Launching 'thief-proof' POCit money
This is the time of year insurance brokers warn is paradise for thieves: people have received bonuses and are Christmas shopping so are more likely to be carrying cash and cards, making them easy pickings for nimble fingered pick-pockets and armed robbers.

Wall Street raises the glass to SA wines
Two South African wines have received warm praise in one of the world's most respected publications, the Wall Street Journal. One of the wines was termed “almost criminally inexpensive”, which is a ringing endorsement at a time when cash-strapped consumers are bargain hunting.

SA wine industry needs collaborative strategic marketing
[Greg Castle] There is no reason why our South African wine industry should have to choose between big players and small boutique winery strategies when advancing on the worldwide wine market. Perhaps as one who has worked within the field of strategic marketing for over 16 years, while maintaining a passion for wine tasting, collecting and more recently wine making, I feel that the road may not be quite as black and white as Business Day's Michael Fridjhon suggested earlier this year.


January retail petrol price could be cut
The Department of Minerals and Energy could implement a retail petrol price cut of some 80 cents per litre (c/l) on 7 January 2009 and a wholesale diesel price cut of some 90c/l, provided the daily over-recovery remains at or above the 3 December level.

Cosatu urges shoppers to buy local
Shoppers must buy locally-produced products, trade union federation Cosatu says.

Economic crisis breeding new discerning buyers
The global economic slowdown is breeding new discerning luxury consumers, a report released by diamond giant De Beers has found.

Global economic turmoil to test SA's economic policies
Speaking at the 13th Annual National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) on Tuesday, President Kgalema Motlanthe said that the latest growth figures for the country indicated a tough road ahead.

Cheaper petrol won't affect food prices
[Thabo Jijana] Holiday-makers hitting the road this festive season will receive a welcome boost from Wednesday‘s R1.61/l drop in the price of petrol, but national supermarket chains say this is unlikely to bring food prices down in the near future.

Car sales plunge to five year low
November has been another bad month for new vehicle sales in South Africa with official NAAMSA figures showing a drop of 28,3% over the same month last year.

Black Friday rosier than expected
[Chris Maxcer] USA: A variety of retail-watching experts are churning out Black Friday sales facts, figures and customer inclinations, and while it wasn't a rip-roaring Black Friday compared to previous years, it wasn't all that bad - particularly for the hot-selling consumer electronics sector.

The financial markets arms race
[Rik Turner] Demand for low-latency infrastructure in financial markets continues despite current turmoil.

Wall Street plunges amid economic woes
NEW YORK, USA: Wall Street plunged amid economic woes on Monday as investors cashed in some of their gains from the big rally in the previous week and key economic reports showed economic slowdown.

First SA MD for McDonald's SA
Greg Solomon has been appointed as the new MD of McDonald's South Africa. Solomon's promotion, effective 1 January 2009, is a significant milestone for the company as he will be the first South African to run the local operation since the business opened here in 1995.


Time to give your customers a good day
Time is precious and people no longer have the time to shop around for products that can assist them with living a nutritionally good life. Hence, healthy eating habits fall by the wayside and people resort to “quick-fix” solutions to meals like ready-made dinners and takeaways.


Nokia shows off sociable, spendy smartphone
[Walaika Haskins] Nokia unveiled its latest smartphone in Barcelona, Spain, on Tuesday at the Nokia World 2008 conference. The N97, set for release in the first half of 2009, could challenge high-profile mobile devices such as Apple's iPhone, Research In Motion's Storm and T-Mobile's G1 for a share of the smartphone market.


Tiger Brands 'unwrapped' their secret in conjunction with the FSN culinary operators - Food Service Network Global
Tiger Brands Out Of Home are partnering with Food Service Network to launch their new Beacon delectable dessert range to titillate and tantalise your taste buds.


Sarie Kos recipes now in English

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The summer issue of the popular Afrikaans food magazine, Sarie Kos, will host a new separate section where all 95 recipes will appear in English, with a small photograph to identify each one. According to Barbara Joubert, food editor of Sarie and Sarie Kos, English readers have been asking for the recipes in their mother tongue ever since the first edition appeared. The December issue will feature festive menus of Karoo lamb and honey pumpkin from the Camdeboo, a Cape Town garden buffet, a feast near Cullinan and Joubert's own Christmas menu, as well as hamburger and cookie recipes, and British chef Nigella Lawson's recipe for a golden, gluten-free fruitcake.
- ActivRetail

Zinger of a lunch box treat

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Safari, the trusted name in dried fruit, recently launched new Fruit Zingers sticks, which contain all the goodness of fruit, with the great taste of a sweet. Made with more than 93% real fruit, they supply a portion of the daily recommended five fruits and vegetables, and contain no added sugar, while only natural colourants and flavourants are used. Their long shelf life makes them ideal to keep stocked in the pantry for ready-to-eat snacks for children on the run. The launch will be supported by a back-to-school programme in January 2009 with sampling to Grade 1 learners in schools nationally, as well as a print campaign and competition in children's titles and an in-store back-to-school promotion. Safari Fruit Zingers come in three kid-friendly flavours: Banana Milkshake, Berry Smoothie and Toffee Apple; and are available in all leading supermarkets at approximately R18,65 for a pack of six fruit sticks with a case configuration of 20 x 150g.

The beauties and the beasts
On Saturday afternoon, 6 December 2008, Southern Sun, together with Johannesburg Tourism Company & Joburg Zoo, hosted a Christmas party for 391 orphaned children and the Miss World 2008 contestants on the Centenary Lawns at Joburg Zoo.

Charity on the cheap: Online opportunities to give without spending
With the global economy in the throes of what could be the worst recession in decades, consumers have made dramatic cutbacks in discretionary spending.

Liqueur brand aids elephant tracking initiative
Amarula lent its support to a team of specialists who monitor and assess the impact of elephants on the environment with a collaring exercise that took place at the end of October 2008.

Cyber Monday shoppers provide surprise sales boost
[Anne D'Innocenzio] Like their counterparts at the malls, online merchants finally got some relief with the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season, spurred by a bevy of deals and free shipping offers. But the stronger-than-expected bump in online sales Monday couldn't cancel out a lackluster November.

New payment solution to boost e-commerce in SA
Online retailer, kalahari.net, has launched a pioneering payment solution to address online security concerns and make online shopping accessible to everyone that has a cellphone. MiMoney, powered by Standard Bank, is an electronic payment voucher that can be purchased through self-banking channels (Internet banking, mobile banking and telephone banking) or from participating sales agents.

Despite hot deals, Cyber Monday sales tepid
[Jeff Meisner] USA: Cyber Monday is the biggest online shopping day of the year, but online retail experts say it may not be big enough this year to increase overall holiday sales compared to 2007.

Festival set to wow Witzenberg
The Cape Dutch Food & Wine Festival will ignite the Witzenberg region on the weekend of 28/29 March 2009 when it rolls out the welcome mat for masses of visitors arrive arriving to savour the very best of the town's culinary delights.

SA editor takes third place in LG cook-off
The LG SolarDOM Regional Cooking Competition for the Middle East and Africa saw a close finish on its final night as culinary champions from four countries - UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Iran - competed to take the crown of the third edition of the competition.

Nigerian vice president to visit SA
PRETORIA: Nigerian Vice President Goodluck Jonathan is to arrive in South Africa next week to hold talks with Deputy President Baleka Mbete. The bilateral political, economic and trade discussions will be held at the Presidential Guesthouse in Pretoria.

EU drops beauty bar
Fruit and vegetables imported from SA and other countries will no longer be subjected to a “beauty contest” in the European Union (EU). Member states have voted to scrap controversial marketing standards for 26 types of fruit and vegetables.

GMSA geared to stay in SA
[Henrie Geyser] With well-established core brands such as Chevrolet, Isuzu and Corsa in its stable and at least five new models due to join its range within the next 18 months General Motors South Africa says it's here to stay - in spite of what may happen to GM in America.

OPEC to maintain current oil output
[Yu Zhongwen] The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced during its consultative meeting in Cairo, Egypt on Saturday that it will maintain crude oil output until next month's meeting in Algeria.

Four questions to ask yourself before talking to a package designer
No matter what your needs, it pays to think design projects through before starting.

Boost for battle against Type 2 diabetes
Nestlé Healthcare Nutrition celebrated the launch of their new Nutren Diabetes website by hosting a media day. Journalists were given some low GI cooking lessons that taught everyone how to “Live Well with Type 2 Diabetes”.


Split campaign to build the brand
[ActivRetail] Frisco has embarked on a national campaign to build the brand through consistent and relevant above- and below-the-line support. The campaign was split into two activations, one national and the other in the Western Cape. These campaigns incorporate the new television commercial (TVC), as well as wet and dry sampling, an extensive print campaign, mall and taxi rank activations.

Max Factor, Elle look for make-up artist
Elle magazine and Max Factor are about to accept entries to its inaugural Elle New Talent Make-Up Artist Search 2009 to expose the best upcoming talent in this field.

Festively lighting up the Cape

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Proud to present a Cape Town retail first this festive season, Cavendish is displaying a 5.5 meter state-of-the-art Christmas tree in both its Square and Connect centre courts. These artificial structures, made of aluminium and festooned with 20,000 energy saving LED lights, now stands as the center-piece of the awesome lighting displays. In these energy conscious times it is surprising to learn that these trees use the same energy as a kettle or hair drier. The trees, chandelier and balls were supplied by MK Illumination, whose international headquarters are located in Austria. The light display will be up until the 7 January 2009.

New EU regulations not good for SA apparel exports
[Renato Palmi] Regulations to identify the chemicals used in clothing destined for the European Union (EU) may have temporary detrimental consequences for the South African clothing industry.


Judge ticks off lawyers as he dismisses milk cartel appeal
[Mathabo le Roux] Competition Appeals Court Judge Dennis Davis has expressed grave concern about a tendency in the legal fraternity to prolong court cases indefinitely.

Can charging a refundable deposit reduce litter? Is it 7th time 'lucky' for bottle bill?
If seven is a lucky number, proponents of the so-called "bottle bill" hope the seventh voyage finally brings it into harbor. Six times the bill has met the same fate - drowned in a sea of forgotten legislation in the final, hectic days of the West Virginia Legislature.

KPMG SA big business survey reflects positive economic outlook
According to a KPMG Snap Shot Survey of the top 120 businesspeople in South Africa, difficult times are still expected into 2009, however, many remain positive as to the potential outlook for the country and economy in the future.

Customer experience is competitive differentiator - study
Companies that have better customer experience management capabilities, along with a strong customer orientation, enjoy a decisive competitive advantage. This is according to the results of a new American survey from SAS, Peppers & Rogers Group and Jubelirer Research.

CMOs not sold on social networking ads
More than half - 55% in fact - of the chief marketing officers at leading brands surveyed by Epsilon said they're not too interested (22%), or not interested at all (33%), in incorporating social networking sites into their marketing strategies.

Deep discounts haven't pulled in UK shoppers
Whereas US retailers appear to have found that deep discounts and specials have pulled the shopper into the malls, albeit with an impact of the bottom line thanks to lower profit margins, thus far it appears UK retailers' efforts to attract shoppers by using the same methods have not borne fruit. The question is, will there be a later rally towards Christmas? Moreover, are there lessons for South African retailers?

Avoiding another food price bubble
In another 12 years, 16 million more children could be malnourished at a time when even fewer people will be able to afford staple cereals like maize, rice and wheat, which would cost between 13% and 27% more. This is the bleak scenario of a world in recessionary mode, with declining investment in food production, painted by a food policy think-tank.

Microsoft's CRM hustle
[Erika Morphy] Update Rollup 1 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 is now available. No, it's not a new release - but as with anything Microsoft, the cyber-community is talking about implementation do's and don'ts.

Comfortable, hygienic shopping in Angola
[Pedro de Gouveia] NossoSuper is a national chain of supermarkets which was established by the Angolan government in 2005. The government created PRESILD - The Programme fore the Restructuring of Logistics and Distribution of Essential Products to the Population.


PnP-BP pilot project launches in Hout Bay
The new partnership between fuel giant and local retail titan materialised when the first Pick n Pay Express store was opened at a BP service station in Hout Bay, Western Cape, recently.

Nictus interim headline earnings/share up 73%
Furniture, motor and carpet retailer Nictus today posted a 73% rise to 3.99 cents in headline earnings per share for the interim period to September. No interim dividend was declared.

Retail ops affected by global slowdown: Steinhoff
Furniture maker and distributor Steinhoff International says its trading operations have been affected to a varying degree by the global economic slowdown and negative consumer sentiment.

Think like a fraudster to protect your customers
[Andre Edelbrock] Besides the damper of a dragging economy, fraud also threatens to cast a pall over the holiday season. E-tailers should work together to help protect their customers - and they can do so without sacrificing their convenience.

Apple's iPod problem
[Arik Hesseldahl] After years of strong growth, sales for the iPod appear to be plateauing and may soon decline for the first quarter since it was introduced seven years ago. Everyone who wants an iPod now has one, it seems. Perhaps the iPod's biggest benefit to Apple these days is in helping it sell Macintosh computers.

How to build a small-business web site, Part 1: nuts and bolts
As many as half of the small businesses now in operation have no web sites, a figure that should spur more business owners to action, especially in today's economic environment. There are many free and low-cost tools available to help build a functional Web site that helps grow your business.

Can entertainment embrace the e-revolution?
Digital downloads of movies and CDs should be seen as an opportunity rather than a threat to the entertainment industry says Matthew Tagg, MD of Web Africa.


'We didn't want to see the future': Q&A with ex-Sony lawyer Steve Gordon
Steve Gordon was in the room the day Sony executives learned about Napster. He also took part in some of the decisions on how to deal with the advent of digital music. Now, he's written a book on how to succeed in the new digital age. Blake Glenn interviews him.