Good design is not all feathers and sequins...
[Shan Radcliffe] Sustainable design that will help the fashion industry grow and develop needs to be design that works properly - and sometimes, simpler is better.


Rising food prices threaten the poor
South Africa has experienced the highest rate of food price inflation since January 2003, the National Agricultural Marketing Council said in its quarterly food price monitor on Thursday, 27 May 2008.

Media24, Reader's Digest part ways
Media24 Magazines announced today that they had terminated their license agreement with Reader's Digest and that Reader's Digest Australia, the regional principals, would publish the South African edition from the August 2008 issue onwards to ensure an uninterrupted service to advertisers and readers, including subscribers.

Cash is king at Mr Price
Different view to extending credit seems to be paying off.

The positive 'R' words
A down cycle in the economy can be a challenge for business, slowing sales activity. A recession can, however, also present the chance for other "R" words -- and they might help your business seize opportunities to grow, writes branding expert Naseem Javed.

A humble warrior tailoring her dreams of success
Zyda Rylands, the first woman to be appointed an executive director of Woolworths, tells Penny Haw there are some things no university degree can teach you.

Economic growth at 2.1% low
[Bathandwa Mbola] South Africa has started the year on a slow growth with the first quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) registering an increase of only 2.1%.

Abil's grand plans for Ellerines
[Richard Stovin-Bradford] Bold plans to double sales could be good news for cash-strapped consumers.

JD Group earnings down 45%
The retailer has reported that its diluted earnings per share were down 45% to 221.5c for six months ended 29 February.

Inflation at 10.4% as food, fuel prices continue to climb
[Michael Appel] The usual price increases in food, fuel and power as well as transport have pushed April's Consumer Price Index, excluding interest on mortgage bands (CPIX), to 10.4% year-on-year (y/y).

Makeover for brand stalwart Chappies
Did you know? South African bubblegum icon Chappies has had its first makeover in 50 years in preparation for a major consumer relaunch in 2008. The Cadbury South Africa brand, which was created specifically for the SA market in the late 1940s, has been updated to boost its appeal to the current generation of the country's children.


Golden glory for SA estate at UK wine awards
Eikendal, the prominent barrel-vaulted cellar on the foot of the Helderberg Mountains in the Cape winelands, has clinched one of only four gold medals awarded to a South African Sauvignon Blanc at the prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards 2008 in the United Kingdom.


Khaki kisses
Creative agency, Canvas, has produced a series of concepts for retail chain Old Khaki - the first of which is aptly called ‘Kiss' - which can be seen in-store.


Fly to Nelspruit!
Airlink increases capacity and revises flight schedule for Nelspruit route.


KFC in the US adds third flavour - in 68 years
KFC is adding only its third fried chicken flavour in 68 years to its US menu, and has launched a supporting campaign in the United States featuring 15- and 30-second TV commercials by its AOR, DraftFCB.

‘Allo, Elle Man
ELLE launches inaugural ELLE Man and gives insight into the ‘New Macho'.


Du Toitskloof Sauvignon Blanc available nationally
The latest vintage of Du Toitskloof's Sauvignon Blanc, a popular choice among local wine lovers, is now available nationally.

Vodafone CEO gets out while the going's good
[Erika Morphy] "Quit while you're ahead" is one nugget of conventional wisdom that few CEOs appear to heed, at least judging by the number of executives who have left companies at the behest of shareholders - or, worse, regulators.

Pioneer Foods warns of more food price pain
[Nicola Mawson, Consumer Industries Correspondent] Pioneer Foods gross margin is facing pressure - and that could be bad news for consumers.

Coke's toasty new caffeine fix
Coca-Cola South Africa launched its latest premium bean-to-cup coffee, Chaywa, in Johannesburg on Friday, 23 May 2008. The move makes SA the third market to offer the product, which has, to date, only been available in Canada and Norway.


Pioneer Foods 'studying' referral
Pioneer Foods and its advisors are studying the contents of the referral from the Competition Commission and will respond in due course, the listed food group says.

Woolies joins world of podcasts
Woolworths Financial Services has launched a podcast designed to help customers manage their money better, making it one of the first South African brands to explore the benefits of new media in this way.

Turning over a new leaf pays off
[ActivRetail] Lipton's 'Turn over a new leaf' campaign wins three awards in international Interactive Media Awards (IMA).

Vets to reassess pet diets - Vondi's Holistic Pet Nutrition
Recently, Wendy Knowler, Consumer Watch for Independent Newspapers, published an article “Is it wonder nutrition or a modern scourge?” referring to commercial pet food. She was particularly referring to premium brands sold at veterinary practices that are endorsed by vets and backed by the SA Veterinary Association.

KWV launches competition for Cointreau on Facebook - KWV Limited
KWV Imports' brand Cointreau has launched its online competition via the social networking site, Facebook.

Global consumer confidence falls to a record low
[ActivRetail] 56% of global online consumers think their country is currently in recession and consumer confidence worldwide has fallen to its lowest level in several years, according to the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index, which measures the confidence, major concerns and spending habits of online consumers in 51 countries. South Africa saw a big fall in its Consumer Confidence Index in the last 6 months with a 14% drop.

New view on mobile marketing and advertising
[Infinita] Infinita releases new research report on mobile marketing and advertising.

More choice of 'My' beneficiaries
Established in 1997, MySchool has been operating on a national basis since 2003 and today raises funds for some 10,000 schools around the country. With the launch last year of MyVillage and MyPlanet, selected charities and environmental organisations were added to the list of beneficiaries of this fundraising programme. Now Woolworths has announced that additional community-based and environment-focused organisations have been added to the list of beneficiaries.

Donations pour in to help victims of violent attacks
[Bathandwa Mbola] Several institutions have dipped into their pockets to fund emergency relief for the 17,000 foreign nationals who have become victims of the violent attacks in the country.

Warm hearts, full tums
Foodcorp has promised to aid the efforts of Cotlands' heart-warming work with the donation of 1300 Pieman's Pantry pies, once a week for an entire year, to the charity.

Rugby backer Mr Price looks south
[Nicola Mawson, Consumer Industries Correspondent] Clothing and furniture retailer Mr Price is considering expanding into New Zealand and Australia through a “no risk” franchise model, adding to its brand profile there thanks to its sponsorship of rugby teams.

Visit to advance SA-Nigeria relations
[Bathandwa Mbola] South Africa and Nigeria are to advance their relations through a three-day visit by Nigerian's President Umari Yar'Adua to the country which starts today, Monday, 2 June 2008.

Wild - from Africa to Zoid
Wild Africa Cream, a proudly South African liqueur making its presence felt in the export market, relaunched the brand with singer-songwriter Karen Zoid in Cape Town last week at the start of a campaign created by the city's Tomcat Advertising Agency.


Comrades to be a glowing success
Comrades promises to glow as Starfish Greathearts participate in the world's premier running event.


Happy hippo has news for you
[ActivRetail] A unique, eye-catching, and visibly happy Hippo has managed to capture the attention of motorists thanks to several of Primedia Outdoor's billboards promoting insurance from hippo.co.za, South Africa's first insurance internet aggregator site.


Savanna winner catches more than just lemons

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Duduzile Makhathini from Soweto has been announced the overall winner of Savanna's Catch the lemon online campaign, walking away with R15,000 cash. She is ecstatic about her win and plans a major shopping spree: “I am planning to spoil myself and go out! With the cost of living escalating daily my budget for luxuries had to shrink drastically but now I don't have to restrain myself!” The campaign ran from 24 March - 5 May 2008, attracting a phenomonal 2100 entries in the first week. In the first game, Spot the lemon, consumers were asked to click their way to the lost lemons in a 'Where's Wally?' style beach or bar scene. The second game, Falling lemons, launched mid-way into the campaign and enticed consumers to try and catch as many lemons as possible within 30 seconds to beat the highest score. The scores were posted on the Savanna Catchers' Wall of Fame.

Is your business ready for the new consumer protection bill?
[Tshepiso Seopa] When parliament adopts the new Consumer Protection Bill aimed at protecting consumers from harmful practises, South Africans will be amongst the best protected in the world.

NCR does it for the consumer
The National Credit Regulator (NCR) lived up to its billing as a consumer watchdog by achieving an impressive 92% success rate resolving 1380 complaints out of 1495 that were logged in the last 12 months.

Aligning ICT to Consumer Protection Bill
[Robert Sussman] The Consumer Protection Bill and its potential impact on the ICT sector elevates the role of service level agreements (SLAs) in future trade.

End of the road for e-commerce patents?
[Bradley C. Wright] For years, the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has granted patents covering e-commerce business methods, and companies have exploited such patents to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

eFashion solutions chief Ed Foy on giving customers the CEO treatment
[Rachelle Crum] It's all about image in the fashion world. An apparel or accessory designer's brick-and-mortar stores must appear ever so alluring to the passerby, and its magazine ads should leave readers pining for the latest fashions. Then there's its online store, which visitors expect to be faultless and continually impress them with eye-catching design, an endless inventory and top-notch security.

CRM drives perceived value
[Glen Ansell] Where exactly is value created for a customer or consumer? Particularly in competitive commodity markets, there are at least two centres of value - the first is the simple, quantitative value which is linked to the price paid and the goods received. The second is linked to the perceived value, which is a more nebulous notion which is linked to how that customer feels about his service provider or supplier.


Getty Images Ultimate Pitch winner is... - Gallo Images
Andrew Tinning of Market Force Australia will be taking Bob Scarpelli's place at Cannes this year for his powerful entry "Green Unltd" which the judges felt has the power to galvanise people into really making a difference around the big problem of global warming.

Effective SEM strategies for online retailers
[Janel Landis] Oil prices climbed to more than $130 per barrel last week and US consumers (and around the world as well), many of whom have dramatically altered their everyday activities due to increased prices, are definitely feeling the impact.

Moving the furniture
[Sasha Planting] Lewis does not “upfront” its furniture revenues and therefore has no intention of changing its accounting policies as other major retailers have done, CEO Alan Smart was at pains to explain at the results presentation last week.

Borders goes it alone with new e-commerce site
[Rachelle Crum] Borders officially cut its ties with Amazon.com on Tuesday, 27 May 2008, with the rollout of its long-planned solo e-commerce site. The book retailer announced in March that it would go it alone online after teaming with Amazon for six years.

PnP wins Top award
Pick n Pay has been declared the Number One Company in the Food Retailers Sector in the Top 500: South Africa's Best Companies publication.

What's bugging e-tail security?
The drive for compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard must begin in the source code, advises Jack Danahy, founder and chief technology officer of Ounce Labs. If there's one thing the slew of high-profile data security breaches have taught everyone, it's this: Data security starts with software security.

Banks baulk at online trading
Companies who offer their products online, with credit card payment facilities have little or no protection from the banks. This is according to Buy247 sales director Wayne Behrmann.

Agri Summit held to discuss food security
[Nthambeleni Gabara] Food security is expected to top the agenda of the three-day Provincial Agricultural Co-operatives Summit which is being held in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, from today, Tuesday 27 May 2008.

Keeping your list clean
[Catherine Needham] Over time, all lists are subject to disarray - even yours!

IT outsourcing and SaaS help higher education to get back to basics
[Nicole Engelbert] Rising uptake of hosted IT solutions provides significant cost savings to Colleges and Universities.

The Japanese Translation
[Steve Smith] A US writer gives some insights into the Japanese model and where the US, and perhaps SA itself, could enhance the state of their mobile media.

Retailer on target with intelligent marketing product
Mr Price has implemented TransUnion's Intelligent Marketing Process (IMP) with the objective of ensuring the quality of respondents to the retailer's marketing campaigns. The solution is designed to enable companies to target the market more effectively.

Cramming 256GB into slim SSD
[Walaika Haskins] Samsung unveiled a new, high-capacity solid state drive (SSD) at the fifth annual Samsung Mobile Solution Forum in Taipei, on Monday 26 May 2008.

‘Green IT' strategy unveiled
[Paul Luff] SMC Networks, a global provider of LAN hardware and broadband connectivity devices, has released details of its Green IT strategy, which is aimed at reducing energy consumption throughout the life of the product - from design and manufacturing to use and eventual recycling.


Breakthroughs in analytics, Part 2
Firms constantly chasing after more and more sophisticated business intelligence often turn to new analytics technology for the answers. What were once difficult and complex tools for analyzing market activity are becoming more accessible and affordable to a larger audience.

How digital marketing boosts retail sales
Speaking at the recent Marketing-at-Retail Workshop in Johannesburg, One Digital Media CEO Mike Bosman illustrated why digital media at retail is becoming a force to be reckoned with in South Africa's retail marketing arena. According to independent research conducted recently on 22 brands, brands stand out 33% more when the particular brand advertises on screen.