2010 World Cup ticket frenzy on FIFA website
FIFA has reported that a scramble for tickets ensued on its website following the launch of 2010 FIFA World Cup tickets globally on 20 February 2009.

Sprint for 2010 tickets begins
[Michael Appel] The sprint is on for tickets to Africa's very first 2010 FIFA World Cup, with ticket application forms available from most FNB branches, as well as on fifa.com from 1pm local time on Friday, 20 February 2009. [video]


Near the end of the binge
[Larry Claasen and Ian Fife] You wouldn't know the global art market was crashing by the bevy of SA auction sales coming up, and art auctioneer Stephan Welz is back in business.

On sale: How to get your hands on 2010 FIFA World Cup tickets
[Michael Appel] Tickets for the 2010 FIFA World Cup go on sale from Friday, 20 February 2009.

Retail trade sales drop by 0.1%
Retail trade figures for December 2008 have dropped by 0.1% compared to the same period in 2007, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported on Wednesday.

ROI on mobile billboards: a case study
[Petros Kondos] The mobile phone has created many opportunities. The last few years has seen Bluetooth implemented as a marketing media in malls across South Africa, with a varied success rate. As with all media, the more effectively it is used, the more successful the results - content, as they say, is king.


Enjoying the sweet smell of success
[Maryanne Maina] The cosmetics industry is the fourth most profitable industry globally with ever-increasing sales.

Bizcommunity.com Breakfasts focus on doing business with Africa - Bizcommunity.com
Africa is alive with possibilities, but how do you penetrate the continent? Now, Upbeat Marketing, in partnership with Bizcommunity.com, is hosting a series of breakfasts designed be a platform on which South African-based businesses with broader African strategies can be informed on the ins and outs of doing business with Africa, and in Africa.

Dow Jones average plunges to six-year low
NEW YORK: Wall Street plunged late last week with the Dow Jones average dropping below 7,500 to a six-year low on financial woes and a grim economic outlook.

Zim banks to import foreign cash
[Sam Hungwe] Zimbabwe's central bank has ordered banks to start importing foreign currency from their nostro accounts as banks began grappling with increasing demand for foreign cash, bankers said. A nostro account is a bank account established in a foreign country for the purpose of holding that country's currency.

Save a fortune by maintaining original bond repayment
First National Bank (FNB) Home Loans is advising bond holders to act sensibly and put back the latest interest rate cut savings by the SA Reserve Bank on their bonds, as this could help them reduce the home-loan term a lot quicker and save on interest.

Major advanced economies slide further into recession
Japan's economy shrank at its fastest pace in nearly 35 years in the fourth quarter of 2008, joining other major advanced economies in sliding further into recession.

Local wine finally comes home
Previously available only for export, and one of the biggest South African wine brands in Canada and Australia, Obikwa wines are now available in South Africa.


Steenberg releases flagship range
Steenberg Vineyards has released the new vintages of its flagship range of niche cultivars that captures the quality of the distinctive macro-climate of its vineyards. Released in limited quantities and with new packaging, the flagship range comprises of Steenberg Catharina 2006, Steenberg Semillon 2008, and Steenberg Nebbiolo 2007.


Green magazine goes paperless
Another print magazine has joined the paperless revolution, practicing what it preaches by going digital. This time it's the turn of the recently launched, dedicated green consumer magazine Simply Green.


Global beauty brand announces SA embassador
Elizabeth Arden introduced local spokesperson Lerato Moloi as the new face of the brand for South Africa, at a function held in Johannesburg recently. Described as a woman who embodies the unique qualities of her country, Moloi will represent Elizabeth Arden skincare and colour products to local consumers.


New operational manager for Snack Factory
The Fore Good group has appointed Daniel Patley as operational manager for its Snack Factory brand. Patley studied a Bachelors of Commerce in Economics and Finance and brings a wealth of experience in the sales and business development arena. His key responsibilities include: Supply chain optimisation, strategic sales management and new product development implementation. Snack Factory's managing director, Craig Clemence says, "The Snack Factory is experiencing positive growth and Daniel fills a critical requirement in line with our new brand evolution and business development strategies."
- ActivRetail

Blast your lips with new Raspberry Lemonade

click to enlarge

Blistex lip care range has launched a new balm that moisturises, protects and refreshes your lips with the fruity sensation of Raspberry Lemonade. Enriched with anti-oxidant vitamins C and E, as well as rich moisturisers and a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15, New Blistex Raspberry Lemonade Blast is available at leading pharmacies from around R37.00.

Bringing soccer dreams to Newcastle kids
The Dreamfields Project and Edgars Consolidated Stores (Edcon) are teaming up to take soccer to 12 primary schools in the town of Newcastle this weekend.

A word on fashion
Celebrating the embedded story and grander message, the Fashion Arena at the Design Indaba Expo 2009 will again go beyond glossy pages, pouty models and the oh-so-passé catwalk. Presented by the SABC, this dedicated section will host all-day fashion shows, a film festival, Liquid Chefs cocktail bar and lounges, Pecha Kucha presentations at the end of the day, and a fashion boutique.


Opening 2009 Homemakers Expo
One of the highlights at this year's 16th annual Johannesburg Homemakers Expo will be the new Green Living project. The expo runs Thursday, 19 - 22 February 2009, at the Coca-Cola Dome, Northgate.


A taste of new food and beverage trends and technologies - EMS
The solid growth in the primary agricultural sector over the past four decades has brought with it both challenges and opportunities. Agriculture has grown by an average of 11.8% per annum since 1970, with the value of commercial agricultural production in South Africa estimated at R98 billion in 2007.

Zambia's agro processing sector reaps benefits at Africa's Big Seven expo - EMS
The Zambian pavilion put together under the auspices of the USAID-funded MATEP project (Market Access Trade Enabling Policy) and co-ordinated by Chibembe Nyalugwe won a first prize in the stand awards.

New identities on the menu
Strategic brand agency Arctic Circle recently cooked up the identities of two new Cape Town restaurants. Branding and logo development were among the items on the menu.


Small craft harbour set to boost KZN economy
[Proffesor Ndawonde] The construction of a small craft harbour at Durban's Point Waterfront is expected to attract investment capital in excess of R6 billion to the province.

Third exclusive Häagen-Dazs opens in SA
Häagen-Dazs recently opened its doors at the Hyde Park Shopping Centre, and already shoppers are queuing to get a taste of the world famous ice cream.

SA, Mexico sign MoU to strengthen relations
[Bathandwa Mbola] Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and her Mexican counterpart Patricia Espinosa on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen co-operation between the two countries.

SA, Mexico to advance bilateral relations
South Africa and Mexico are set to advance South-South relations by consolidating bilateral political, economic and trade relations, when Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma meets with Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Patricia Espinosa on Thursday, 19 February.

China pledges support for Africa despite economic slowdown
[Michael Appel] China's Ambassador to South Africa, Zhong Jianhua, has confirmed China will not reduce its investment in Africa, and is even considering expanding aid to the continent during the global recession.

SA, Spain to boost economic ties
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sue van der Merwe is currently in Spain where she is expected to hold political, economic and trade discussions with Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Angel Lossada.

Flighting at the mall for a fat-free summer
[ActivRetail] Coinciding with the start of summer, Parmalat's fabulite fat-free, sugar-free yoghurt was introduced to the LSM 8-10 female market at one of South Africa's busiest holiday destination malls, Shelley Centre, with the help of Primall Media's mall advertising platforms.

Transport links in Africa to boost trade
LONDON, UK: Trade routes across Africa could soon be revolutionised as a result of an ambitious transport initiative set out by International Development Minister Gareth Thomas on 19 February, 2009.

Sweet competition rewards local trader
Local trader Rahab Mongalo from Johannesburg has been announced the lucky winner of a brand new Corsa bakkie after she entered the Cadbury “Win a Bakkie” promotion.

Effect of domestic levies on fuel price
The Minister of Finance has proposed increases in two levies used to determine the price of petrol and diesel, as of 1 April 2009.

Special duty on textiles considered
[Mathabo le Roux] A special duty — over and above import duties on clothing and textiles — might be imposed if a rescue package proposed by the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac), and intended to help ailing sectors, is implemented.

Prosecution hits choppy water in case against The Pirate Bay
[Erika Morphy] Swedish prosecutors have dismissed about half the charges brought against defendants accused of copyright violations through their operation of a P2P (peer-to-peer) web site that connects users to content - mainly music and movies - on other users' PCs.

Draft melamine regulations published for comment
[Nthambeleni Gabara] The Regulations Relating to Maximum Levels for Melamine in Foodstuffs have been published in the Government Gazette and are now open for public comment.

Majority of SA companies fail to gain competitive advantage
The most successful companies in South Africa are those which have adopted strategies to ensure greater visibility and reactivity in their supply chains than their competitors. This is the chief finding of the latest Supply Chain Intelligence Report (SCIR), compiled by TerraNova Research, which focused on the supply chain and logistics industry in South Africa.

Success of collaboration
Collaboration is recognised as a key component in achieving competitive advantage and profitability; however, the latest Supply Chain Intelligence Report (SCIR) 2009 has revealed that South Africa's most successful companies are not collaborating - that is, with their competitors.

SA's farming income up 49.2% since 2002
[Michael Appel] South Africa's Gross Farming Income (GFI) has increased 49.2% since 2002, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported in their Census of Commercial Agriculture 2007.

Intelligently understanding customers
eBucks is one of South Africa's most popular and successful member rewards programmes, and therefore by its very nature is customer focused. So when the organisation wanted to know more about and better understand its customers, the FirstRand Group company turned to business intelligence software provider, SAS and its Marketing Automation solution.

Four steps to harness social computing in CRM - Gartner
EGHAM, UK: Social computing is becoming a significant customer relationship management (CRM) market trend and represents a disruptive force in this market, according to Gartner. Gartner predicts that, by 2010, more than 60% of Fortune 1000 companies will have some form of online community that can be used for customer relationship purposes.

Social CRM: What's working, what ain't
[Paul Korzeniowski] The masses are chattering away on social networks, and businesses know they need to be part of the conversation. The best approach, however, isn't exactly clear. In many cases, hurdles involving technology, the law and corporate mindsets have yet to be overcome.

Selling with operational excellence
[Denis Pombriant] The recession is ahead of our thinking about how to sell around it. Our first response is a tried and true strategy that is not right for all occasions. People will disagree with me, but so far we've seen a steady stream of one idea - staying close to the customer and attending to the customer experience.

Businesses should think twice about using Facebook
[Paul Jacobson] Facebook amended its terms of use a couple weeks ago and the changes have profound implications for its users, including its business users, none of them positive. So what is all the fuss about? When you post content to Facebook, you grant it a broad licence to not only manipulate your content but also the right to make commercial use of that content. [audio]


Selling to the other 97%: Q&A with Demandbase CEO Chris Golec
[Erika Morphy] Sales are down. You don't even need to add a qualifier to that sentence - such as industry or name of company. Across the board, corporate and consumer sales are down.

Hertz is happening - Hertz Rent a Car
Hertz Rent a Car is on the move again and is proud to announce the opening of their new Paarden Eiland branch in the Cape, as well as the relocation of their Head Office in Illovo to Kempton Park and their Illovo branch to Randburg.

Truworths to grow earnings despite tough times
South African clothing retailer Truworths International's CEO Michael Mark expects tough times ahead, but is confident that the group will achieve real earnings growth for the year to end June 2009.

Woolworths earnings up by 11.5%
South African retailer Woolworths Holdings on today reported an 11.5% increase in diluted headline earnings per share to 62 cents for the 26 weeks ended December 2008 from 55.6 cents a year ago.

Shoprite interim earnings up by 43.3%
South African retail group Shoprite Holdings on Wednesday reported a 43.3% rise in diluted headline earnings per share to 184 cents for the six months ended December 2008 from 128.4 cents for the interim period a year ago.

Grey goods remain a serious threat
[ActivRetail] Grey products are a serious threat to the sustainability of the stationery, home and office products industry and are often a convenient cover up for resellers dealing in counterfeit and stolen goods. Each year, counterfeiting and grey products cost official distributors and independent resellers millions of Rands in lost revenue, sub-standard returned products and legal proceedings.

Gaming industry's booming January, Activision's busted quarter
The gaming industry was the recipient of news both good and bad this past week. On the up side, the monthly NPD Group sales report for January indicated gaming continues to be relatively recession-resistant. Gamers also have something to cheer now that Nintendo has announced the US release date for its Nintendo DSi handheld gaming machine.


Philips creates solar-powered reading light
Philips has developed a solar powered reading light called ‘My reading light'. This tool is aimed at the education sector in Africa allowing school children to continue with their homework after sunset.


First solar-powered touch phone launches
Samsung Electronics has unveiled the innovative solar powered full-touch screen phone 'Blue Earth' at Mobile World Congress 2009 this week, alongside the brand's vision for environmental sustainability.


Telecom service provider granted geographic number ranges
Independent telecoms service provider, Switch Telecom, has received allocations of ranges of geographic numbers in the Johannesburg (010), Cape Town (021) and Durban (031) regions from the regulator, ICASA.

The Asus kitchen computer: Wait for the second batch
[Peter Svensson] AsusTek Computer upended the laptop market when it brought out the tiny, cheap Eee PC a year and a half ago. As a follow-up, the plucky Taiwanese company is trying something harder: conquering the kitchen.