Submit your FAD
The Foschini Annual Design (FAD) Awards competition is open for entry. Now in its seventh year, this competition affords aspiring fashion designers the opportunity to design reality fashion for the modern fashion-conscious South African working woman.


Hot variety of fashion coming
[Anelisa Ngcakani] Do you dress in style? Are you up with the latest fashions? Then get to Mdantsane City Mall in NU6; it officially opens on April 24. And while you're about it... feel like enjoying a meal?

Another bad month for new vehicle sales
New vehicle sales for March 2008 are down by a massive 15.5% compared to the same period last year, according to figures released by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) on Wednesday, 2 April.

Atlantis rising
Property redevelopment to boost Atlantis economy and uplift the local community.

Branded till points to cross the border
With branded messages at 20 000 till points in 1800 stores across South Africa, TillTops has set its sights on influencing shoppers across the border.

We're drowning in debt
[Lauren Cohen] We are facing higher prices and costs at every turn, and millions of us are unable to cope.

Redefine to build a R182m mall in Kempton Park
Property fund Redefine plans to develop a R182-million shopping centre in Kempton Park, which is set to open in autumn 2009, it said on Thursday. The shopping centre, Festival Town Square, will have a flagship 2,500m² Spar as its anchor tenant. - I-Net Bridge

Matlare accepts Tiger Brands CEO position
Food company Tiger Brands said on Tuesday that Peter Matlare has assumed the position of chief executive officer. It added that he has also been appointed as a director with effect from 1 April 2008. - I-Net Bridge

iTunes tops music vendor charts
[Chris Maxcer] Apple's online iTunes music store is now the no.1 music retailer in the United States, according to the latest data from the NPD Group. In January and February, the online store captured a 19% share of the music sales market, besting retail behemoth Wal-Mart, which sells much of its music in conventional CD format.

eBay's Donahoe era: Rough weather ahead?
[Jon Swartz] eBay is facing multiple challenges as its new CEO, John Donahoe, takes the reins from Meg Whitman. The company is dealing with some sellers drifting away, the growing shadow of Google and the looming presence of Amazon.com and other competitors.

Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn seen in Sandton
[ActivRetail] Primedia Outdoor is launching the first large-format, high-resolution, Digital Outdoor Network in South Africa and many advertisers have already begun work on their creative productions.


Travelex hooks Schalk Burger
Global foreign exchange retail giant, Travelex, operated locally by FX Africa, has chosen international rugby player Schalk Burger to be its “brand ambassador” in South Africa.

Meals from the Med – and fit for a king
Recently arrived from the Mediterranean shores of sunny Italy, Viander is bringing a food revolution to the culinary industry of South Africa.


Female entrepreneurs get R95,000 boost
[Bathandwa Mbola] Three young female entrepreneurs in the hospitality and tourism industries have received a cash injection from the South African Breweries (SAB) Ltd totalling R95,000.

Ubuntu Bantam beats ‘em all
After 16 judges debated the merits of the winners of 12 Creative Circle Monthly Awards, JWT SA's Ford Bantam 'Ubuntu' commercial won the 2007 Creative Circle Award in the film category.

Desperately tempting Eva...
Magnum, one of the world's leading ice-cream brands, synonymous with indulgent pleasure and temptation, has appointed the breathtaking Eva Longoria as the spokesperson for the brand globally for 2008.


Fire inspires March Pyro award winner
As from 2008, Pyrotec is hosting the Pyro Inspirations Awards on a bi-monthly basis where a panel of judges representing various industries evaluates on-pack promotional labelling in terms of originality, impact and clever use of space. From seven finalists, Purple Hat's BIC Megalighter Fix-a-Form booklet label was announced as the winner for the March award.


Leaping out of April Fool's
South Africa's recently launched ‘socia media-cum-online retail outlet' Springleap isn't closing down – it was just another April Fool's prank designed to garner publicity. Created by self-proclaimed serial entrepreneurs Eric Edelstein and Eran Eyal, co-owners of eSquared Fashion, Springleap has ambitious plans to turn around the ailing textile industry in South Africa.


PR on a shoestring pays off
Full service PR agency, Greater Than, won the Silver PRISM award for PR on a shoestring at the 11th annual PRISA awards, held last week at Vodaworld. The agency was briefed by client, MARS Africa, to create a successful PR campaign for international multi-billion dollar brand, M&M's.


New fruity Vision
Stimorol has launched another new variant on the market, Stimorol Vision, which is available in two flavours: Melon Blackberry and Strawberry Lime.


R you ready for this?
The new Audi R8 is never stuck in traffic on the corner of William Nicol and Sandton Drive.


New Clicks sees diluted HEPS up by 20% to 30%
Despite the challenging retail climate, the retail group expects good results.

Shedding light on energy-saving initiatives
[ActivRetail] Primedia Outdoor views the national energy crisis seriously and has put mechanisms in place to ensure significant power savings.

You say tomato, and I say...
[Chrysi Philalithes] We've spent a lot of time laughing in our office this past week. Why? "Builder's tea", "a cup of Joe": these are just two of the terms our mix of Americans and Brits have been translating and teaching one another.

Oh happy days…
A recent report indicates America's teens have their stuff together and, amongst other things, rate having a sound education as being more important and a better goal than making it on to a talent show. In short, the responses ‘have surprised many in the marketing community and have caused them to rethink how they need to appeal to this demographic'.

America's troubled news media
More targeted news coverage … shorter attention span …the shift from news being a product to a service … trends in the US in news media seem to indicate that not all is well.

Jack's joined FASA
Jack's Paint & Hardware, said to be the largest independent paint specialist retail group in South Africa, became a member of FASA (the Franchise Association of Southern Africa) in February.

Sebeka's cheetah outstrips the competition
For Swartland it was a proud moment when they were selected by E&J Gallo, one of the world's leading wineries, to work with Gallo's team to produce their South African brand “Sebeka”.

Creaming the competition
[Zweli Mokgata] Brothers David and Justin Letschert have turned a R3-million a year local operation into a R661-million worldwide player in only seven years.

SA brand's push into global markets shows increasing returns
[ActivRetail] Appletiser's expansion into global markets continues to show strong returns, the company says, with the successful launch of Peartiser supporting double-digit global growth for the South African-born beverage brand. The brand's growth in the United Kingdom has been particularly strong over 2007, coming in at over 30%.

Road freight in Europe: a steady but challenging road ahead
[Siddharth Gaur] Europe's road freight industry is set for strong growth over the coming five years, according to independent market analyst Datamonitor's latest research.

Industry wins food label feud
[Slindile Khanyile, The Star] The health department would shelve plans to label certain foodstuffs as non-essential for a healthy diet in the upcoming regulations on food labelling and advertising, it has announced, succumbing to pressure from the food industry.

Looking for lemons
Savanna says its first online campaign is a massive success.

Piracy sinks local music sales
[Thabo Mkhize] The result is a substantial loss in revenue to local artists and the government.

Merchants get a helping hand to comply with PCI DSS
Although today's merchants are conscious of the need to ensure high levels of security, which prevent compromising cardholder information that is captured by merchants in the payment process, many lack the tools to ensure they satisfy or exceed industry requirements.

Tiger Brands to reply to competition body
Tiger Brands has said it will reply to the Competition Commission's drug price-fixing charges within three weeks.

Keeping customers loyal in a shop-around world
[Lenann McGookey Gardner] It's easy to forget the things that turn customers into loyal customers, such as a quick phone call or e-mail just to maintain contact. Little things can make a big difference in a tough environment.

Care for cooks in a quandary
When you're tearing your hair out wondering what to cook for the family tonight, there's nothing better than a daily SMS filled with innovative and convenient meal ideas to get rid of oven doubt.


Active and passive CRM
There is a big difference between active and passive customer communities. For an example of a passive community, take a look at Starbucks' new MyStarbucksIdea.com community site. These sites are useful ways to gather customer input, and I have referred to them as automating the suggestion box. There's nothing wrong with that, but a suggestion box is not a community.

Lonrho buys 51% of fresh produce firm for R40m
This acquisition allows the company to enter into the fast-growing agri-processing market.

On a mission to beef up Gauteng customer base
[Nicola Mawson, Consumer Industries Correspondent] Meat processor and retailer Best Cut aims to grow its customer base and boost production to benefit from rising meat prices that make its products an attractive alternative.

A crushing success
Continental Oil Mills (Pty) Ltd commissioned their new R220 million crusher on 1 April 2008 and this second crushing facility in Randfontein will boost the company's share of the oil processing industry to become the largest single crusher and refiner of edible oil seed in the country. The company's MD had a few salutary comments, however...

Help wanted: Email marketing manager
[David Baker] A major challenge in any business is introducing change, without disrupting what already works...

Websites drive business in automotive sector
An effective or so-called ‘sticky' website – one that generates traffic and ensures that visitors return - is a core element of any business development and digital marketing strategy within the automotive industry. This is the viewpoint of Mynhardt Oosthuizen, executive director at eliance, a national provider of comprehensive business solutions targeting the automotive sector.


Cool! Carl's kulula combines with Clicks2Customers
kulula, which offers complete travel packages online, has contracted paid-for-search expert Clicks2Customers to boost bookings for its flight, car, hotel and holiday package offerings by driving more search-engine traffic to its website.

Sony pushes old movies to cell phone screens
Sony Pictures Television has unveiled a movie network for mobile TV called "Pix." Subscribers of the AT&T Mobile TV services - which will launch in May - will have access to Pix content.

Will South Africa lead the solar energy revolution?
[Yolandi Groenewald] South Africa, Brazil and other emerging economies are likely to face emissions caps come 2012. Can South Africa's solar energy ventures compete with its vast supply of cheap coal?

Music to the ears
SMC Networks, a global provider of LAN hardware and broadband connectivity devices, has announced the availability of its TigerStore SOHO NAS Storage Server – designed to be a complete storage solution that incorporates a built-in iTunes music server for home and small office environments.


Consolidated packages go live
iBurst's simplified range of seven consolidated packages are available to new subscribers from today, 1 April 2008.

On the move with new mobile solutions
A range of new mobile solutions from Fujitsu Siemens Computers is now available to the local market through Annex Distribution, an official distribution partner to Fujitsu Siemens Computers.


Laptop lockdown: how to secure the data vaults
When a laptop is lost or stolen, sometimes losing the computer itself isn't so bad as losing the data that was on that computer and wondering what someone might do with it. Whether your laptop is carrying state secrets or just a personal diary, here are some ways to keep your computer's data locked up tight.

Training CSRs to ease customers' pain
An insurance industry group in New York has created a program for training customer service representatives.