Retail South Africa weekly newsletter - 21 Nov 2011

Sales, sales and more sales

In five weeks, the annual insane holiday shopping rush will be over, we'll be living on leftovers and looking forward to a new year. But that's still five weeks away and right now, we're spiraling headlong into said insane shopping crunch. There's lots to do, see, and buy before then, so let's get down to it, shall we? Oh, and we'll throw in a side of news for good measure.

Retail trade sales were up, Stats SA reported last week, despite economists expecting a drop year-on-year. Also showing an increase were wholesale trade sales as well as food and beverage income.

Absa has launched its new contactless payment facility; and Hirsch's has broken ground for its first store in Cape Town, while also celebrating the naming of Margaret Hirsch as South Africa's most influential women in retail.

This time next week, the international e-commerce community should be ringing the bells, er, tills, of Cyber Monday - may it be a lucrative one. To everyone else, happy shopping!

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: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Margaret Hirsch named most influential businesswoman in retail

Margaret Hirsch of Hirsch's has won the Wholesale & Retail category of South Africa's Most Influential Women in Business & Government Awards for 2011. The countrywide competition, run by the CEO group, was by public vote online and through CEO's publications. Read more >>

Copyright dispute uncovers hidden assets, costs Mattel $300 million

[Theuns van de Merwe] Mattel may be regretting its copyright dispute with MGA over the Bratz doll line, as the appeal reversed a previous court decision and uncovered more malfeasance in trade secret misappropriation. Read more >>

Retail trade sales up 8.3% in August

South African retail trade sales at constant (2008) prices for September rose 8.3% year-on-year after a revised 7.7% growth in August, figures released on Wednesday, 16 November, by Statistics SA showed. Read more >>

Absa readies merchants for Tap and Go cards

Absa announced yesterday, 17 November 2011, that its 'tap-and-go' contactless payment facility is available to both standalone point of sale (POS) merchants and those who utilise advanced or integrated point of sale till systems. Read more >>

Edgars brings back 80s with Pineapple brand

The Pineapple activewear brand is launching exclusively in 15 Edgars' stores around the country in November 2011. The range, which is the brainchild of Debbie Moore, the successful executive who founded the Pineapple Dance Studios in London's West End in 1979, oozes the look made popular by 80s dance musicals, such as Fame and Footloose. Read more >>

Competition in new mall market hots up

The race to build Burgersfort's first regional mall has taken an intriguing turn. JSE-listed property heavyweight Resilient has been dragged into a bitter legal battle by Limpopo-based Cranbrook Property Projects. Read more >>

Stopping urban decay of Pretoria - wrecking or renovation

[Jan Oelofse] Despite the efforts of dedicated officials, who have visions of creating a world-class capital city, the strengths and potential of the Pretoria CBD are not being capitalised on and this strategic location faces the threat of urban decay. Read more >>

Social entrepreneur, Andrew Muir, acknowledged

For its social intervention and experiential environmental education programmes, the Wilderness Foundation's director, Andrew Muir, was selected as the winner in the Social Entrepreneur category for the 2011 Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Awards Programme. Read more >>

Food and beverage income lifts 7.2% y/y

Total income generated by SA's food and beverages industry lifted 7.2% in September from the same period a year ago, with food sales up 8.6% alone, according to Statistics SA data on Monday, 21 November. Read more >>

Winner of inaugural Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award

Late last week, the winner of the first Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award was announced as Joakim Hansi Blackadder, sommelier and GM of the Roundhouse Restaurant in Camps Bay, with Wayve Kolevsohn, restaurant manager and sommelier at The Tasting Room as second, followed by Greg Mutambe, sommelier at the 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa. Read more >>

Increasing Brazil and South Africa trade relations, delegation arrives

Brazil has announced that it will again host a trade mission to South Africa from 28-30 November 2011 where Brazilian entrepreneurs will participate in seminars, technical visits and business rounds with potential South African buyers, to demonstrate the country's commitment to increasing bilateral trade and investment. Read more >>

IMF says Wal-Mart's SA entry was transparent

[Paul Vecchiatto] Wal-Mart's R16.5 billion acquisition of Massmart has been a transparent process with all the regulatory bodies playing their parts properly, says the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Read more >>

IBM points to lower heels, bucking economic trend

[Zeenat Moorad] An IBM computer-based analysis of billions of social media posts has predicted an intriguing change on the horizon in women's shoe fashions, with heel heights currently in nosebleed territory poised to decline. Read more >>

Reviewing, forecasting property trends: Part 1

[Dr Andrew Golding] Against the backdrop of a year beset by both global and local challenges, the property market has continued its up and down performance in line with the past few years. While the South African housing market experienced unprecedented growth over the past decade or more, local residential property values did not experience nearly as sharp a decline as some other countries. Read more >>

Woolworths 20-week sales up 10.3%

Retailer Woolworths Holdings on Thursday said group sales for the first 20 weeks of the 2012 financial year increased by 10.3% over the comparable period in 2011. Sales in comparable stores grew by 7%. Read more >>

Clothing stores do well in tough conditions

[Annaleigh Vallie] Clothing retailers have been under pressure during the past few months, and have felt the effects of the cooling-off period after the Soccer World Cup, which inflated sales somewhat. Read more >>

Hirsch's opens in Cape Town

Building on its long success in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, a Hirsch's Homestore will open in Milnerton, Cape Town on 1 April 2012. Described as the largest independently owned appliance company in South Africa, it will service the developing area of Table Bay. Read more >>

Engen extends its artisan programme

Engen Refinery (Enref) has extended its learnership programme by three years, earmarking R5 million to take on 63 learners and train them to artisan level in the areas of fitting, instrumentation and electrical. Read more >>

C Squared creates new global commercial role; hires Haymarket lead

LONDON, UK: C Squared, the UK-based publishing and events company for the global marketing and advertising industry and founders of the Festival of Media, has announced that Ivor Falvey (currently director of Commercial Strategy at Haymarket Media) is to join the company. Read more >>

Interactive TVC brings great results

HONG KONG, CHINA: The humble TV commercial has been combined with a mobile app in China, with impressive results that saw the app become the top free app within 15 hours of launch and being downloaded 390 000 times. Read more >>

Cannes Lions launches mobile category: Tom Eslinger first jury chair

CANNES, FRANCE: The International Festival of Creativity - Cannes Lions - has announced that mobile will be added as a new awards section, launching at the 2012 Festival. Tom Eslinger, digital creative director of Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide, will preside over the Mobile Lions jury in its inaugural year. Read more >>

The One Show launches ONEderful campaign

NEW YORK, US: This year's One Show recognises what it calls that ONEderful place where deadlines give way to creative euphoria and that one, elusive idea suddenly hits you with what is designed to be a whimsical new marketing campaign, created by Washington, DC-based agency Design Army. Read more >>

Zuma on COP17: It can't be 'business as usual'

As thousands of delegates from all over the world make their way to Durban for the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) this week, President Jacob Zuma says South Africa is ready to welcome them but warns that the event cannot be a case of "business as usual". Read more >>

Yaris swaps ho-hum for brrm-brrm

[Henrie Geyser: motoring editor] As a motoring scribe my work involves driving some of the sexiest, fastest and most desirable cars on the planet, but it also means that I regularly have to enter the bottom feeder end of the market to drive small, often a tad silly, budget commuter prams with coffee mill engines. Yet, strangely enough, it's in this market segment where unexpected pleasant surprises pop up every now and then. Read more >>

Etihad Airways, Panasonic Avionics Corporation sign 10-year deal

Etihad Airways has selected Panasonic Avionics Corporation to provide the in-flight entertainment systems and in-flight connectivity, including broadband Internet and live TV, for the airline's entire long-haul fleet of wide body aircraft. Read more >>

Cruise Cape Town... it's cool!

City Sightseeing Cape Town, the company that operates the unmistakable and well-known red double decker open-top buses, has a new addition to their tour offerings in the form of a Hop On - Hop Off canal cruise that the company aims to ensure is unique, memorable and fun. Read more >>

100 000 tourists to visit Table Mountain?

IOL reports that Table Mountain's inclusion as one of the new 7 Wonders of Nature could boost tourism to Cape Town by R1,4 billion a year as more than 100 000 tourists are expected to visit the city to see the mountain. Read more >>

Traditional travel agency groups take South Africans for a ride, survey reveals

Synovate was appointed by Travelstart.co.za to conduct research into the South African travel agency industry. The results are disturbing... they indicate that many travellers are receiving a raw deal... A very raw deal. Read more >>

Travel and tourism firms explore new digital marketing horizons

[Wesley Lynch] Websites have always been considered a vital component of any online marketing plan in the tourism industry. However, while the traditional web may still be necessary to convert leads and facilitate bookings with tour operators, guest houses and hotels, etc, a number of other online and digital platforms are making a big impact. Read more >>

Rolling Stone to launch in SA this week

The well-known music, culture and current affairs magazine Rolling Stone will launch in South Africa on Wednesday, 23 November, 2011, as a monthly with a cover price of R34.95. It will cover everything from young visionaries and icons to politics, movies and more. Read more >>

Eat Out Restaurant Award winners announced

The winners of the 2011 Eat Out DStv Food Network Restaurant Awards, together with the Top 10 restaurants, have been announced. The gala ceremony was held at The Rotunda at The Bay Hotel in Cape Town where guests sampled gourmet creations from award-winning chefs. Read more >>

Extra 2000 tickets released for Lil Wayne

To meet demand from fans, the promoters of the South African leg of the Lil Wayne worldwide "I Am Still Music Tour" have released an extra 2000 tickets for the show at the Coca Cola Dome, Joburg on Friday, 9 December, 2011. The 300-pound hip-hop heavyweight Rick Ross will be the supporting act for the Joburg concert. Read more >>

Cool as Folk, green with goodwill

[Ruth Cooper] Happy hippy vibes were blossoming abundantly at Greenpop's third Cool as Folk party last weekend at Assembly. To be honest I don't think I have encountered such a friendly crowd before at the usually more cliquey Assembly, but it seems as if getting together for a good cause brings out the hug a stranger side of folks. As it should. Read more >>

International Fruit Trader - Kirkwood

Showcase your international fruit trading expertise and leverage your relationships with Middle-East, South East Asia, Russia, Africa and Mauritius. Join this emerging grower export group in the Eastern Cape. Read more >>

Limpopo Africa small business summit 2011 Ikapa Media - Mokopane, 21 November
Credit portfolio risk management workshop 2011 KAGO COMMUNICATIONS - Johannesburg, 21 November
Performance linked learning masterclass UNI Strategic - Singapore, 21 November
Momo Joburg - end of year MOMO Joburg - Johannesburg, 21 November
Mobile Web Africa 2011 All Amber - Johannesburg, 22 November
Greenside design center end of year exhibit Greenside Design Center College of Design - Johannesburg, 22 November
Nestle passport to taste The Inspiration Room - Cape Town, 23 November
Customer service training Tremendis Learning - Midrand, 23 November
Hirsch's business networking breakfast Hirsch's Centurion - Centurion, 24 November
Cavendish Square festive market - CAPE TOWN, 25 November

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