published this week by retail analysts Verdict Research, part of the Datamonitor Group, in association with the leading global real estate service provider Savills, finds that despite the credit crunch, there are still significant opportunities for retailers and developers in the European out-of-town (OOT) arena, with the Mediterranean countries showing strong potential for further rapid development.

Customer support without walls
The consolidated contact center platform is the next step in providing improved availability of contact center resources at a lower cost. The four walls of the contact center are rapidly eroding...

Into the darkness
[James Siddall] Counting the hidden cost of power failures – or “load-shedding” as Eskom hilariously terms it…


These carpets are flying!
Zollanvari, supplier of tribal Persian rugs, won three Carpet Design Awards in 2007. The awards were for Best Old/Antique Nomadic Carpet Company, Best Collection Company and Best Traditional Nomadic Design in price range over R1,500 per m2. Says MD, Siphiwo Shabangu, "This is a great honour for the group, as we strive for providing unique flooring solutions for our clients". Zollanvari is a multinational company that has been operating in South Africa for 10 years, with branches in Bryanston, Cape Town and Durban.

Zim banks vie for deposits as government battles for funding
[Dumisani Ndlela] Zimbabwe's commercial banks have embarked on aggressive marketing campaigns to woo depositors, whose faith in the formal banking system was shaken by a three-month cash crisis that ended late January.

SA's only survey on credit card value releases ratings
For the second consecutive year, the Discovery and SAA credit cards have come out tops in the country's only survey that rates credit-card value.

No small beer empire
In just over 10 years, SABMiller has become the world's largest brewer in the world.

Tile company profit up but slowdown likely
[Thom McLachlan] Italtile has reported a 12% increase in first-half trading profits yesterday, but warned of a slowdown coming in the market.

SA's saucy golden oldie scores a century
[ActivRetail] All Gold - South Africa's favourite tomato sauce – has just turned 100!


Building materials supplier announces results
AltX-listed Hardware Warehouse Ltd (HWWH), supplier of affordable building materials, has announced the company's maiden interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2007.

Deft distiller determined to grow
An ongoing improvement in business efficiencies, continued investment in brands and enhanced distribution saw Distell significantly increase its revenue and sales volumes. For the six months to 31 December 2007, the company weathered demanding markets to deliver a 12,9% increase in revenue to R4,8 billion on a sales volume growth of 7,6%.

Business channel scores in Ghana
CNBC Africa, the continent's first 24-hour international business channel, recently secured a terrestrial television distribution deal in Ghana, effectively delivering the channel's business news to a potential audience of five million viewers in and around the capital Accra.

New star on the Orange River
Orange River Cellars has produced a new brand for the global wine market, Star Tree, which is specifically aimed at the American and European wine consumer.


Ethos bags House of Busby for R1,3bn
[Edward West] House of Busby shareholders vote for R1,3bn acquisition.

Expanding the magic of Madam & Eve
The early success of the Magicmaid co-branding venture with Rapid Phase, under the Magicmaid Madam & Eve brand label in Pick n Pay Hypermarkets, has resulted in the brand now being made available in PnP supermarkets throughout the Gauteng and Free State regions.


Patch those sore muscles
In a bid to promote the efficacy and versatility of its sports patches, Reckitt Benckiser launched its first Transact campaign with Unlimited subsidiary TLC in the last quarter of 2007.


A new step in advertising
A joint venture between Primedia Outdoor and Route-2-Market, both companies in the Primedia Out of Home stable, makes floor decal media platforms available for the first time at a South African airport terminal.


Game for a swim?
A group of 85 team members from Game Stores took the plunge at the Midmar Mile on February 9, raising R85,000 for Community Chest, which in turn donated the monies to a range of needy organisations.


Wining and dining with editor Eedes
WINE magazine has announced the promotion of Christian Eedes to the position of editor, with effect from March. He replaces Fiona McDonald, who leaves to pursue a freelance career "that will bring fresh challenges beyond the scope of wine".


Emirates comes to Cape Town
Emirates fever is set to hit Cape Town as the Dubai-based airline thrusts itself into a series of awareness-building events ahead of the launch of its services to the city; its second in South Africa.


New online gift site
Imbali – meaning “flower” in Zulu – has just launched a gift site that showcases the unique range of luxury bath and body-care products in a range of beautiful gift packs available for purchase online. Offering a wide range of beautiful gift packs in various price categories (from R60 up to R300 +), the online gifting site is easy to navigate and designed to take the hassle out of gift shopping. Virtual gift vouchers are also available for purchase – to view the complete Imbali online Gift Catalogue visit http://www.imbalibodycare.com.the range is also available from leading national retailers.
- ActivRetail

Web, store and call centre integral part of shopping
Survey highlights the importance of cross-channel execution as consumers “channel-hop” between web, store and call centre.

Brits prefer plastic
New research shows that there are more payment cards per person in the United Kingdom than anywhere else in Europe.

Consumers look to personal care products over cosmetic surgery
According to two new reports by a top UK-based research company, professional personal care products are gaining ground as an alternative to cosmetic surgery.

Fulfilment: The unexpected key to successful e-commerce
Fulfilment operations should not only be fast and efficient in the DC -- they should increase speed and efficiency of the downstream distribution process. For example, e-commerce fulfilment operations should be able to palletize orders with delivery truck routes in mind, and orders should "picked to plan-o-gram" of destination stores -- without additional capital expense, labour content or cycle time.

Food manufacturers call for drop in import duties
Amid spiralling food costs with consumers already reeling from food price hikes, its expected that within a few weeks the cost of basic commodities such as cooking oil, soap and margarine are set to rise by 20% to 25% - pushing them out of the reach of more people.

SA, Russia further trade links in ITEC
Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma departed for Moscow, Russia, on Sunday 10 February, where she is to hold trade and economic talks with Russian Minister of Natural Resources Yuri Trutnev.

Curvy SA jeans takes US by storm
A South African-designed range of jeans for women with more curvaceous bottoms has been snapped up in the US by bootylicious fashionistas. The SA-‘invented' Levi's EVA jeans are a result of SA women speaking out about wanting to show off their ‘booty' and challenging the industry to give them the right fit.

Pre-planning promotes perfect performance
[ActivRetail] Meticulous planning, good communication and brilliant teamwork and support are at the heart of an 11-week project that saw Nampak Liquid move its entire PET production facility from Isando on the East Rand to Industria, west of Johannesburg's CBD.


Packaging company establishes the first BEE sheet plant in SA
[ActivRetail] The establishment of the first BEE sheet plant in South Africa has been made possible by Nampak, Africa's largest packaging company.

Tea goes back to school
[ActivRetail] In January and February 2008, Trinco launched their back to school promotion, which is aimed at linking in to a key need amongst our target market – that is helping with educational expenses. This promotion ran in selected retail stores across Gauteng and Kwa-Zulu Natal.


Showcasing local crafts
[Gabi Khumalo] The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality's annual agricultural Market day is to showcase projects by local farmers and communities, giving them the opportunity to advertise and promote their products to potential clients.

New move to limit excessive fees for consumers
In a bid to curb the exploitation of consumers, the National Credit Regulator has agreed to guidelines proposed by the Debt Counsellors' Association of South Africa (DCASA), together with other debt counsellors.

Governance: A holistic approach
One of the greatest benefits of adopting a holistic governance, regulation and compliance approach is that the process brings otherwise siloed corporate functions together to identify potential governance issues, business risks and compliance challenges. Rather than assembling response teams during a crisis, companies instituting enterprise-wide GRC controls collaborate to identify potential risks.

‘Dirty' butchery already under clean-up threat
An East London butchery had a long list of problems before being exposed as one of the dirtiest in the city.

Health Department tackles medicine price fixing
[Gabi Khumalo] The Department of Health has vowed to get rid of price fixing by pharmaceutical companies in the country's health industry.

Tiger Brands to investigate all its businesses
[Tiisetso Motsoeneng] In the wake of yet another price-fixing scandal, this time one that allegedly involves its healthcare unit, the group has launched an independent probe into all its businesses, and the MD of Adcock Ingram Critical Care has been suspended with immediate effect.

Govt to be more pro-active on anti-competitive behaviour
[Shaun Benton] Government aims to strengthen competition legislation this year with the intention of becoming more “proactive” around anti-competitive outcomes and behaviour.

The new role of HR in corporate South Africa – time to sink or swim
[Carol Allen-Payne] HR as a function and a profession is transforming – willingly or unwillingly. It is no more the traditional administrative and process-focused role of the past.


Now Tiger Brands health unit is in a collusion storm
[Tamar Kahn, Science and Health Editor] Hot on the heels of being fined for colluding on the price of bread, consumer goods giant Tiger Brands' health-care unit Adcock Ingram and several smaller health-care groups are in the spotlight for the same offence.

How to handle a difficult customer
[Ruth E. Phillips] I am not proud to say that my health insurance company probably hates me - more specifically, the poor customer service representative who happened to answer the phone when I called with a problem. She probably wishes she was on break at that time. Why? Because I was one of those "difficult" customers. One of those customers we have all had and wished we didn't have to deal with. The kind that sometimes we just want to put on hold, or allow to hear us bang our phones against the desk because we just can't deal with their complaints.

No cameras in mall toilets
[Sibongile Mashaba] Baby dumped: Soweto mall management denies toilets are covered by CCTV.

Finding your place in the global value chain
[Jim Destefani] The arrival of an interconnected global marketplace on Internet time means value chains are rapidly replacing supply chains. This switch requires business owners to think well beyond traditional supply-chain arrangements in terms of greater levels of collaboration with both suppliers and customers. It also requires employees with skills far superior to their predecessors and a world outlook framed by these new realities.

How to monetise web-based applications
[David Koretz] Do you want a faster horse - or something completely new?

Media and broadcasting technology: watch these trends
Multi-platform distribution and revenue diversification will be crucial for broadcasters in 2008 and the broadcast sector will need to invest in effective business models for distribution over the next 12 months.

New team commits to new technology venture
Sahara Holdings, via its Sahara Systems division, has secured a majority shareholding in the Woodlane consortium, through which it has acquired an interest in Stella Vista, an international supplier of mass visual communication systems, specialising in LED technology.


Here comes the sun
As South Africa's energy source reaches crossroads, Oil Africa 2008 highlights key global issues such as peak oil and alternative energy sources. To ignore the future shock and its impact on costs and prices across the board, we need to look NOW at renewable sources of energy. And there's one clearly visible every day…

Smart new way to communicate
Vodacom and Research In Motion have introduced the new BlackBerry Pearl 8110 smartphone in South Africa.


New vision at Mobile World Congress
At Mobile World Congress 2008, taking place in Barcelona, Spain, Nokia Siemens Networks is outlining its vision for the future of telecommunications markets and the innovative solutions that will drive that vision forward.

Empowering women at J&J
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has teamed up with the University of Cape Town's Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB) to create a leadership development programme specially geared to advancing women in the company's European, Middle Eastern and African (EMEA) branches.

Egyptian resort harnesses SA English literacy expertise
A multi-billion dollar resort and entertainment complex under construction at Port Ghalib in Egypt on the shores of the Red Sea is embarking on training initiative to improve the English literacy skills of hundreds of its employees, using training materials developed by Johannesburg-based training solutions provider Media Works.

Catering company addresses skills shortage
Compass Group SA has announced the launch of the Compass Group Chef Academy, which, in addition to offering high quality training to previously disadvantaged individuals, will help address the skills shortage across the tourism and hospitality industries.


Ten captains of industry teach schools a lesson
Schools are much like big corporations. They deal with many of the same challenges, but they do not have the means, the management skills and the professionals to make them work as effectively.


New program directors for business school
The UCT Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB) has welcomed Lance Stringer as its new Director of the MBA Program and Linda Ronnie as Director of its Associate in Management (AIM) and Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration (PDBA) programs.

Proud design wins award

click to enlarge

Award winning architecture and design firm, Don Albert & Partners, received the Corobrik South African Institute of Architecture (SAIA) Award of Merit, for the design of the Proud Heritage Clothing Campus in Briardene, on 16 February 2008 at the Durban ICC. The Proud Heritage Clothing Campus is a 9000m² design and distribution centre that is constructed of custom-made split-concrete blocks to match the surrounding shale landscape, and is capped by an off-white floating roof, under which flowing walls wobble in the manner of the modernists.