 31 Jan 2011 |
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iPads, clouds and silver linings
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. Top stories
RetailWool prices at a fresh highWool prices rose for a third week in a row, with the Cape Wools' Merino indicator gaining 2.1% to close at a fresh high of R78.13/kg (clean wool). Read more >>No word from Zimbabwe on halting deal [Zeenat Moorad] SA's second-largest grocer, Pick n Pay, said on Tuesday (25 January 2011) that it had not received any notification from the Zimbabwean government of its intention to halt its bid to acquire 24% of Zimbabwean retailer TM Supermarkets. Read more >>AssociationsPetroleum industry association gets new chairpersonThe South African Petroleum Industry Association (SAPIA), which represents the collective interests of the South African petroleum industry, has elected Dr Nompumelelo Siswana as the 2011 chairperson. Dr Siswana is vice president for trading, supply and logistics at PetroSA, South Africa's national oil company. Sipho Maseko, BP Southern Africa CEO is the association's vice-chairperson. Read more >>Kenya: 2011 Africa Business Reporting Awards launched [Carole Kimutai] Diageo has launched the annual Africa Business Reporting Awards in Nairobi, Kenya. The six year old awards is an initiative of Diageo - a premium drinks business with majority shareholding in East Africa Breweries Ltd (EABL). In 2010, 700 entries from more than 25 countries were received. Read more >>Brand newsNew CEO at Gurwitch ProductsThe boutique executive search firm, Martens & Heads!, has announced the placement of Claudia Poccia as president and CEO of Gurwitch Products, parent company of the Laura Mercier and RéVive brands, effective 21 February 2011. She replaces Sharon Collier, who has left the company. Read more >>Edcon announces new chief executiveSouth African retailer Edcon, which delisted from the JSE in 2007, announced on Friday, 28 January 2011 that chief executive Stephen M Ross would retire in May 2012. Read more >>Local jewellery competition for Pravda Pravda Vodka, in partnership with the Jewellery Council of South African (JCSA), is searching for jewellery designs as part of the royal collection in a competition for South African jewellery designers. The competition, which closes on 2 May 2011, offers a R20 000 prize. Read more >>Clothing & TextilesSouth African company buys out American textile operatorA&E, the South African subsidiary of US company American & Efird, has been bought by Cape Town based sewing thread manufacturer ACA Threads as a going concern, which will see the 55 staff members from its Epping premises incorporated into the 86 staff at ACA Threads Brackenfell factory during the course of 2011. The combined turnover of the two companies is around R70-million per year. Read more >>Commercial propertyShopping malls under the hammer Following the liquidation of the group of companies owned by the Theodosiou brothers Tony, Dimitri and Sedrick, two major Johannesburg shopping malls, previously valued at R700 million, will go on auction on 30 March 2011 at The Hilton Hotel, where bidders from around the world are expected to attend what is being billed as the largest auction in South African property history. Read more >>Corporate Social InvestmentCRMPredictive modelling needs accuracy[Amanda Cromhout] Effective CRM requires organisations to employ sophisticated modelling tools to yield the most favourable result for a campaign. One idea that CRM professionals world-wide banter around as if it is a given, is that 'predictive modelling' is a tool in every CRM tool kit. However, in my experiences, I see that the term predictive modelling has many interpretations, some better than others, some alarmingly unsophisticated. Read more >>Tailoring CRM solutions As consumers resist the mass-media messaging of traditional marketing, campaign effectiveness and productivity have decreased. Today's CRM solutions need to offer business-specific solutions for defined vertical markets by offering intelligent tools that help anticipate customer's needs to deliver the right products and services they want, when they want them. Read more >>e-CommerceGlobal group buying pioneers enter African continent Groupon, one of the global group buying pioneers, has entered the African continent through its acquisition of SA's home-grown version, Twangoo. Its website MyCityDeal.co.za launches with intro deals for Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, including a signup deal of an 80% saving on a three month contract with online video rentals from PushPlay and a different weekly deal for each city. These deals include 60% off a sea food platter for two, 80% off a gym contract and 80% off laser hair removal. Read more >>South Africans 'satisfied with online shopping'The majority of South African online shoppers are satisfied with their overall online shopping experience and 51% who have access to the internet are shopping online, with 75% of those having done so in the past three months, the latest MasterCard Worldwide survey on online shopping habits revealed on Tuesday, 25 January 2011. Read more >>Exhibitions & EventsTrends & Tastes 2011 for KZN It's out with the old and in with the new in typical Decorex Durban style. From 18-21 March 2011, at the Durban Exhibition Centre, Decorex SA in collaboration with the KSA Kitchen & Bathroom Faire will host what is claimed to be an all new décor, design and lifestyle exhibition. Read more >>Hostex adds attractions for silver anniversary Hostex, celebrating 25 years of exhibitions, offers new features to the show to complement its SA Chefs Village and Global Pizza Challenge. Visitors can now enjoy some wine tasting at the Wine Circle, identify eco-friendly products at the Greenstuff Boutique Hotel, convened by Hotelstuff.co.za, and visit the Hospitality Emporium for niche products and services. It takes place from 13-16 March 2011 at Sandton Convention Centre. Read more >>Earth Fair Market at Design Indaba Expo The Earth Fair Market, offering more than 40 exhibitors producing ethical and organic food, will be in the food zone at the Design Indaba Exhibition at Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), 25-27 February 2011. Read more >>FMCGGreen sustainabilitySouth African vineyards use water measurement technology Small portable pressure chambers or 'pressure bombs', as they are also termed, gauge the leaf water potential in vines as a basis for determining optimal irrigation strategies. Developed initially for research purposes, they are now used in southern France, Spain and to a limited extent elsewhere. Read more >>Health & SafetyHospitalitySA wine tourism book in international competition The updated 2011 Wine Tourism Handbook has been recognised as the best South African book in the Wine Atlas & Tourism Category of the international 2010 Gourmand Awards. This qualifies it for entry into the international competition that takes place in March 2011 where it will compete for the 'Gourmand Best in the World' award in its category. Read more >>Import/ExportZimbabwe ban hits Country Bird exports[Michael Bleby] Country Bird Holdings had lost sales of 600 tons of chickens a month to Zimbabwe as a result of the reworked chicken controversy that broke out last month, financial director Robbie Taylor said Wednesday, 26 January 2011. Read more >>Ivory Coast's Ouattara orders cocoa exports haltABIDJAN, CÔTE D'IVOIRE: Ivory Coast's internationally recognised leader Alassane Ouattara on Monday, 24 January 2011, ordered a one-month halt to exports of cocoa and coffee, a statement said. Read more >>LogisticsLogistics encompasses more than freight[Marcia Dippenaar] Following surveys with clients on the trends in freight forwarding, an increasingly important sector in South Africa, the research found that in the past few years, the industry has made significant progress in the freight forwarding and clearing by moving towards supply chain management and optimisation. Read more >>PackagingFree packaging award entries opening tomorrowEntries for the Pentawards and Avery Dennison Self-Promotion Beverage Awards are open from 1-28 February 2011. To celebrate the fifth annual Pentawards, all designers from all around the world are invited to participate free of charge in a special competition dedicated solely to the creation of self-promotion through packaging design. Read more >>RegulatoryResearchNigeria, Kenya consumer confidence increases [Issa Sikiti da Silva] Consumer confidence in Nigeria and Kenya - two of Africa's leading economies - has significantly increased in the past six months, while Morocco experienced a slight decline and Egypt's index recorded a level below 50, a MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Confidence released last week in Johannesburg has revealed. Read more >>Concern as SA consumer confidence index declines further[Issa Sikiti da Silva] The SA consumer confidence index has further declined, dropping from 58.6% six months ago to 54.7% - its fifth consecutive decline since January 2009 - according to the latest MasterCard Worldwide Index released early today, 27 January 2011, at the Westcliff Hotel in Johannesburg. Read more >>Research report on advertising behaviour, trust in traditional, new mediaThe Bureau of Market Research (BMR) at Unisa has released a research report entitled The Role Of Traditional and New Media Advertising in Consumers' Time Constrained Lives. It concludes that the post-modern perception of time and the increasing influence of technology on media usage have impacted on advertising media preferences and engagement, as well as the attitude towards and usage of various advertising media. Read more >>Retail marketingUsing mobile banner advertising [Hawa Omar] Like a growing number of FMCG businesses, Shoprite has begun promoting its goods on the mobile internet with banner ads and interactive pages over the Christmas period. It worked with Yonder to design a mobile campaign that placed banners across most content channels five days a week, linked to an online mobile catalogue. Read more >>Retail servicesRetail trends[2011 trends] Year of the tablet [Toby Shapshak] If 2010 was the year of the apps (as I wrote this time last year), then 2011 will be the year of the tablet. Last year was supposed to be the year of the tablet (after Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer showed off an HP Slate in January) but it was really the year of the iPad. Read more >>[2011 trends] Clouds up ahead in 2011 [Dr Andrew Hutchison] Some of the trends that have already started to pave the way for imminent developments in the year ahead and where further growth is anticipated are cloud computing, green IT and effective data centre management. Read more >>[2011 trends] The shift hits the fan [Terry Levin] You don't have to be clairvoyant to figure that this is the time of year for scenario planning - but this, the year that kicked off so neatly with its demonstration of pure binary code 1111, that has had mathematicians all atwitter about its status not only as the first prime year since 2003, but also the year that is the sum of no less than 11 consecutive prime numbers, will be more than different. So what does 'primeness' mean now? Read more >>RetailersA buying opportunity at Clicks[Sasha Planting] Clicks management remains cautiously optimistic about a recovery in consumer spending. Investment in long-term growth will continue, and R250m in capital expenditure has been committed for 2011. Management is also planning to increase trading space by 4%-5%. Read more >>Theatre of books offers new experiences Montecasino has opened an innovative state-of-the-art concept store, the Skoobs Theatre of Books, where guests are transported into a parallel world of literary and entertainment. Reportedly the first of its kind in South Africa, it covers 1200m2 of space on two levels and offers a range of books in every imaginable genre, a coffee shop, an interactive gaming area, an upmarket champagne bar and a fish tank, complete with specially designed water books, to keep visitors mesmerised. Read more >>Supply chainNigeria: New refinery for Golden SugarGolden Sugar Company on Wednesday, 26 January 2011, signed a US$143.3 million, five-year syndicated multi-currency contract to finance the construction of a new sugar refinery complex in Lagos State, Nigeria. Read more >>Cocoa prices surge on Ivory Coast export banLONDON, UK: Cocoa futures soared to one-year highs on Monday, 24 January 2011, as the recognised winner of presidential elections in Ivory Coast, the world's biggest cocoa producer, ordered a halt to exports of the commodity. Read more >>TechnologyiPads fly off the shelvesFollowing the South African launch of the Apple iPad on Friday, 28 January 2011, 70% of the stock of the iconic tablet device available at Incredible Connection stores country-wide has been sold out in three days. Read more >>
Nimbuzz Ping brings smartphone functionality to feature phones ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS: Nimbuzz, claimed to be the only Over-The-Top (OTT) communications app for the connected generation, has announced the launch of Nimbuzz Ping. It is a push notification feature designed to allow feature phone users to appear online to their friends and receive a free SMS alert when someone in their Nimbuzz community wants to get in touch, even when the service is closed. Read more >>The potential of added value promotions [Ed Hughes] LONDON, UK: Brands and retailers are benefiting from added value promotions, but for marketers looking for a longer-term gain and less of a tactical quick win, there has been a resurgence of the more traditional promotional methods. Read more >>Strong correlation between creative strategy and performance TORONTO, CANADA: comScore, Inc. has released findings from comScore ARS indicating the importance of a strong upfront strategy and creative execution in driving campaign effectiveness for TV and digital advertising campaigns in Canada. Read more >>Lenovo, NEC create Japan's largest PC group TOKYO, JAPAN: Lenovo and NEC Corporation (NEC) have announced a strategic relationship that creates a joint venture between the two companies and forms the largest PC group in Japan. Both companies are also exploring strategic cooperation in other areas. Read more >>Stalemate on lending: Consumers scale back borrowing; banks keep capital LONDON, UK: Figures released recently by the British Bankers' Association (BBA) showed that demand for unsecured credit continues to wane, with net lending falling by £2 billion (about R22 billion) last year as households scale back their debt. Read more >>FIPP Research Forum date change PARIS, FRANCE: Due to a necessary date change the annual FIPP Research Forum and Awards will now take place in France on 14-15 April 2011 at the Prisma Presse offices in Paris. Read more >>Unemployment, inflation worries hit consumer confidence NEW YORK, US: Consumer confidence fell in 25 out of 52 countries in Q4 2010 as hope for a global economic recovery evaporated at the end of last year, according to the latest edition of the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index, which tracks consumer confidence, major concerns and spending intentions among online consumers. Read more >>Top 50 US Web Properties for December 2010 RESTON, US: comScore Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, has released its monthly analysis of US web activity at the top online properties for December 2010 based on data from the comScore Media Metrix service. Read more >>More International news...
FranchisingTiger Wheel & Tyre ready for another year of excellence - Tiger Wheel & TyreA look at the awards the company received in 2010 and how they are planning to build on this performance in the coming year/ Read more >>Retail marketing11 tips for successful marketing in 2011 - Chris MoerdykAccountability, measurement, getting closer to customers and understanding the opportunity of new media and pressurea on the old, are all important role players for the year ahead. Read more >>
  More Balkan Beat Box   More
This bakkie will ama-rock you [Henrie Geyser: motoring editor] With one glaring exception in the shape of the re-born Beetle, Volkswagen as a brand builds the kind of vehicles that South Africans love and respect - and it's precisely this brand loyalty that will drive the sales of the Amarok, VW's long-awaited entry into the fiercely contested local bakkie market. Read more >>More Motoring news...
You'd be barmy not to try Trents [Brian Berkman: contributing editor, travel] There's a posh girl's school in St Andrews, Bedfordview. There's also a smart boutique hotel, St. Andrews Hotel, that makes me immediately think of properties such as The Peech, Fairlawns and 10 Bompas. The standout here is the first-rate service, which impressed me. The location too is lovely, overlooking Gillooly's lake. Read more >>Meetings Africa 2011 promises to be bigger and better Business Tourism's growing importance to South Africa's tourism industry will be in the spotlight when the annual Meetings Africa is held at Johannesburg's Sandton Convention Centre from 21-23 February 2011. Read more >>Comair: 737-200s out, 800s in Comair has bid farewell to its fleet of Boeing 737-200 aircraft that was instrumental in the company launching into the mainstream airline business 15 years ago. The Boeing 737-200 fleet, which flew across the kulula.com and British Airways liveries, were gradually phased out of operation with the last planes taking their final flights in December 2010. Read more >>Cape Town in Lonely Planet's Top 10 One of the world's leading travel guide resources, Lonely Planet, has announced their choice of the World's 10 Best Beach Cities and Cape Town was voted second amongst the likes of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Sydney, Australia and Miami in the USA. Read more >>More Travel news...
Up The Creek line-up announced The full line-up for the Up The Creek Festival, which will be held on a campsite close to Swellendam, Western Cape, from 3 to 6 February, 2011, has been announced. Read more >>Infecting The City Festival 2011 The Infecting the City Festival 2011, a project of the Africa Centre, will be held between Monday, 21 to Saturday, 26 February 2011, in Cape Town. The festival schedule will be available on the website from 1 February, 2011. Read more >>We got our "hoppa" on with BBB [Sindy Peters: Africa editor] South Africa has been attracting a Liquorice Allsorts bag of international talent since we hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup: U2, Roxette, Kings of Leon, Rammstein, Faithless, Andre Rieu, Imogen Heap, Neil Diamond, The Parlotones... Cape Town and Jozi had some Balkan flavour thrown into the party mix last weekend with the eight-piece New York-based Balkan Beat Box (BBB) dropping by to break the monotony. Read more >>Dr Feel Good - Mr Sakitumi [Ruth Cooper] Multi-instrumentalist and electronica wiz kid Mr Sakitumi, aka Sean Ou Tim, is a freaking nice guy. If he could have any super power it would be the ability to make people feel good about themselves. It seems like he already possesses such powers, with such an obvious talent and enthusiasm for creating and performing, anyone witnessing a gig of his will be feeling those feel-good vibes for sure. Read more >>More BizLounge news...
Retail Buyers: Senior Specialists - Northern SuburbsVarious senior positions in international consumable and non-consumable buying. Read more >>Sales, Logistics and Finance Positions - Gauteng/KZN/Eastern CapeAs part of its international expansion, Lindt & Sprüngli is in the process of forming a wholly owned subsidiary in South Africa, which has created the following career opportunities: Read more >>
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