| 6 Aug 2012 |
| Retail | South Africa |
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Retail, Associations, Banking & Finance, Brand news, Clothing & Textiles, Cold chain, Commercial property, CRM, CSI, Distribution, e-Commerce, Exhibitions & Events, FMCG, Franchising, Green sustainability, Health & Safety, Hospitality, Import/Export, Informal retailing, Instore, Logistics, Manufacturing, Merchandising, Packaging, Refrigeration, Regulatory, Research, Retail marketing, Retail services, Retail trends, Retailers, Security, Shipping & Transport, Shopfitting, Supply chain, Technology, Training, 2012 Design Indaba
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Celebrations and applicationsMore and more companies are joining the app world to engage their markets, making it easier for consumers to interact with their favourite brands. Two recent additions to this world come from Edcon and Standard Bank. I'm particularly excited by Edcon's SmartShop app: no more having to track down a shop assistant or stand in a queue to check prices, sizes and store availability. Once you have the app, just scan the barcode with your phone's camera and voila! Instant access to the stock info in real time. Other exciting news in the retail fashion world this week... - Local online fashion store Indiemode.co.za is gearing up for its launch at the end of August and is inviting local designers who'd like an online sales presence to contact them.
- Finalists for the maiden Renault New Talent Search have been named, and will showcase their designs at SA Fashion Week in Johannesburg this September.
- Hip Hop's CSR competition will see one of Cape Town Design School's students winning the opportunity to develop a womenswear range for the company.
And in case you didn't know, Bizcommunity is celebrating 11 years since our very first newsletter was sent out in 2001. To share the birthday love, we're running two competitions and giving away some awesome prizes, namely: a Big Boy Scooter, R20 000 in cash and Apple products. For a chance to win these prizes: - Go to our Facebook Page and leave us a message or take a picture of yourself and post to our Facebook wall. Best messages and photos win prizes.
- Go to Springleap for the Biz Bang t-shirt design competition and stand a chance to win your share of R20 000 for the best design.
Good luck! 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: FreeDigitalPhotos.netTop stories
Retail |  |
 International retailers setting up shop in SA as a gateway to the rest of the continent are likely to take a measured expansion approach‚ as they gain knowledge and test the local market. Read more >>
Retail share valuations are way too high, value-focused fund managers have been warning for well over a year. Paying no heed, the market has continued its love affair with retail in July, with the general retailers and food retailers indices on the JSE hitting new highs. Read more >>
 Bizcommunity.com would never be where it is today without the loyal support of our communities. To celebrate 11 years of Bizcommunity, 11 years of community and 11 years of industry news, we are running two competitions and giving away awesome prizes, namely, a Big Boy Scooter, R20 000 in cash and Apple products. Read more >>
Associations
 The entrepreneur section of the annual Business Women of the Year Awards, run by the Business Women's Association of South Africa, was announced late last week. Chief operations officer of Hirsch's, Margaret Hirsch, has been nominated as a finalist, together with Johanna Mukoki, MD and joint founder of Travel With Flair and Pria Hassan, CEO of Women of Africa Investments. The announcement of the winner of this category and the corporate category, will be announced at a gala function in Johannesburg on 28 August 2012. Read more >>
Banking & Finance
Brand news
In its first 'Partner to Win Supplier Summit' in South Africa, Unilever hosted 85 of its key suppliers with the theme 'Sustainable Living', which focused on the importance its partnerships and the crucial role they play in delivering on the group's Growth Plan targets. Read more >>
 Nangula Hamunyela, former MD of Nedloans, Nedbank's personal loans division, has been appointed as the first female MD for Engen Namibia. Read more >>
Clothing & Textiles
 Encouraging young designers to showcase their work, Hip Hop has launched a corporate social responsibility campaign called the Cape Town Design School final year student competition. This competition will see final year fashion students being given the opportunity to display their designs in order to win the opportunity to develop a womenswear range that will be sold to Hip Hop wholesale customers and nationwide stores. Read more >>
Commercial property
[Thabang Mokopanele] Property loan stock firm Synergy Income Fund, which specialises in shopping centres catering to lower living standards measure (LSM) sectors, yesterday estimated that it would take SA's property industry at least five years to catch up with the demand for retail property by lower-income consumers. Read more >>
Corporate Social Investment
e-Commerce
 [Bradley Maseko] With the exception of FNB, the digital innovation leader in the financial services sector, which launched its application (app) in July 2011, it has taken almost a year for the rest of the big four to launch their very own apps to engage the ever-growing digital generation which has over 70% of South Africans primarily accessing the internet through mobile platforms using smartphones. Read more >>
 On 31 August 2012, the latest online fashion store, Indiemode.co.za, will go live. Featuring local made fashion, the site is aimed at promoting independent designers that are not well known to the public. Read more >>
Exhibitions & Events
 Part of this year's SA Fashion Week, being held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rosebank, Johannesburg 27-30 September 2012, will be the showcasing of the finalists of the inaugural Renault New Talent Search. Read more >>
 The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa's (CGCSA) will be hosting its annual conference from 10-11 October 2012 at The Forum in Bryanston, Sandton. Having engaged with major stakeholders across the industry, a dynamic programme has been compiled which covers key themes relevant to the market today and into the future. These include the trading context, supply chain efficiencies, transforming the shopping experience, retailing in a digital era, profitable sustainability and the march into Africa. Read more >>
FMCG
Franchising
[Thabiso Mochiko] Virgin Mobile SA will reduce its franchise-owned stores from 38 to eight as part of its new strategy to improve "customer experience" and align its business processes with that of its new major shareholder, Friendi Group, it said Tuesday, 31 July 2012. Read more >>
Hospitality
 [Ian Said] Without restaurateurs being able to manage the flow of foods and supplies in an effective manner, the chances of making any sort of significant profit from food service shrink significantly. However, how does one effectively take control of inventory and what does it constitute? Read more >>
Logistics
Packaging
Regulatory
 [Sue Blaine] Motorists will have to pay a R2.30/kg levy on new tyres from October, but Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa's gazetting of a revised tyre recycling plan - which includes the levy - is unlikely to end her tussle with the industry. Read more >>
Research
 While pies are an established part of the South African consumer choice of on-the-go meals, growth is expected to stagnate during the coming years, BMi research has reported. Read more >>
Retail marketing
 Find out more about the current state of the alcohol advertising legislation, the new smoking laws and the facts about the newly approved food labelling regulations by listening to last week's podcast of the Biz Takeouts Marketing & Media radio show, which airs every Wednesday 5pm-6pm streamed live via 2oceansVibe Radio. [ twitterfall] Read more >>
Retailers
[Zeenat Moorad] In a move that will give scale to its lacklustre Australian business‚ Woolworths on Wednesday said Country Road‚ its 88% owned subsidiary, will acquire 40-year old fashion retailer Witchery Group from Gresham Private Equity for A$172m (about R1.5bn). Read more >>
[Zeenat Moorad] With the entrance of British fast-fashion chain Topshop into SA, the local clothing sector could count on a proliferation of new brands coming into the market, meaning more competition, lower prices and narrower margins, an analyst said yesterday. Read more >>
Security
Shipping & Transport
Supply chain
Technology
[Zeenat Moorad] Edcon‚ owner of Edgar‚ Legit and Jet‚ on Wednesday announced the launch its SmartShop mobile application‚ aimed at delivering a "multi-layered retail experience" for in-store shoppers. Read more >>
 [Wikus Engelbrecht] Marketers today face a dizzying array of options designed to help capture audience attention and drive sales. While email marketing through newsletters and coupons remains one of the most popular and successful vehicles for driving both online and in-store sales, mobile technologies have quickly gained momentum as the go-to choice for reaching consumers who are increasingly dependent on their mobile devices for everything from socialising to banking and shopping. This piece was co-authored by Kara Gray from New Horizon Consulting.* Read more >>
Training
 Reporters, bloggers and other media trying to boost their Twitter presence can learn a few tips from an unexpected discipline: electrical engineering. Read more >>
 A tuneful TV campaign, coupled with a Facebook app helps make music for Quidco, a service that allows people to save money every time they make an online purchase. Read more >>
 RESTON, US: comScore, Inc has released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the US mobile phone industry during the three-month average period ending June 2012. Read more >>
 ATHENS, GREECE / PARIS, FRANCE / DARMSTADT, GERMANY / KIEV, UKRAINE: Launching a daily, paid-for general interest newspaper in the midst of a nation's economic meltdown is not for the faint hearted. Publisher John Filippakis is proving his mettle after doing just that with the up-and-coming Dimokratia in Greece. Read more >>
 SAN JOSE, US: Samsung executives at the highest level made a decision to copy "every element" of the iPhone to compete in the smartphone market, a lawyer for Apple said as arguments began in a huge patent trial. Read more >>
 NEW YORK, US: Gayle Seminara Mandel of the New York-based International Awards Group interviewed AME's executive director, Alisun Armstrong, to find out what makes the AME's Awards tick, and get her views on awards programs generally - what makes them work, what makes them not work. Read more >>
 LONDON, UK: Nick Moon, managing director of Social Research at GfK, comments: "According to the latest GDP figures, the economy has suffered a further 0.7% decline between April and June. This is the third quarter in a row the economy has contracted, meaning the UK is now stuck in the worse double-dip recession since modern records began. It is not surprising therefore that the Index has remained the same this month, as consumer confidence remains as stagnant as the economy." Read more >>
 LONDON, UK: PwC's Key Trends in Human Capital 2012 report reveals that productivity levels saw a sharp drop in 2011 following a period of relative stability between 2006 and 2010. The report suggests this drop is driven by an increase in employee costs, which have jumped 16% from 2009 to around US$55 000 in 2011. Read more >>
More International...
Retail
 Since its launch in 2001, Bizcommunity has always seen the benefit for our readers of having industry jobs available on the site, as well as the benefit to companies looking for applicants and recruiters and recruitment agencies having a targeted audience pool to search for good quality applicants and CVs. Read more >>Corporate Social Investment
Nampak Bevcan, Nampak DivFood and Collect-a-Can have announced their joint title sponsorship of the 'Trekking for Trash' initiative under the CANdo umbrella which kicks off in October. Read more >>
"After careful consideration I've decided not to make any submissions. There are a number of issues I have with the [Judge Willie] Seriti commission" Read more >>
 Chairperson of the African Union Commission and Home Affairs Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has challenged women to this month concentrate their activities on making sure that they remove barriers to their economic emancipation. Read more >>
 PRETORIA: South Africans must save electricity as the country cannot afford to go back to a situation where load shedding is necessary like in 2008, says Eskom board chairperson Zola Tsotsi. Read more >>
 Transport Minister Ben Martins has "snuck through" changes to the National Road Traffic Regulations, bypassing Parliament, the DA claims. Read more >>
 Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini has blamed the poor management of grant beneficiaries' records as among the reasons behind the department's continuous qualified reports. She has now committed to achieve a clean audit opinion before 2014. Read more >>
 Public Service and Administration Minister Lindiwe Sisulu says the public sector wage settlement reached between government and labour unions last night will ensure stability, proper planning and chart a new way of doing things in government. Read more >>
 Gauteng Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant-General Mzwandile Petros is optimistic that the war against crime in the province and the country can be won. Read more >>
 [Gabi Khumalo] PRETORIA: The Traditional Courts Bill is in for an overhaul, says minister of women, children and people with disabilities, Lulu Xingwana. The announcement was made by the minister at the launch of Women's Month in Pretoria on Wednesday, 1 August 2012. Read more >>
 Heavy job losses in the manufacturing and trade sectors of the economy marred news yesterday that unemployment dipped unexpectedly during the second quarter of this year. Read more >>
The Board of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) on Tuesday announced the appointment of Patrick Dlamini‚ as the CEO of the Bank. Read more >>
 President Jacob Zuma has emphasised the need for skilled officials to run the financial affairs of municipalities following the recent damning report of auditor general Terence Nombembe on how local government systems were failing South Africans. Read more >>
 Eskom has not yet determined its final application to the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) with regards to its next tariff application, Eskom chief executive officer Brian Dames said on Monday. Read more >>
 South Africa remains in the top 15 'long-haul' business events destinations in the world and is the premier business events destination in Africa, says Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk. Read more >>
More Government news...
 [Alexander Parker] Surging entry-level new car sales‚ buoyant demand for taxis and LCVs and car-hungry rental companies are behind a remarkable 18.3% year-on-year increase in new vehicle sales last month‚ the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa) says. Read more >>
More Motoring news...
 Mauritius is a favourite international getaway for South Africans, four hours away by regular airline flights and a household name for its wide range of luxury resorts. Sun Resorts has also signed an agreement for the lease of Ambre Resort & Spa, a 4-star hotel located in on Belle Mare Bay on the sheltered east coast effective from October 2012, so start planning that breakaway... Read more >>
 [Rod Baker] If you're a Capetonian or just visiting our little spot of paradise (you're welcome, but aren't you sad you don't live here?), and you have a hankering to "see the flowers" as we in the Mother city are wont to say, you don't need to embark on "The Great Trek" to the far north. The flowers are virtually on our/your doorstep - in the West Coast National Park. Read more >>
 South African Airways (SAA) is introducing a new check-in baggage policy in response to varying customer requirements in each of its markets. The policy aligns with most of the larger Star Alliance member carriers ensuring a transparent and consistent set of rules across SAA and other Star Alliance network. Read more >>
More Travel news...
 [Daniel Dercksen] If you are an action fan looking for hard core entertainment that is rough and raw, you can safely bet on Safe. What an amazing title! One word that has a myriad meanings in this well-crafted and intricate story filled with intense drama, nail-biting suspense, mystery and laced with a deadly sense of dark humour. Read more >>
 The 4th Annual Nando's Durbs Comedy Festival will feature seven of the biggest comedians on one stage from 14 to 19 August at The Playhouse Theatre and the 5th Annual Nando's Jozi Comedy Festival will be held at the Teatro, Montecasino, from 20 to 26 August, 2012 and 3rd to the 9th of September 2012 at the Artscape Theatre. Read more >>
More BizLounge news...
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- 2012 Cape Homemakers Expo Homemakers - Cape Town, 23 August
- KZN Philharmonic Orchestra Womans Day Concert KZN Philharmonic Orchestra - Durban, 8 August
- 50% off entrance at the Pretoria Zoo National Zoological Gardens - Pretoria, 9 August
- #SAGirlsThatCode Digital Divas - Bryanston, 9 August
- KZNPO in concert with KZN tertiary institutions KZN Philharmonic Orchestra - Durban, 12 August
- Creative wildlife editing SAGE - Johannesburg, 14 August
- Benefits of Google apps for small/medium business Grove Group - Cape Town, 14 August
- Blue Ocean Strategy simulation workshop South African Institute of Chartered Accountants - Johannesburg, 14 August
- Writing for the web Institute for the Advancement of Journalism - Johannesburg, 14 August
- Shop stewards guide to organisational rights LabourNet - East London, 15 August
Click here to customise your events section
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