 17 Aug 2009 |
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Quiplash!
I reckon, if prices continue rising the way they have been, I should be able to heft groceries worth R750, or even more, by the time October arrives. Of course, I am not getting stronger, but I am rapidly becoming poorer... and I am becoming more and more frustrated with the retailers blaming the middleman, and the middleman blaming the producer, and the producer blaming the middleman, and the middleman blaming the retailer. Over the weekend I spotted a message in our local newspaper's SMS column, to the effect that a particular product was cheaper overseas that here... much cheaper! Quite frankly, I'm tired of the blame game - it's like the taxi industry... it's never "us" but it's always "them". All parties owe it to all of us to sort out the problem - and now, rather than later, because the poor are suffering. If the parties don't genuinely set out to solve the problem, people will become more and more desperate. Food riots are not unknown in other parts of the world, and let's face it, we don't want to see them here. Right? Rod Baker, guest columnist retailnews@bizcommunity.com Responses to this column welcomed in our new online editor's column archive. Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net. Top stories
RetailRecord sales at 2009 Stellenbosch Wine Festival Wine sales exceeding R400 000, beating last year's record, were recorded at the 2009 Stellenbosch Wine Festival held around this past weekend, 8 and 9 August, 2009. Read more >>SA companies seeking opportunities in UKDuring an economic crisis one might expect the trade in whisky to soar. But Department of Trade and Industry statistics for SA-UK trade show the opposite. Whisky imports to SA plunged 33% in 2007 and last year. Read more >>Morningside Shopping Centre goes wirelessEmbracing technology is designed to make shopping easier, more enjoyable and trouble-free. Read more >>Banking & FinanceWesBank says rate cut will stimulate economy Last week's announcement by the Monetary Policy Committee to reduce the prime lending rate is good news for the South African economy and will presage “a much-needed recovery during the first quarter of 2010, if not slightly sooner”. Read more >>2009 Businesswomen of the Year namedVenete Klein, the influential banker, and Carol Weaving, the exhibition and events specialist, won the 2009 Businesswomen's Association (BWA) Businesswoman of the Year Awards in the corporate and entrepreneurial categories respectively, late last week. Read more >>Brand newsCalifornians take on SA varsity brewers An international touch has come to the 2009 SAB Intervarsity Brewing competition, as a team from the University of California has entered to compete against 10 local varsities. Read more >>Shoprite sees growth in earnings [Adele Shevel] Africa's largest food retailer, Shoprite, said yesterday headline earnings per share for the 12 months ended in June this year would be between 25% and 35% higher than a year ago. Read more >>2009 Plascon Prism Awards winner announcedPlascon last week announced the winner of its annual architecture and design competition, the Plascon Prism Awards - Chacey Eder (21), a final year Interior Design degree student at Inscape Design College in Houghton, Johannesburg. Read more >>New BASA logo extends brand ethos Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) unveiled its new brand identity earlier this week, with the objective of heralding a refined strategic direction for the organisation. Read more >>Stuttafords restructures to international standardsStuttafords has embarked on a restructuring that will include the closure of some stores, as well as the refurbishment of others, in order to align itself with international department store sizes and standards. Read more >>Don Jose Cuervo Black launched in SA Jose Cuervo Black has been introduced to the discerning palates of South Africans in August 2009. Read more >>Corporate Social InvestmentPink heart card designed for breast cancer October is breast cancer awareness month and the Hout Bay, Cape Town-based company, Original T-Bag Designs, has designed a “pink heart” card in support of the cause. Read more >>Schools get football kit from SonyThe first of 16 schools received their branded football kit, active education training for physical education teachers and FIFA Confederations Cup South Africa 2009 participation certificates last week, as part of Sony Ericsson's FIFA Flag Bearer programme. Read more >>Over R1m grant for loveLifeloveLife, Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst (DED) and Barloworld have collaborated to streamline loveLife's youth development programme. The initiative, known as Connected!, will receive a grant of R1 million over three years from Barloworld, with the contribution for the first year matched by DED, it was announced yesterday, Thursday, 13 August 2009. Read more >>Range of wines go under the hammer at Nederburg Charity Auction The 2009 Nederburg Charity Auction will be held on Saturday, 12 September 2009 in the auction hall at the close of the main event. Many local and international wines will be auctioned on an attempt to beat last year's total of R227 600. Read more >>CRMDeveloping a CRM strategy [Davina Wertheimer] Here is some more advice on how to develop a simple CRM strategy in this, part two, of my simple steps to developing CRM for the ‘new middle class' market. Read more >>Turning constructive feedback into gold [Patrick Deale] Recently, Port Elizabeth-based Virginia Thomas submitted a complaint about an Ina Paarman product to a South African online complaints management and consumer affairs portal. Within a very short space of time, she received a response from the product's owner and brand ambassador, Ina Paarman, herself. Read more >>DistributionStafford & Draeger to distribute PearsStafford Bros & Draeger has been appointed the exclusive distributor of Pears in South Africa. Pears has been a world-famous name for 200 years, thanks partly to the high quality of the natural ingredients from which Pears soap has always been made. Pears range of products is specially made to take care of even sensitive and delicate skin. The products are hypoallergenic, and they are non-comedogenic, so they will not clog pores. Stafford Bros & Draeger is distributing Pears Amber Soap, Pears Oil Clear Green Soap, Pears Shower Gel, Pears Liquid Hand Wash and Pears 75g bar. For further information, go to www.staffordbros.com.ExhibitionsArise Cape Town Fashion Week: innovation in recessionArise Cape Town Fashion Week begins at the Cape Town International Convention Centre this week and innovation and resourcefulness are claimed to be the cornerstones of the industry. Read more >>Hardex to co-locate with The Star Interbuild Africa 2010 Hardex 2009, the exhibition for the hardware and related industries, which took place from 2 - 4 August 2009, reported more than 2300 visitors. The organiser, Specialised Exhibitions, has announced that it will be co-located within the Interbuild stable for 2010. Read more >>Green & OrganicConsol's green “Just choose glass” campaign As South African consumers are increasingly choosing to reduce their carbon impact and expect brands to do the same, Consol Glass has launched a “green” campaign to educate consumers about the environmentally positive properties of glass and “help them develop their relationship to green”. Read more >>HospitalitySA chefs to demonstrate township cuisineSouth African chefs will be demonstrating their skills and creating "tastes from the township and around the world" at the first Soweto Food Festival in October 2009. The South African Chefs Association (SACA) will also be manning an interactive chef's kitchen. Read more >>Import/ExportSA textile exporters fight state bid to cut incentives [Mathabo le Roux] Beleaguered clothing and textile exporters in southern Africa may be dealt another hefty blow today, Monday 17 August 2009, when a decision is made about changes to a key industrial incentive that has benefited the industry for a decade. Read more >>Kickstart KZN finalists announcedA vegetable peeler, a weaver and a butcher are finalists from KwaZulu-Natal in the entrepreneur contest, part of the Kickstart project, which was started by South African Breweries (SAB). They will be competing for prize money totalling R750 000. Read more >>ManufacturingCotton mills' closure deals blow to textiles [Mathabo le Roux] South Africa's textile industry has been dealt another blow with the news that Cape-based SBH Cotton Mills will close, taking annual production capacity of 8-million metres with it. Read more >>A stitch in time[Sasha Planting] Manufacturer Frame Vertical Textiles may be beyond salvation, along with Frame's denim and cotton yarn companies. But there is hope, it seems, for other parts of the Cape manufacturing sector. Production processes between fashion retailer Foschini and about 15 local clothing manufacturers have become so streamlined that in some cases their supply is outpacing Foschini's ability to sell. Read more >>Over 800 new glass banks in South Africa The Glass Recycling Company has installed 700 new glass-recycling banks and another 120 will be installed in the next few months in a bid to increase the recycling of waste glass, the company announced earlier this week. Read more >>The Plantation Shutter Co goes “green”South Africa's The Plantation Shutter Co has responded to the international trend of an eco-friendly and sustainable environment, by going green. The company now uses 100% eco-friendly water-based coatings. Read more >>PackagingPatented Snap & Squeeze oil and vinegar sachets Western Cape olive and olive oil producer Willow Creek Olive Estate has recently launched new packaging, called Snap & Squeeze, which dispenses 8ml of Directors' Reserve Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Cabernet Sauvignon Balsamic Style Vinegar in an easy and controllable manner. Read more >>RegulatoryMassmart merger would hurt ‘poorest of the poor'Discount retailer Massmart's bid to purchase a majority stake in Port Elizabeth-based grocery wholesaler Finro is heading for the Competition Tribunal on Wednesday, 19 August 2009. Read more >>ResearchResearch on top brands may reveal surprise resultsThose attending the Sunday Times Top Brands Awards for 2009 may be in for a surprise this year as bigger brands could be ousted by their smaller competitors. Read more >>Datamonitor Group to integrate technology businessesDatamonitor Group, London, announced the integration of its three technology businesses to combine approximately 350 business and 150 ICT analysts under the Ovum brand from 1 September 2009. At the same time, it will launch two new research services, Ovum Technology and Industries Knowledge Centre and Ovum Enterprise IT Knowledge Centre. Read more >>Retail servicesCRM for the ‘new middle class' [Davina Wertheimer] South Africa, the “Rainbow Nation”, is highly diverse. It is made up of 11 official languages, different races, religions, values, traditions and customs. Our past buoyant economy and socio-political climate have led to a new affluent middle class segment that was previously ignored by mainstream direct communications. So how are marketers now challenged to define and understand this ‘new middle class'? Read more >>RetailersFirst store for Durban “fashion darling”The Durban couturier and fashion darling, Haroun Hansrot, is preparing to open his first signature store, “75”. As well as his own range, Hansrot will be showcasing the garments of well-known and up-and-coming Indian designers. Read more >>SecurityPanda report says rogueware thrivingPanda Security's malware analysis and detection laboratory has released a comprehensive study on the proliferation of rogueware - any kind of fake software solution that attempts to steal money from PC users by luring them into paying to remove nonexistent threats - into the cyber-crime economy. The study was released yesterday Thursday 13 August 2009. Read more >>TechnologyMixed-up media[Duncan McLeod] To suggest that MXit itself is somehow “evil” is ludicrous. You can't blame technology for problems in society. Read more >>Microsoft Office coming to Nokia cellphonesMicrosoft and Nokia announced an agreement to make Microsoft Office software available on smartphones made by the Finnish company. Read more >>J2 Software opens in Cape TownBecause of its growing customer base in the Western Cape and continued growth, despite the economic downturn, J2 Software has now opened offices in Cape Town. According to J2 Software's regional manager, Grant van der Westhuizen: “The Western Cape has always had strong roots in financial services, retail, manufacturing and agriculture. I believe our solutions are perfectly suited to add value to customers in these areas… this is a strategic and aggressive move for us to continue to add value as we have proven over the past couple of years.”Online technology boosts recruitment industryOnline recruitment in South Africa is a rapidly growing industry that offers both employers and employees rapid access to information. CareerJunction Index (CJI) has recently launched three Job Reports covering the IT, engineering and finance professions. Read more >>Ogilvy invests in more EMC technologyMarketing communications agency Ogilvy has increased its investment in EMC technology by purchasing a second EMC NS20 device for its Cape Town office, only two months after buying its first EMC NS20 multifunctional storage device for its Johannesburg office. Read more >>Register now for The Thinking Mobile Conference SeriesRegistration is open for The Thinking Mobile Conference Series. It's a meeting place for business communicators who need to focus not on “techno” language but on concrete and tangible applications. This is the place where you will walk away armed with knowledge that will enable you to confidently strategise around mobile. Who should attend? Brand managers, event organisers and managers, marketing, communication and PR experts, business owners, business experts and coaches, NGOs. Bizcommunity.com is a media partner. For more, go to www.mobilemarketingwinners.com.
Brand newsStimorol Air Rush relaunches - Cadbury South Africa Stimorol Air Rush was relaunched in South Africa in June this year with an upgraded power formula that provides stronger flavour and lasts longer. It is available in three variants: Menthol, Wicksmint and Orange Mint. Read more >>Healthy babies for a healthier world - Sister Lillian To align with an international resurgence of interest in holistic health, a new homeopathic and natural remedy product range for mothers and infants, “Sister Lilian Remedies”, has recently been launched. Read more >>Retail marketingSurvival of the most sustainable - Egg Marketing & Communications ‘Green' is the new ‘black' and it has become quite fashionable to be eco-friendly lately. However, beneath this trend lies a much more serious, multi-faceted issue - that of being sustainable. Read more >>
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