R100m jewellery factory to be opened in Kimberley
[Bathandwa Mbola] The world's renowned city of diamonds, Kimberley, is to open a factory worth R100 million to manufacture gold jewellery.

Nederburg wine auction to showcase 10 newcomers
No less than 10 new participants will make their debut at this year's 34th Auction of Rare Cape Wines, to be held at Nederburg in Paarl from 19 - 20 September 2008.

Adcock Ingram fined for collusion
Adcock Ingram, owned by Tiger Brands, has been hit with a a R53-million fine for its involvement in fixing the price of medicine, reports IOL. The judgement was handed down by the Competition Commission on Friday, 9 May 2007.

SABMiller buys 99% of brewer in Ukraine
[Nicola Mawson, Consumer Industries Correspondent] SABMiller has bought Ukrainian brewer CJSC Sarmat for an undisclosed amount, as part of group strategy to expand into emerging markets.

Winemakers' Choice Awards to recognise individual talent
Entries for the 2008 Winemakers' Choice Diamond Awards are now open for any accredited winemaking estate or registered garagista who is willing to accept the challenge of being judged by their peers, for top honours in one of South Africa's toughest awards challenges.

SA's business confidence takes a further dip
[Michael Appel] The Business Confidence Index (BCI) for April 2008 indicated that South African business confidence has dipped slightly to 93.4 in April following the March 2008 figure of 93.9.

Minister van Schalkwyk visits Carbon Neutral wine estate
Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk visited Backsberg Estate Cellars on the slopes of the Simonsberg Mountains in Paarl in the Western Cape. The ministry's interest in the wine farm came about due to their Carbon Neutral status.


Diners Club International 2008 Winelist Awards open for entry
Entries for the newly revamped 2008 Diners Club International Winelist of the Year Awards are officially open and all licensed restaurants across South Africa are invited to take part.

Cape Town Table for Peace and Unity serves up a feast - Table of Unity
The mother city played host to one of the five official Tables of Peace and Unity, proudly sponsored by Spekko Rice, which took place around the country on Freedom Day, 27 April. The table forms part of a national fund-raising event and an occasion that shows the world how a truly unified people hold the power to heal a nation.

A reason to smile
It has been four years since Dentyne was last advertised in South Africa, and although research reveals that South Africans already consider the chewing gum brand to be good for their teeth, the new campaign is designed to strengthen that belief.


'GTA' sells, Yahoo doesn't
[ECT News Staff] Gas prices are setting record highs, homeowners are facing foreclosure, the dollar's slipping further down a black hole, and the credit industry is collapsing. These are frustrating times - and perhaps that's partly why "Grand Theft Auto IV" just set some new records for video game sales.

Eikendal releases Cleopatra's Wedding Present
Eikendal, the prominent barrel-vaulted cellar on the foot of the Helderberg Mountains in the Cape Winelands, has released their first white wine for 2008, a silky, rich Semillon 2007 named Cleopatra's Wedding Present.


Spier wins first place for SA at Belgian wine awards
[ActivRetail] Spier has placed first amongst South African wine producers at Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, winning two trophies and two grand gold medals at the prestigious Belgian awards.

Sarie special becomes a permanent serving
[ActivRetail] Sarie is once again cooking at the highest temperatures with Sarie Kos, its stand-alone food magazine, which has become a permanent addition to the menu and will now be published quarterly.


From Isidingo star to Avon celebrity
Avon has announced a new partnership with Lesego Motsepe, the accomplished South African TV star who entertains millions of viewers each day as the vibrant and sophisticated, Lettie Matabane in the ever popular SABC 3 soapie, Isdingo.


Giving bikini lines a loving touch
[ActivRetail] A 2004 online survey revealed that 59% of women under-45 shaved their bikini area. However, until last year no products met women's specific bikini line needs - safe, precise hair removal that won't cause rashes or ingrown hair.


Shape Sanex announces Cover Look winner
Dominique de Villiers, 27-year-old psychology graduate, was named the 2008 Shape Sanex Cover Look winner at the grand finale event held at The Runway in Cape Town last night, 6 May.


Gijima KZN spending hits record high
[Bathandwa Mbola] The KwaZulu-Natal Gijima development initiative - meant to stimulate economic activity in the province has reported paying out its largest batch of funding for any quarter to date since its inception in 2003.

Activia yoghurt sports new format
[ActivRetail] Activia recently relaunched its range with a new pack format, size, design and an improved taste.


SAB to build on House of Hansa success
[Nicola Mawson, Consumer Industries Correspondent] South African Breweries, SA's largest brewer, is seeking to springboard off its successful Hansa Marzen Gold launch by keeping an eye out for other brews that can be added to the House of Hansa.

Alighting dark dining with unplugged menu
Not to be deterred by the power cuts that have rendered many a restaurant unable to serve customers, Dulcé Café has recently launched its unplugged menu which is truly electrifying for any patron suffering an empty stomach as a result of load-shedding.

Indique embarks on SA extension
Ebony Ivory Hair has signed a distribution agreement with Indique Hair International to become the first South African business to supply the Pure Collection, some of the finest quality Indian Remy hair extensions, to SA salons and consumers.

Building supply franchise opens in Witbank
Pick & Build, a national franchise operation supplying building finishes to the home improvement, commercial development and construction markets, has reinforced its presence with the launch of a new branch in Witbank, Mpumulanga.

Inside view of franchising
The International Franchise & Entrepreneurs Expo (IFE) 2008 opens its doors from 8 - 10 May at the Sandton Convention Centre, Gauteng, from 10am to 6pm daily.

Botswana bans bulk fuel exports to Zim
In the latest blow to Zimbabwe's wounded economy, the Botswana government has banned the export of bulk fuel to the neighbouring country. Scanty parallel market supplies are quickly running dry and transport is grinding to a halt across Zimbabwe.


Limpopo, Swaziland to improve trade co-operation
[Gcina Ntsaluba] South Africa's Limpopo province and the Kingdom of Swaziland are to improve trade co-operation through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The Limpopo province is hosting a business delegation from Swaziland this week to forge regional economic ties.

Emerging farmers to showcase products on Nguni Day
[Nthambeleni Gabara] The Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture together with the Great Kei Municipality and local emerging farmers will hold the Nguni Production Day on Friday, 9 May 2008, to showcase farmers' products.

Kayreed receives new stars
Sixteen Volkswagen Constellation Trucks worth R7-million were handed over to Kayreed Board & Timber in Johannesburg. Kevin van der Merwe took delivery of the trucks from Cornel Oelofse, General Manager of Lindsay Saker Midrand Commerical on 30 April 2008.

Albany turns over green leaf with biodegradable bags
[Luphert Chilwane] Tiger Brands' Albany bakeries have launched SA's first biodegradable bread bags.

See the light at Energex Gauteng 2008
In an effort to further strengthen the national campaign to save electricity by 10%, the Department of Minerals and Energy will host a three-day Provincial Energy Efficiency Product and Energy Exhibition (Energex) from 6-8 June 2008 at the Nasrec Expo Centre, Johannesburg. It is aimed at bringing together a range of products that households, businesses, institutions and the general public can use in order to contribute to the national energy saving campaigns. For more information, visit: http://www.energex.co.za/ - BuaNews

Alliance wants more foods VAT-free, price fixing crackdown
[Patrick Cull] The ANC-led alliance has called for urgent consideration of the removal VAT on a wider range of foodstuffs, a move likely to be opposed by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on the grounds that it benefits all consumers and not just the poor.

Change smoking law to save charity work
[Michael Hamlyn] Two Massmart executives came before members of Parliament on Wednesday, 7 May, to argue for tobacco retailers to be exempted from one of the anti-smoking law's stringent clauses, which could land the company with a fine of R1 million.

Bread companies to face competition body
Pioneer Foods and Foodcorp have been referred to the Competition Tribunal for their alleged role in a bread price-fixing cartel, the Competition Commission has said. The two companies could be fined 10% of their annual turnover for the 2006/7 financial year.

Product liability bill alarms retailers
[Linda Ensor] Retailers are expected to raise an outcry at Parliament's hearings on the Consumer Protection Bill over a product liability clause that seeks to make them liable for consequential damages suffered as a result of the consumption or use of the products they sell.

Tobacco Act amendment to increase prohibition
[Vivian Warby] The Health Portfolio Committee is to hold hearings on amendments to the Tobacco Control Act to further enhance the control of tobacco products and promote healthy lifestyles.

SaaS: Bringing call centres within a SMME reach
[Patrick Barnard] The Software as a Service (SaaS) trend is revolutionising the call centre industry, as companies of all sizes are now discovering the advantages of going with hosted versus on-premise solutions. With SaaS for the call centre, applications such as integrated voice recognition, automatic call dialing, predictive dialing, workforce management and CRM are hosted on a shared platform in a data centre and delivered to the agents via the Internet or dedicated network.

E-commerce web services: Better, faster, cheaper
[Paul Korzeniowski] E-commerce firms are turning to Web services to streamline operations. A web service, for instance, could carry out payment validation by taking details from one system and initiate a request for other information, such as a credit card account number or expiration date.

Optimising the contact centre as a profit centre
[Alan Hubbard] US - Traditionally, the contact centre has been a cost centre. However, with the contact centre transforming into a profit centre, the selling of products and services has emerged as an opportunity for the contact centre to improve agent and customer interaction. Yet the challenge will be balancing customer satisfaction goals and driving profits.

Rope barrier system makes a grand entrance - Right Stuff
Book your space in the queue with our all-new stylish and practical rope barrier queue management systems, the ideal solution for crowd control, queue management and point-of-purchase.


Zoom is zero rated - Zoom Advertising
Zoom Advertising - Ogilvy's expert retail advertising and ‘brands at retail' agency - is the first agency to become carbon neutral in South Africa.

Getty Images Space Snaps Challenge scores huge discounts - Gallo Images
South African designers have found the Getty Images Space Snaps Challenge and are heading to be the highest scorers in outer space while also saving 25% on their royalty-free purchases.

Best Buy buys its way into Europe
[Robert Barr] Best Buy, the biggest US electronics retailer, is paying US$2.1 billion for a 50% stake in Europe's largest cell phone retailer, Carphone Warehouse, the companies announced Thursday, 9 May 2008.

Nu-World earnings drop
Consumer electronics group Nu-World witnessed an 18.5% decline in headline earnings per share to 161.2 cents in what it described as an extremely difficult six month trading period to the end of February.

Tradehold reports loss for 2008
JSE listed UK retail group Tradehold substantially reduced its trading loss of £6.6 million in the year to end February 2007 to £1.7 million in the same period in 2008, the company said on Monday, 5 May 2008.

The making of Mdantsane
The opening of the multimillion-rand Mdantsane City mall two weeks ago heralded a new era for the township, as it transforms from a dormitory housing development to a self-contained suburb with its own amenities and entertainment facilities.

Govt urges role players not to raise food prices
[Vivian Warby] All role players in the food industry should work together with government to ensure that food prices do not continue to skyrocket.

Sub-notebook - 8 inches of long life power
Sahara Computers has announced the release of its latest 8-inch sub-notebook into the market.


Digital shift upends Warner Music in Q2
[Alex Veiga] The shift in demand from CDs to downloads is taking its toll on Warner Music Group, which reported a loss of US$37 million in the second quarter.

Samsung Glydes into iPhone territory
[Walaika Haskins] Verizon announced the latest addition to its line of touch-screen mobile phones Thursday, 8 May 2008. The Glyde from Samsung, available Friday, offers many features that have gained popularity following the introduction of Apple's iPhone.

Consumers warned of cheap TV deals
[Shaun Benton] Deputy Minister of Communications Roy Padayachee has asked South African consumers wishing to purchase a television set to beware of cheap deals on analogue TVs, as government begins the migration to digital broadcasting.

Slacker portable no slouch at music delivery
[Eric Benderoff] One drawback to our portable-music revolution is space. At some point, even with a 160 gigabyte iPod, you run out. So, if you listen to a lot of music through headphones, as I do, there are times when you want fresh tunes.

Ten things retailers should know about social networks
With the increased consumer traffic that social networks are generating on the internet, retailers must have a position on social networks, according to Gartner, Inc. Although social networks have tended to centre on younger demographic groups, they are expanding into wider groups that matter to a broader base of retailers such as career-based social networks, shopping-based social networks, and employee groups.

SugarCRM adds a new layer of functionality
[Erika Morphy] SugarCRM has released version 5.1 of its open source CRM platform, building on functionality it debuted in last year's milestone 5.0 release, which included new development tools, a new Ajax e-mail client, and a new multi-instance on-demand architecture.