 30 Nov 2009 |
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Reputations in the red South African banks' knee-jerk reaction to the recession may be understandable, but slashing credit lending and tightening the screws on debtors has not helped them make friends with their customers or potential clients. Kate Elphick's two-part series, Regaining your reputation after the recession, looks at where banks have gone wrong and how they can use social media to regain some of their lost reputation. Those heading off on long distance trips are going to be a little more out of pocket this holiday as the petrol price is 'conveniently' going up on Wednesday. But for those who are more willing to fork out for high-end fashion than the fuel to find it, there's a new online boutique in town for fabulous local designer clothing and accessories. The virtual doors open next Tuesday. Try to keep your spending in check though - there are only 25 days left for all our Christmas shoppers to sort themeselves out, and 'red' should be associated with Santa's suit and not your bank balance. Although it seems we're heading out of the recession, that doesn't mean it's time to go wild and remortgage the house. Keep it simple, give with love, and enjoy the festivities! Shan Radcliffe, Retail editor Please send retail news to: retailnews@bizcommunity.com Responses to this column welcomed in our new online editor's column archive. Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Suat Eman. Top stories
RetailPetrol to go up by 27 cents a litreHolidaymakers who will be driving to their destinations might be disappointed about a 27 cent fuel increase expected ahead of the festive season. Read more >>Shoprite, Transfarm merger approved South Africa's Competition Tribunal on Wednesday, 25 November 2009, unconditionally approved the merger of supermarket group Shoprite Checkers and Transfarm, Exfarma, Group 2 Transport, Medsnel Transport, Pretoria IT Service, Schulenburg Verbeek and Wekmed Marketing. Read more >>Super Group rights offer 100.4% subscribed forSuper Group said on Tuesday, 24 November 2009, that its rights offer was 100.4% subscribed for and the subscription consideration received from public subscriptions is R1.227-billion 22.7% in excess of the expected proceeds of R1-billion. Read more >>CPI falls within target range at 5.9%The Consumer Price Index for October 2009 fell within the South African Reserve Bank's (SARB) inflation target range at 5.9%, reported Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). Read more >>Credit body predicts bleak Christmas A consumer credit organisation is predicting a bleak Christmas this year, particularly for the retail industry. Price increases, job losses and low growth in the retail sector together with rising bad debts on credit portfolios are causing consumers to spend less. Read more >>South Africa emerges from recessionSouth Africa's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the third quarter of 2009 increased by 0.9%, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) announced on Tuesday, 24 November 2009. Read more >>Are retailers training consumers into bad buying habits? [Jonathan Gluckman] Black Friday is a term coined to describe what was the busiest shopping day in the US. Falling the day after Thanksgiving, sales had been known to spike by up to 42% on the day. Read more >>GDP expected to show signs of economic recoveryEconomists are expecting the newly rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figure for the third quarter to show signs that the economy is on the mend. Read more >>Banking & FinanceRegaining your reputation after the recession: Part 2 [Kate Elphick] Many retail banks have alienated their clients be reacting inappropriately to the recession. In part 1 of this article we looked at some of the long term damage to their brands and in part 2 we suggest some ways that social media can help banks claw back some of their brand equity. Read more >>Regaining your reputation after the recession: Part 1 [Kate Elphick] Many retail banks have alienated their clients be reacting inappropriately to the recession. In part 1 of this article we look at some of the long-term damage to their brands. Read more >>Brand newsRhône-style red release from Rickety Bridge Rickety Bridge has released an inaugural 2008 Foundation Stone Shiraz-Mourvèdre-Grenache blend. This unique blend of exquisitely interwoven varietals mimics the style of wine made in France's renowned Rhône Valley, attaining a four-star rating in the 2010 John Platter Wine Guide. Read more >>Tiger Brands gains from cheaper choices[Michael Bleby] Tiger Brands, SA's largest food company, yesterday, 24 November 2009, said profit for the year to September rose 8% to R2,5bn, as people switched to maize from more expensive staples such as rice, and commodity prices fell from the high prices seen the year before. Read more >>Groote Post releases four new wines to celebrate the decade To celebrate its decade of winemaking, Groote Post, a Cape West Coast wine farm near Darling, is releasing four new wines. Winemaker, Lukas Wentzel says of the 2009 harvest, “This vintage has produced some of the best white wines we've ever made and the reds are showing very nicely too.” Read more >>McDonald's goes 'green' in GermanyBERLIN, GERMANY: With the crunch climate change summit in Copenhagen fast approaching, even McDonald's has decided to go green, at least with its logo, a senior executive said on Monday, 23 November 2009. Read more >>Boschendal bubbles for festive season Boschendal's Méthode Cap Classique Grande Cuvée Brut 2006, a vintage Cap Classique, and Le Grande Pavillon Brut Rosé are now available in time for the festive season. Launched in December 2008, the Le Grande Pavillon is the estate's first Rosé Méthode Cap Classique. The base wine was bottled under crown-cap where it underwent secondary fermentation, spending 12 months on the lees before disgorgement. It can be enjoyed with seafood, summer salads and chicken dishes; while the Grande Cuvée Brut teams well with oysters, salmon, liver pâté or creamy chicken dishes. Recommended retail price is R99.99 for the Cuvée Brut and R79.95 for the Brut Rosé.Clothing & TextilesLocal is lekker for Boks For what is reputed to be for the first time, a South African national rugby team is wearing kit that has been 100% produced in South Africa with the new Canterbury Springbok Sevens Rugby jersey. The jersey is made of a very light, quick-drying fabric, to minimise sweating and enable the team to perform at its best. Read more >>Nurturing women's talent [Nawhal Kara] Kwanda Klothing, a Soul City initiative, has brought together the talent of seamstresses to produce a winning clothing range with a distinctly urban feel. Read more >>Commercial propertyJoint venture expands property giantsThe Pam Golding Property (PGP) group and JHI have entered into a joint venture association agreement, whereby PGP becomes JHI's preferred supplier in respect of residential property services, including PGP's hospitality services, while JHI becomes PGP's preferred supplier concerning commercial property services. Read more >>Corporate Social InvestmentCalendar to support animal charity Pedigree is sponsoring the African Tails 2010 Calendar that will allow the charity to raise funds for mass sterilizations to curb the overpopulation of neglected dogs in the Cape. The charity feeds, rescues and cares for South African street dogs. Read more >>Supporting sustainable seafood The Ocean Basket's recent golf day held at Wingate Park Country Club in Pretoria generated over R60 000 in support of the South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI). Read more >>CRMCRM trends and misconceptions[Denis Pombriant] To create a bubble, according to philanthropist George Soros, just take one part trend and one part misconception and mix in a reflexive manner. Some instances spring to mind of this kind of thing happening in CRM and computing. The client-server as an enterprise computing model is an early example. Then there's the idea of the experience economy and customer experience. Read more >>DistributionIT distribution agreement for LenovoAxiz, a leading IT infrastructure distributor, will distribute Lenovo products from beginning of November 2009. Products include notebooks, desktops, workstations, servers and monitors for corporate clients and a retail offering of notebooks, netbooks and all-in-one desktops. Axiz will also be distributing accessories and warranty options for both ranges. Read more >>e-CommerceE-boutique for AfricaAfrichic.com, Africa's answer to net-a-porter, will launch on the 8 December 2009 and sell everything from chic eveningwear and playful bold printed dresses to beaded necklaces and butter-soft leather handbags. Read more >>Jump awards recognise best online stores Kalahari.net has won the overall Best E-Commerce Website Award in the 2009 South African E-Commerce Awards, with Reggie's taking home the top spot for Best Kids and Baby Store. The awards, launched in 2006 by Jump.co.za, are open to all South African online stores and over 50 000 votes were cast, which is more than five times as many as in 2008. Read more >>Property auctions go online Asset sales and services company Alliance Group has joined forces with local online auctioneer BidorBuy and property website Private Property to launch an online property auction service for bank and distressed property sales. Read more >>ExhibitionsBridal Africa, SA Fashion combine in 2010 As two of SA's foremost brands in their fields, Bridal Africa and SA Fashion have formed a synergistic collaboration, Bridal Africa Pavilion @ SA Fashion Week, to be held from the 6-9 October 2010 at the Sandton Convention Centre. Read more >>Green sustainabilitySustainability requires management Speaking at the recent South African Institute of Chartered Accountants' (SAICA) seminar on King III and Sustainability for company directors, Jayne Mammatt, associate director at Ernst & Young's Assurance Practice, said integrated sustainability reporting is more about management than it is about actual reporting. Read more >>Clean Industry Awards program for Eastern CapeThe Eastern Cape branch of the Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA) in conjunction with the Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs (DEDEA) are calling all organisations within the waste management industry, large and small to enter their biennial Clean Industry Awards Programme. Read more >>Eco-friendly, water conserving household cleanersAddis is launching its first environmentally friendly household cleaning range of products using microfiber technology. “These cleaning products do not require detergents and use very little water,” says the marketing director of USABCO - the South African manufacturer of the Addis brand of houseware and cleaning products since 1914. Read more >>Health & SafetyStolen baby milk formula not safe for use[Nkosana Lekotjolo] Nestlé SA said milk formula stolen from its Harrismith factory might be contaminated and unsafe for consumption. Read more >>Disinfecting toothbrushes the light way Violight system, recently launched in South Africa, is reported to eliminate up to 99.9% of bacteria that thrive on toothbrushes and cause transferral of bacteria and viruses. The system uses a germicidal UV bulb, a similar technology used in hospitals to kill germs. Read more >>Hospitality2010 marketing strategies for guesthouse owners [Johan Horak] It's a little more than six months before the 2010 Soccer World Cup and very few South African guest house and B&B owners have adopted new social media such as Twitter and Facebook to promote their businesses. True, you are the owner or manager of a guest house or B&B and the Internet and social media are not your field, but you can use them to attract clients to your establishment. Read more >>New eatery opens near Alex [Edward Tsumele] There is a new place in Lombardy East aimed at catering for those who want to eat traditional food and wash it down with a cold one. Read more >>Madiba restaurant a hit in New York The borough of Brooklyn in New York City is not the place one would expect to find a decent plate of "mielie pap en sous". Read more >>New coffee menu at The Grace The Grace in Rosebank has announced the launch of its new coffee menu, offering different flavours from several African countries including Malawi, Kenya, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Budding tasters and appreciators of this culinary treat are now able to experience and savour some of the finest coffees available from Africa at R20 per cup.No rises from Mango until New Year's Day The CEO of the low-cost airline Mango, Nico Bezuidenhout, has promised no increase in fares because of the escalation in the fuel price this year. Crude prices are now approaching US$80 a barrel. Read more >>ManufacturingPPI continues downward trendSouth Africa's Producer Price Inflation (PPI) registered a deflation of -3.3% year-on-year in October, said Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Thursday, 26 November 2009. Read more >>Rand hits manufacturing sectorThe rand's strengthening since the start of 2009 has hampered the competitiveness of South Africa's manufactured export products, compounding the challenges associated with sharply weaker global demand, said the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) in an economic report on Wednesday, 25 November 2009. Read more >>PackagingGreen packaging for MacDonald'sFollowing 118 McDonald's countries in environmental messaging, McDonald's South Africa will introduce a new generation of packaging in its local restaurants from November 2009. Read more >>Double whammy for Nampak [ActivRetail] At the recent FTASA (Flexographic Technical Association of South Africa) awards held at the Southern Sun, Johannesburg International Airport, Nampak achieved three awards for two divisions. Read more >>RegulatoryDebt review under credit act ‘needs restructuring'[Michael Bleby] Changes were desperately needed to make the still-new debt review process work as it should, debt counsellors and the National Credit Regulator said last week. Read more >>ResearchRetailers in for less festive season On top of very weak festive season sales during 2008, South African retailers anticipate another contraction in sales volume growth during the 2009 Christmas period. Read more >>Retail marketingPrecision marketing pays[ActivRetail] The new consumer is intelligent, discerning and looking for value and relevance in the media he or she is exposed to. What's more, as both can generally filter their media input quite effectively, they are not interested in being treated as 'mass-market'. Read more >>Pump that Space Hopper Sony Ericsson features Space Hoppers in its latest international advertising campaign ‘Spark Something', to launch its new Aino and Satio mobile phones. To further the campaign, consumers are invited to pump up Space Hoppers via Twitter, creating a unique interaction between the online community and the offline, physical world. This is believed to be the first time such a concept has been realised on a large scale. Read more >>Retail servicesSite search: Please shoppers and boost your bottom line[Rob Swint] While retailers are facing increased competition, many have recognised that the way to thrive today is to invest in new ways to engage and serve their customers. Many are taking a fresh look at one of the cornerstones of the online experience: site search. Read more >>RetailersCashbuild CEO set for 2012 retirementBuilding material retailer Cashbuild on Monday, 23 November 2009, announced that its chief executive, Pat Goldrick, has advised of his intention to retire in 2012, upon reaching the company's normal retirement age. Read more >>SecurityJoburg Market beefs up security measuresThe Joburg Market has implemented stricter security measures and procedures, following a fatal robbery earlier this week. Read more >>Supply chainMore sweet than sour [Shannon Sherry] A 28-year high in world sugar prices sweetened Illovo's results for the six months to end-September, but the upside was stymied, at least partly, by the strength of the rand. Read more >>International partnership extends Infor offerings in SA Softworx and SNS, Infor channel partners and product specialists, have announced a partnership that is designed to strengthen the Infor business in sub-Saharan Africa. Together, they aim to provide an expert team of operational and technical consultants, highly knowledgeable in the supply chain and logistics domain. Read more >>TechnologySAB squeezes every drop [Sasha Planting] SABMiller has always had a reputation for being a lean and efficient operator. But now the global beer giant has a plan to shave another US$300m/year off operating costs. Read more >>Interactive kiosk web portal gets international gold sponsor The proposed new South African interactive kiosk web portal, JusTTouchIT - The Forum, has received international support for its intended launch in February 2010. The Australian kiosk solution provider Yeahpoint, which has a small operation in South Africa, has become a Gold Sponsor. Read more >>New wireless USB from Imation Imation has launched the Imation Pro WX drive, said to be the world's first wireless USB external hard drive. It provides 1.5TB of storage capacity for digitally driven users who need the wireless workspace with the convenience of fast data transfer rates, speed and capacity required in today's graphics and data intensive environments. Read more >>
Screwing it in at MCQP RETAIL [Lauren Cohen] Creative minds can finally start work on their outfits for the Mother City Queer Project because the theme for South Africa's biggest costume party has been revealed. Hot Water sign with European touring agent RETAIL Hot Water has recently returned from a very successful tour to Europe performing at the prestigious Hague Jazz Festival, alongside the likes of Freshlyground and Hugh Masekela - the two other SA representatives on the festival's line-up. South African Indie Volume 1 RETAIL [Ruth Cooper] What does it really mean to be indie or alternative these days? In a way, indie has become almost a dirty word, spurned by those painfully hip ones who usually can't seem to enjoy or appreciate anything from the mainstream. Indie originally meant independent of a major commercial record label and usually classified those lesser-known obscure bands, but when indie and alternative is the current in-thing and enjoyed by the majority, what can truly be considered the “alternative”? Disaster strikes in 2012! RETAIL [Zeenat Ebrahim] From the director of ‘Independence Day' and ‘Day After Tomorrow', Roland Emmerich, brings you 2012, the next apocalypse. Much controversy is circling the Mayan prophecy of 2012. Movies are being made about it and speculation is in the air that ‘the world as we know it is coming to an end'. December is VanFokKingTasties RETAIL VanFokKingTasties combines the powers of Van Coke Kartel, Fokofpolisiekar, aKING and Die Heuwels Fantasties. These four Bellville Rock City bands first joined forces at the Stellenbosch Town Hall in July this year. This event was instantly sold-out with a queue outside the door estimated at two kilometers long. The wake of this phenomenal event left thousands of fans nation-wide begging for more. South Africa's strongest line-up invites you to experience the biggest party this summer has to offer. Clegg kicks off Summer Sunset Concerts at Kirstenbosch RETAIL [Alan Hughes] Well summer has finally come to Cape Town, just in time for the start of the Old Mutual Kirstenbosch Summer Sunset Concert Series. And who better to kick off the season in this wonderful setting than Johnny Clegg? As usual, the show was sold out and the gardens packed with happy picnickers. Johnny, dressed in bright orange, together with his band, put on a wonderful performance.
"In the end, all business operations can be reduced to three words: people, product and profits. Unless you've got a good team, you can't do much with the other two." - Lee Lacocca "The Greatest Sales Strategy in the world: Don't tell me how good you make it; tell me how good it makes me when I use it." - Leo Burnett "There is no need to recreate the wheel. We just need to make it better." - Gene Hardin "The advertising man is a liaison between the products of business and the mind of the nation. He must know both before he can serve either." - Glenn Frank Print - Print any item in this newsletter. Email - Email any item in this newsletter. Comment - Comment on any item in this newsletter.  | Advertisement:
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