Bizcommunity.com reader survey launches
Come on now... be honest - what do you really think of Bizcommunity.com? What are we doing right? What are we doing wrong? What could we do better? We are inviting you, our valued subscribers and readers, to give us your bouquets and brickbats because we want to improve our service and our offering to you.

Wacky weekend shows how the mouth can market
[Peter Dearlove] The Robertson Wine Valley's annual Wacky Wine Weekend starts today, Friday, 6 June 2008. In one of the most intriguing cases of successful low-spend marketing, literally thousands of South Africans will roll up despite lousy weather, stay for a couple of days, leave their money behind, go home with a case or two of fine valley wine, set a whole bunch of new records and not know for sure what prompted them to go.

In-store media revolution continues
[Louise Marsland] Ad man Mike Bosman was in Joburg last week to launch his new R120 million venture, One Digital Media, officially to the media. His new ‘content' business - his description - is taking in store media up a layer of technological innovation to capture and influence consumers at the brand point of purchase.


Nestlé's professional relaunch
Earlier this week, Nestlé Food Services hosted its public relaunch to Nestlé Professional. According to Barend Minnaar, the brand's South African country business manager, Nestlé World Wide identified the ‘Out Of Home Industry' as one of the four growth pillars of its international business last year and has been preparing for the changeover ever since.


Calling all new fashion talent - be discovered
Elle magazine in partnership Mr Price has opened entries for Elle New Talent Awards 2008 to expose this year's hottest fashion talent.

Huge drop in May vehicle sales
New vehicle sales continued to slide in May with a massive decline of over 23% over the number of vehicles sold during the same month last year.

Xenophobia - SA's branding crisis
[Vimtha Rajbansi] South Africa's image has suffered greatly from the wave of xenophobic attacks that took place recently. Here is a summary of the damage and some courses of action that need to be taken in order to restore the country's good name.

Product of the Year 2009 open for entries
One of the world's largest organisations dedicated to awarding innovation in FMCG has finally arrived in South Africa.


Fuel prices set to hike again
[Luyanda Makapela] Motorists are set to dig deeper into their pockets as the petrol price is set to rise again on Wednesday by 50 cents per litre.

Thanking volunteers with a 'helping heart' - The Heart and Stroke Foundation SA
In the light of International Volunteer Week, 1 - 8 June, the Heart and Stroke Foundation SA (HSFSA) would like to acknowledge and thank all kindhearted individuals who have volunteered their services at various fundraising events and assisted with general administration duties over the past 28 years.

Annual bank conference to discuss high food prices
An upcoming Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) is to discuss high food prices and financial turmoil among other issues.

Beer market getting tipsy
SABMiller putting up a brave front as sharks circle.

Cutting their cloth
[Sasha Planting] Sales growth for Mr Price's apparel division better than its competitors.

Take-Two's strong quarter complicates merger moves
[Keith Regan] Take-Two Interactive's blockbuster second quarter - powered by strong early sales of 'Grand Theft Auto IV' - may have implications for the ongoing efforts of Electronic Arts to acquire its main competitor.

Sparkling Monro Brut receives silver
During the South African award ceremony for the 2008 Concours Mondial de Bruxelles on 4 June, Villiera Wines' 2001 Monro Brut was awarded a silver medal. Due to South Africa's consistent performance in this competition, the organisers decided to host a local award ceremony to personally present the awards to the Grand Gold, Gold and Silver medal winners.


Verjus ... ver-r-versatile ... ver-r-tasty
It's called vert jus, verjus or verjuice, it's been a traditional part of Mediterranean cooking for hundreds of years, and it's the latest condiment to be seized on by chefs searching for exciting new recipes.


Estate gallops to victory
Having hidden its light under a bushel in recent years, Perdeberg Winery has come out guns blazing.

Retailer addresses climate change
The World Environment Day slogan for 2008 is “Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy.” The UN recognises that climate change is becoming the defining issue of our era and has asked countries, companies and communities to focus on greenhouse gas emissions and how to reduce them. World Environment Day is a United Nations (UN) initiative that aims to focus worldwide attention on the environment.

ChemSpec earnings rise despite plant fire
[Thabang Mokopanele] ALTX-listed paint manufacturer and retailer's decorative operations bore the brunt of a fire, but the company still managed to achieve good results.

Bringing petals to life
[ActivRetail] In celebration of Five Roses' sponsorship of e.tv's Chick Flick Thursdays, a new ad campaign has been launched with the aim to capture the mystique surrounding the recently introduced speciality tea range that has been sourced from exotic locations around the world.

Ask a better question
[Matt Greitzer] I recently attended my college reunion and had the experience of reconnecting with 50 or more people with whom I haven't spoken in a decade.

Happy customers drive Triton bakkies
Mitsubishi's Triton double cab diesel put in a stellar performance in the most recent Synovate Competitive Customer Satisfaction PP100 Report to emerge as the most trouble-free vehicle in its category.


Nine ways to love your email subscribers
[Cynthia Edwards] Like any relationship, the relationship you have with your email subscribers needs constant attention; without care, it will whither and die.

Build it and it will grow
This May, over 600 delegates, suppliers and retailers, gathered at the Wild Coast Sun for four days for Build it's annual convention. Themed 'Let's Go, Let's Grow!' this year's event served as a call to action for all attendees to be positive and proactive and to play a role in the building of this country.

Indulgent new hotspot in Trinity

click to enlarge

The recently opened Trinity Village of Randpark Ridge is hosting a new hotspot in the form of Mediterranean-inspired coffee shop and restaurant, Dulcé Café. Catering to the need for a meeting place in the area for both business and pleasure, the new branch is not merely a hotspot because of its attraction to hungry patrons - Dulcé Café Trinity Village also offers WiFi facilities, resulting in a positive response from the market to the restaurant's service orientated atmosphere.

South Africa, Malawi to discuss bilateral trade
Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad will attend a two-day session of the South Africa/Malawi Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC) this week to strengthen bilateral programmes of cooperation with Malawi.

SA to boost economic ties with Spain
[Luyanda Makapela] Economic ties between South Africa and Spain are being given a boost with Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma meeting her Spanish counterpart for a four-day visit, beginning on Wednesday, 4 June 2008.

Lights go out at global express company
DHL, a leading provider of global express services, today launched its “Lights Off” initiative designed to drive environmental consciousness among employees by turning off their lights in DHL offices across the world for one hour.

Now taste comes colour coded
Rainbow FoodSolutions has launched its new Flavourburst Meal Cut Portion (MCP) range and says feedback from the trade has been positive.


Beauty products to ease the conscience
Beauty is no longer just skin deep. Latest research from Mintel Global New Products Database (GNPD) Cosmetic Research shows that over 2800 ethical cosmetic and skincare products^a were launched in the US last year. And in just the first five months of 2008, more than 1800 new ethical beauty products have appeared on retail store shelves.

Take the apple of your eye to work
Appletiser comes to the party for Take a Girl Child to Work Day.

Get kids cooking this holiday

click to enlarge

The Kellogg's Rice Krispies Big Bake competition is a simple way to spend quality time with your kids while sparking their creativity. All you have to do is mix Rice Krispies with other ingredients to create a winning recipe. It can be anything from a lunch box snack to a dreamy dessert. The top ten recipes will be featured on the Rice Krispies website and cereal packs. The kids who enter the top two most inventive recipes, together with his/her mum or dad, will win a cooking adventure to Tuscany, Italy to the total value of R150,000. Create your own recipe at home or at the Big Bake events at malls around the country during the June school holidays - just make sure your recipe and photographs have been sent to Kellogg's by 31 August 2008. You will find everything you need on www.ricekrispies.co.za - register on the site and download your Big Bake kit. Anyone up to the age of 12 years can enter. It's as easy as Snap! Crackle! Pop!

US justice department closes SABMiller investigation
The US Department of Justice's Antitrust Division has closed its investigation of the joint venture between SABMiller Plc and Molson Coors Brewing Company.

Govt to penalise excessive electricity users
[Michael Appel] The regulatory framework, which will enforce the Energy Conservation Programme (ECP) and penalise consumers who use electricity excessively, is being finalised.

Red-meat body cries foul over VAT cuts
[Neels Blom, Agriculture and Land Affairs Editor] A proposal to scrap VAT on poultry meat products has upset red-meat producers.

'Milk cartel' ruling will set precedent
[Nicola Mawson, Consumer Industries Correspondent] It the producer's application is granted, it could have an impact on how anticompetitive complaints are handled in future.

Aggressive anti-piracy firm snags dolphin in tuna net
Revision3 isn't planning to sue MediaDefender for taking down its Web site with a denial-of-service attack over the long Memorial Day weekend, even though the network lost a bundle due to the outage. Instead, it plans to send the anti-piracy firm a bill for its trouble -- and a reminder that there's no law against using peer-to-peer file-sharing technology.

Software giant's collaborative contact centre push
[Rich Tehrani] There is a level of excitement in the call centre space I haven't witnessed since VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) began transforming the call centre into the contact centre. Over the years, we have seen technology after technology change the way contact centres work, and we are at the point today where IP communications affords us the opportunity to distribute call centres and agents at will.

Woolies uses web to educate consumers
[Edward West, Senior Business Writer] The retailer's financial services division is making friends with the group's customers to help them through the current flood of rising prices and interest rates that promise to trap the unwary.

Asia-Pacific exciting growth for contact centre vendors
[Mona Sultan] Dynamic growth is being predicted for both the number of contact centres and customer service agent* positions in Asia Pacific.

Dart Ad June special - Right Stuff
The Dart Ad, which is a rotating pole system with three double-sided banner panels, has become very popular over the past couple of years, which could be attributed to its unique appearance and functionality. Right Stuff is running a special offer on the Dart Ad for June 2008.


Demand leads to increased parkade holding
Unlimited subsidiary Primall Media has increased its parkade billboard media offering by a further seven parkade floors to meet the demand of advertisers, bringing it to a total of 22 parkade holdings around South Africa. “The parkade is often the first point of interaction for consumers seeking sheltered parking at busy malls. These areas see an average of 280 000 consumers every month,” says Darren Katz, director of Primall Media. With shopping centres becoming increasingly busier, research shows that it will take a consumer on average between 9 and 11 minutes to find a parking space. Consumers also tend to use the billboards as a landmark to remember where their vehicle is parked.

Auctions on eBay: A dying breed
[Catherine Holahan] Auctions on eBay aren't going the way of the dinosaur, but they're being overshadowed by fixed-price sales, and eBay sellers who use the traditional auction structure are facing higher fees. These changes are forcing eBay sellers to rethink their approach to their online businesses.

Retail card helps keep Foschini in the black
[Robert Laing] Interest income, card charges, key to overall results.

Retailers need to target crime - not budget for it
Theft is one of the major concerns facing the retail industry today, a fact that was highlighted during the recent Retail Loss Prevention Conference, held last month at the Southern Sun conference centre in Sandton.

Bread prices rocket again
[Lihle Z Mtshali] High cost of food blamed on climate change.

Big business grips SA wholesale sector
[Robert Laing] An alarming concentration of wholesalers in SA markets was revealed on Thursday, 5 June 2008. The worst case is fuel, where six oil giants account for 82% of all petrol and diesel sales. They have the widest profit margin of nearly 6% against SA's average 3.6% wholesale margin.

Bad ethanol, good ethanol
Biofuel is in the dock at the global food summit in Rome this week, with counties divided over whether it is the villain behind food insecurity, or the cheap energy of the future.

EC paprika farming project gets a zing in its step
[Avuyile Mngxtama] Top-quality grading leads to order for four tons of paprika.

Energy efficient products exhibited in Gauteng
[Luyanda Makapela] An energy exhibition was held at Nasrec, south of Johannesburg, from 6-8 June 2008 to create awareness around energy efficiency and renewable energy while mobilising all households and business to participate in reducing energy consumption.

Measuring what matters on your website
[Jim Sterne] When I started as an Internet marketing strategist back in 1993, people usually asked me, "Jim, can we really make money online?"

New addition to the mobile solutions mix
Annex Distribution, official local supplier of Fujitsu Siemens Computers mobile solutions, has increased its range with Lifebook and Esprimo Series notebooks.


Branding, the mind and search
[Gord Hotchkiss] Search is a fundamental human activity, and the same things that may be working against search in an implicit engagement way are working for search in an explicit way.

Scientists study human movements through secret cell phone tracking
About 100,000 cell phone users in an undisclosed country didn't have a clue that their movements were being tracked over a six-month period for a study about human travel patterns. The new research has generated a wave of discussion about the privacy implications.

Blu-ray could still lose the high-def war
[Vince Horiuchi] The victor in the brutal high-definition DVD format war promised it would happen. The winning Blu-ray people said prices of the players and movies would drop as soon as they beat competitor HD DVD for the hearts and minds of home video enthusiasts.

Guide to stress-free parking
Cape Town's Cavendish Square has become the first South African shopping centre to introduce an intelligent parking guidance system for visitors.


India's auto manufacturers go for green and compact
[Saurabh Jain and Manish Khurana] Rising fuel prices is the motivating force behind the move on the part of vehicle manufacturers to produce fuel-efficient cars.

Having SaaS your way: configuration sophistication
A few years ago, companies that needed highly specialized features would often opt for on-premise software with its attendant implementation and integration headaches instead of considering the relatively primitive on-demand offerings. SaaS has grown up, though - and the Platform as a Service model allows a level of configurability that early on-demand adopters could only dream about.

Breakthroughs in analytics, Part 3
It's hard to take a one-size-fits-all approach to analytics software. The ways in which analytics tools can be uses are about as varied as the companies using them. Today's software packages are often much more focused on the actual application of analytical approaches to specific types of decision problems and specific types of industries and niches.