 1 Feb 2010 |
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For the love of chocolate
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 Simon Howden. Top stories
RetailBig overseas brands eye SA[Adele Shevel] South Africa looks set to become home to several top luxury brands despite the global recession. Read more >>Motorists to pay 18 cents more for petrolConsumers, many of whom are still battling with post-festive season debt, will as of Wednesday, 3 February 2010, have to pay 18 cents more per litre for petrol. Read more >>Wool market softens The wool market was softer at this week's sale following the steep price increases over the past two weeks and Cape Wools' Merino indicator dropped 4.7% to R62.05/kg (clean). Read more >>Stats SA to release Dec PPIStatistics South Africa will today, 28 January 2010, release the Producer Price Inflation (PPI) for December 2009. Read more >>Dec CPI increase to 6.3%The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased to 6.3% in December 2009, falling out as predicted of the inflation targeting range. Read more >>New Guild members Five new members have joined the Cape Winemakers Guild in January 2010. They are winemakers, Rianie Strydom (Haskell Vineyards), Andries Burger (Paul Cluver Estate Wines), Frans Smit (Spier Wines), Boela Gerber (Groot Constantia) and Pierre Wahl (Rijks Private Cellar). Read more >>Increasing public attendance at auctionsDarryl Jacobson, MD of Burchmore's, reports an “overwhelmingly positive sentiment” at the first vehicle auctions of 2010 with excellent attendance from trade buyers and enthusiastic bidding on their part. Read more >>AssociationsBeer workers to join ABI strikersWorkers at the beer division of brewer SAB will be joining the striking ABI Coke workers in a protest march today, Wednesday 27 January 2010, the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu) said in a statement. Read more >>Banking & FinanceMPC keeps repo rate unchangedThe Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 7%. Read more >>2010 property outlookCommenting on the 26 January 2010 decision by the Monetary Policy Committee meeting to leave the repo rate unchanged, Dr Andrew Golding, stated that although the industry is seeing some positive indicators, it is evident that South Africa's economy is by no means out of the doldrums and a further boost for the economy would have been most welcome. Read more >>Brand newsLucky seven for Levers At the Product of the Year ceremony held in Johannesburg on Thursday 28 January 2010, Unilever received seven of the awards, which are based on the results of one of the largest independent surveys of its kind in South Africa conducted by A C Nielsen with approximately 5000 respondents. Read more >>New Pep marketing director Pep has announced the appointment of Nobesuthu Tom as the new marketing director from 1 February 2010. Read more >>Search for SA's oldest brands [ActivRetail] Affinity Publishing is researching a book on the history of brands and branding in South Africa that will include the early days of brands and intellectual property protection from the mid-1800s, as well as the further development and success of branding up to today. For the past 17 years, it has produced an annual Brands & Branding: The Encyclopaedia of Brands & Branding in South Africa. Read more >>African media awards extend categories The 2010 Diageo Africa Business Reporting Awards have added sector-specific categories to reflect the important role that various industries play in economic development. Entries are free and can be on any platform - online, print, broadcast. The closing date for entries is 26 March 2010, with the awards ceremony being held on 1 July 2010 in Central London. Read more >>Ferrero says won't bid for Cadbury LONDON, UK: Italian chocolate maker Ferrero on Monday, 25 January 2010, said it did not intend making a counter-bid for British confectioner Cadbury, which last week agreed to a multi-billion-dollar takeover from US giant Kraft Foods. Read more >>Clothing & TextilesSweet temptation at ChanelPARIS, FRANCE: As light as meringues and mouth-watering as sorbets, Karl Lagerfeld's haute couture lines for next summer on Tuesday, 26 January 2010, looked inspired by the patisserie counter, even if the designer no longer allows himself such sweet indulgences since his draconian diet. Read more >>Textile companies continuing to fail [Charlotte Mathews] Factory closures and retrenchments are continuing in SA's clothing and textile sector but consumer demand remains solid and the rate of collapses seems to be slowing. Read more >>Firm makes bags of cash [Gabisile Ndebele] Have you ever saved up for a designer handbag costing more than R10 000, only to have it go out of fashion? Read more >>Commercial propertyAn opportunity to invest in London propertyA South African company, International Property Solutions (IPS), is offering local investors an investment in the London Central Residential Recovery Fund (LCRRF) through its partnership with London Central Portfolio (LCP). These properties are a result of IPS utilisation of the opportunities available in hindsight of the global recession. Read more >>Corporate Social InvestmentNumatic sponsors UJ students The University of Johannesburg's School for Tourism and Hospitality (STH) management received a new year's generous donation of cleaning equipment from Numatic International, amongst the leaders in the hospitality cleaning industry. Read more >>“Yes, we can!”This year Collect-a-Can hopes to get even more schools across Southern Africa involved in its National Schools Competition, which runs from February to October each year, offering cash prizes to the schools that collect the most cans per month with additional prizes for the schools that collect the most cans through the entire year. Read more >>CRMCRM and the hospitality sector: It's all about value[John K. Higgins] Rather than focus on implementing a CRM loyalty program just because a competitor has one, hospitality executives need to look at how CRM tools can provide the essential information necessary to segment high-value customers and better reveal all customer behavior and needs, said Suzanne Clayton, director of hospitality and gaming at SAS Institute. "The 'me too' campaigns are the ones that tend to fail the most." Read more >>DistributionNew distributor for Häagen-Dazs La Marina Foods, one of the largest purveyors of local and imported seafood, cheeses and other specialty foods to the hospitality and food service industries, will add Häagen-Dazs ice cream to its distribution. Read more >>e-CommerceBag it online at Babazeka [Leizl Eykelhof] In today's culture of consumerism, bling and ubiquitous brands, it is refreshing to find people who are a tad more down to earth in their retail thinking. Read more >>ExhibitionsChocoholics flock to Willy Wonka-style park BEIJING, CHINA: Thousands of Chinese on Friday, 29 January 2010, flocked to a new chocolate theme park, gobbling the sweet treat and savouring the visual feast of replicas of the Great Wall, the Terracotta Army and even a sleek BMW. Read more >>Meetings Africa exhibitors' workshop to expand marketing ROITo assist exhibitors to make the most of the Meetings Africa, 24-26 February 2010, Charles Drewe of Drewe Associates will run a two-day workshop, 4-5 February, in Craighall, Johannesburg, alongside Angela James, an industry professional. Read more >>Tlale on top of the world [Zenoyise Madikwa] David Tlale has arrived. At Circa Gallery in Rosebank on Friday night, 22 January 2010, he showed why he is the king of his castle. Read more >>FranchisingFASA hosts IFE 2010 in Joburg The International Franchise Expo (IFE) 2010, hosted by the Franchise Association of Southern Africa (FASA), will take place 6-8 May 2010 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. The exhibition aims to bring together about 100 exhibitors from a range of business concepts and brands. Read more >>Green sustainabilityClimate change leadership award nominations inThe first Climate Change Leadership Awards competition, which closed on 18 January 2010, has received 54 nominations in the business and 20 in the community categories for the award evening on 11 March at the Sandton Sun Hotel. The event will be a low carbon evening, with part of the proceeds going to Food & Trees for Africa to offset the 37 tons of CO2 per table through the planting of trees for disadvantaged communities. Read more >>Colourful ‘green' bags from Sandton City Sandton City's fabric ‘hanging banners', featuring the vibrant advertising from the centre's previous promotions and campaigns, have now been re-used and designed into chic shoppers. While these bags are 'green', they flaunt a rainbow of colours in swirls, blocks, text and stripes. As fabric features designs from a variety of promotions and marketing campaigns, each one is special. Read more >>Landfill gas-to-electricity project launchedA landmark project that converts gas from household waste into electricity has been officially launched in Durban. Read more >>HospitalityReleased 2010 accommodation bookings get new service Match, FIFA's accommodation agent, recently relinquished its reserved bed nights back to local hotels, B&Bs and guesthouses, amounting to roughly 15 000 beds per night. It was alleged that a number of properties were overpriced, which led to a decrease in the number of visitors prepared to rent out the properties. Read more >>Import/ExportSA records trade surplus in DecemberSouth Africa recorded a trade surplus of R3.7 billion in December 2009, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) said on Friday, 29 January 2010. Read more >>ManufacturingPPI up 0.7% in DecemberProducer Price Inflation, which is the price of goods leaving factories and mines, came in at 0.7% for December 2009, reported Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). Read more >>Manufacturing 2010 outlook toughCoface, the international credit insurer, said on Tuesday, 26 January, that the manufacturing sector would remain tough in 2010, however, the steel industry was set to improve towards the end of the first quarter. Read more >>PackagingLighter wine packaging saves environment, jobs While many players in the South African wine industry have actively supported bottle-recycling programmes in recent years to reduce their impact on the environment, efforts are now being accelerated to focus on lightweight wine bottles as well. Read more >>ResearchSA consumers still wary of debtConsumers are continuing to avoid credit, data released by the SA Reserve Bank on Sunday, 31 January 2010, shows. Read more >>German beer sales at 20-year low BERLIN, GERMANY: Germans may be famous for their beer, but domestic sales of the amber nectar slumped last year to their lowest level since 1989, according to official statistics published on Thursday, 28 January 2010. Read more >>SA consumer confidence declines - MasterCard survey [Issa Sikiti da Silva] The South African consumer confidence index has fallen to 59.8 from 67.3 six months ago and 78.7 a year ago, according to a recent survey released this morning, Thursday, 28 January 2010, by MasterCard Worldwide. Read more >>Retail marketingFuel up for eBucks competition Engen and eBucks have announced a blog competition open to all to win eB250 000 (R25 000) to spend on fuel at selected Engen service stations nationwide. Writers have to sign up for eBucks membership, write a blog about their journey using between 300 and 500 words and upload pictures if available. The competition closes on 28 February 2010 and winners will be announced by 31 March 2010. Click here to write and win www.ebucks.com/web/cms/eBucks/hotandhappening/engen/UIB1096/blog.html.Social media tools for KWV The launch of the new website for KWV Wines aims to mark a dynamic move for the brand, focusing marketing attention online to allow its story to be told to consumers across the globe. The addition of social media element,s such as online videos and content on Facebook and Twitter, is expected to increase traffic to the site. Read more >>Is it Simba's bunny chow, donut or Ikasi chicken? The new Simba advertising campaign, designed to entice South Africans to use their imagination and conjure up the next uniquely South African flavour, features pertinent local images to illustrate chakalaka, donut, ginger, banana bunny-chow, salsa, and Ikasi chicken. Read more >>Retail servicesZ-Cards for neighbours“Vodacom Mozambique and the Ministry of the Interior wanted to give tourists a handy guide of Mozambique over the festive season," says Lyn Davis, the marketing director of Z-Card Africa, Middle East, India and Turkey (ZAMI). Read more >>RetailersImproving retailing with technologySouth African retailers should look to international counterparts as to how technology is being successfully leveraged to solve business problems and achieve the goals of the UK and US retail sectors, in the face of depressed consumer spending and increasing competition. Read more >>Summer sale time at Cavendish Cavendish Square's Summer Sale 2010 is on. With almost all of Cavendish's retailers will be participating in the sale this year, and huge price cuts across the board in men's, ladies and children's fashions, audiovisual and electrical, accessories, jewellery, homeware and beauty, it's expected to attract thousands of shoppers on the ultimate bargain hunt. The sale runs from 28 to 31 January 2010. For more information on Cavendish Square Summer Sale visit www.cavendish.co.za. Log on today and find out how to join the Cavendish VIPs and win a share of R150 000 in prizes.Retailers score with Pick n Pay[Kgomotso Mathe] Food retailer Pick n Pay could be on a winning streak with its Score conversion strategy, which targets lower-end market areas. Read more >>SecurityProtecting against laptop software theftIDC research shows that 92% of SMEs with mobile workers have experienced laptop theft and 54% of SMEs have experienced a laptop theft in the past six months. "The laptop itself is not the issue, but the disruption to business and the risk to customer information, employee records or sensitive company data is far worse," warns J2 Software MD John McLoughlin. Read more >>Supply chainEducation award entries now openEntries for the annual Supply Chain Education Excellence Awards are invited up to the end of February 2010 in a number of categories and will be adjudicated based on performance, sustainability, success and innovation. Read more >>TechnologyQlikTech named Readers' Choice, Editor's Pick for 2010The US-based Consumer Goods Technology (CGT) magazine has selected QlikTech as its annual Readers' Choice and Editors' Pick in its January 2010 issue. The publication, which recognises top companies for innovation and impact on industry, selected the company's analytics product for its impact in helping consumer goods companies enhance their business performance. Read more >>The iPad has landed [Renay San Miguel] Apple finally let the iPad out of the iBag Wednesday, 27 January 2010, with all the style and hyperbole the technology industry has come to periodically expect from Steve Jobs' company. Read more >>Offshore companies drive sub-Saharan growth[Bennie Langenhoven] It is again time to enter the African continent but this time, South Africa is acting as a conduit to international interest in the technological business opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa. Read more >>
Brand newsWin fantastic prizes every month with Sasko Bakeries! - Sasko Bakeries Win great prices every month with Sasko Bakeries! For more details watch e.tv, SABC 1, 2, 3 and DStv or see the in-store leaflet. Read more >>
  More Dax Martin Lingerie Show   More Backstage at the Audi Joburg Fashion Week 2010   More Audi Joburg Fashion Week 2010   More Fokofpolisiekar at Kirstenbosch   More Southern Ink Xposure 2010   More
True Italian Style at Massimo's Pizza Club RETAIL [Riccardo Spagni] I'm generally reasonably fussy when it comes to my food. Don't get me wrong, I'll eat anything as long as it isn't smoked chicken (don't ask). But whilst I find most restaurants and the vast majority of meals passable, I occasionally stumble across a place that blows me away. Massimo's Pizza Club is, by a mile, one of those restaurants. It was started by Massimo and Tracy Orione after they moved to Cape Town; she being British and he, obviously, Italian. It is not a run-of-the-mill pizzeria, and it is so far removed from Debonairs and its ilk that you can never imagine eating any other pizza again. What makes Massimo's so good? Well, in order for me to even begin explaining that to you, let us discuss what makes any restaurant amazing. Jack Parow is cooler as almal RETAIL [Ruth Cooper] Jack Parow has a good marketing scheme in releasing his limited-edition EP in the form of a tasty “cold and dripping” ice cream flash drive with a collection of 10 tracks and six videos. He seems to be firmly cementing his cult status. You know you're doing something right when the general public are proclaiming and updating their facebook status' as “jy dink jy's cooler as ekke“ and quoting lines from the song. Dax Martin presents sleek sleepwear at Fashion Week RETAIL [Ilva Pieterse] Southern Sun played host to excited industry attendees during Audi Joburg Fashion Week (Autumn/Winter) at Sandton Convention Centre, 21 January 2010, by showcasing lingerie by Dax Martin. A roaring tale of bravado RETAIL [Zeenat Ebrahim] White Lion is a remarkable and interesting watch with a third person narrative. The adventure film begins around a campfire where a story-teller reveals the tale of the White Lion legend that marks the Shangaan belief, to a group of school campers.
"This is one of the disadvantages of wine: it makes a man mistake words for thought." - Samuel Johnson "Lack of money is no obstacle. Lack of an idea is an obstacle." - Ken Hakuta "The most important word in the vocabulary of advertising is test. If you pretest your product with consumers, and pretest your advertising, you will do well in the marketplace." - David Ogilvy "Advertising is the life of trade." - Calvin Coolidge "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." - Oscar Wilde 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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