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Keep the customer satisfied Clicks Group and Sorbet Holdings today announced the formation of a new company, Sorbet Brands Pty Ltd, which will hold all the trademarks related to the Sorbet brand in Southern Africa. The group has also signed a long-term licence agreement with the holding company to be the exclusive product development partner and retailer of Sorbet ranges in the region. Following a slump in clothing sales over the Christmas trading period and having failed to revive sales in close to six years, Marks and Spencer announced last Thursday that CEO, Mark Bolland would retire. He will be succeeded on 2 April by Steve Rowe, a 27-year company veteran who heads the group's general-merchandise unit. Oliver Merkel and Allison Gans suggest why sales staff is crucial to retailers' customer retention. Similarly, Tess Sulaman explains why brand loyalty is dead, using Simon & Garfunkel as a case in point. "Keep the customer satisfied [released in 1970] tells the story of the lengths the band would go to - the travelling, the exhaustion, being away from home - to perform to their fans. The song reflects the sentiments they sing about in another of their songs, Homeward Bound. Interestingly, though, Simon & Garfunkel never sing about fan acquisition, only fan retention. Keeping their existing customers (or fans) satisfied was their primary focus." Jessica Taylor, Retail Editor (@Biz_Retail)
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Clicks Group and Sorbet Holdings have announced the formation of Sorbet Brands, which will hold all the trademarks related to the Sorbet Brand in southern Africa... Read | Sam Chambers LONDON - Marks & Spencer (M&S) CEO Marc Bolland will step down after failing to revive clothing sales in almost six years at the British retailing bellwether... Read | LONDON - British retailer Marks and Spencer said Thursday that chief executive Marc Bolland would retire, as the group announced a slump in clothing sales during the key Christmas trading period... Read | Oliver Merkel and Allison Gans In a retail world focused on omnichannel strategies, product and service innovations, information-technology investments and technology-enabled stores of the future, winning retailers are taking a new look at their store labour models and budgets... Read | Tess Sulaman Where are we headed in this fiercely competitive tech world, and how do we keep our customers satisfied? Read | Jackie Burger My inquisitive nature has always been a driving force in my field of study and subsequent career choices... Read |
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 | Marc Hasenfuss Shareholders in poultry group Sovereign Food Investments will be anxiously watching the Stock Exchange News Service on Thursday for a possible disclosure around a key change to the company's shareholding... read | | |
 | The Shoprite Group is reaching out and assisting various local communities that have been left without water or hit by water shortages as a result of the persistent drought that is plaguing South Africa... read | | |
 | Jan Kühn By applying the gaming principles of reward, competition, social recognition, mastery and immediate feedback (termed 'gamification'), companies can use familiar and effective strategies driven by technology to motivate, engage and retain this ever-expanding group of workers, Generation Y... read | | |
 | Gordon Barker During the 18 years of doing online business I realised that video can become life changing to companies and brands in 2016. We all know how powerful TV advertising is... read | | |
 | Bula Deals, South Africa's latest online shop with an international footprint has recently emerged into the market, offering customers some of the best deals and unbeatable prices on a range of products, from gadgets to unique experiences, the latest mobile phones or exciting safari packages... read | |  | Paul Adepoju Even though e-commerce giants Jumia and Konga are still Nigeria's foremost startup companies, attention is gradually being extended to other sectors as 2015 saw the launch... read | |  | Jacques Coetzee Even though South Africa's e-commerce sector is estimated to make up only one percent of the total market for consumer goods, we've over the last few years seen many players bank on this figure to grow... read | | |
 | Eugene Yiga Van Ryn's 12-year-old Distillers Reserve competed with more than 7,000 entries and won the Worldwide Brandy trophy at the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) in London last year. It was the 12th time a local brandy had scooped the top prize in the past 15 years... read | |  | Mark Allix Tiger Brands says it has made "good progress" in its search for a new CEO after former head Peter Matlare gave notice late last year amid fallout from the group's failed multibillion-rand Nigerian investment... read | | |
 | Clinton Smith While many believe that do-it-yourself cleaning products are safer for their users and the environment, because they do not contain chemicals, recent research has indicated that this may not be the case... read | | |
 | Helmo Preuss SA's bulk export volumes rose 7.3% in 2015 to a record 168-million tons (Mt) after only a 2.6% gain in 2014 and a 2.8% rise in 2013, data from the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) showed on Friday... read | |  | Karabo Ngoepe The possible suspension of South Africa from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) will hugely affect the agricultural sector first... read | | |
 | Mark Allix Diversified packaging maker Nampak has released the quantum of incentive share awards for eight key executives over the next three years, amounting to a tidy R36m... read | | |
 | President Barack Obama is set to announce that he is suspending duty-free treatment of South African agricultural products under the African Growth and Opportunity Act... read | | |
 | German top-of-the-range carmakers Audi and Mercedes-Benz reported record sales in 2015, even holding their own in China despite difficult market conditions... read | |  | Moyagabo Maake The weaker rand did not do much to bolster vehicle exports last month, as data released on Thursday showed exports were the worst in three years... read | | |
 | Heineken has pushed its Next Level Bar beyond the streets of Braamfontein and into the cyber world... read | |  | LAS VEGAS: A battle for the title of best new television opened Tuesday at the Consumer Electronics Show, with titans fielding new slim, smart, ultra high-definition models... read | | |
 | Sandra Swanepoel In a difficult economic climate, the training and education budget is often one of the first areas of the business to suffer cutbacks. After all, training can be expensive, takes people away from the work they're paid to do and often delivers benefits that can be hard to quantify... read | | |  | ROME - Dolce and Gabbana, designers best known for womenswear inspired by the sultry sensualism of southern Italy, are attacking the booming middle Eastern market for high fashion with a collection of abayas and hijabs... read | |  | SEOUL - Samsung Electronics on Friday flagged a 15 percent increase in 2015 Q4 operating profit, rounding off a year in which the world's largest smartphone producer struggled with fierce competition from arch-rival Apple and cut-price Chinese competitors... read | |  | LAS VEGAS - Fitbit on Tuesday unveiled its 'smart fitness watch', aiming to get into the growing smartwatch segment with upgraded fitness tracking features... read | |  | KIEV - All Coca-Cola wanted to do was to wish consumers a Happy New Year, but instead it ended up stirring anger in two markets, Russia and Ukraine, over the disputed territory of Crimea... read | |  | LAS VEGAS, USA: Facebook-owned Oculus VR will begin taking orders for its Rift virtual reality headsets on Wednesday, as the doors of Consumer Electronics Show gadget extravaganza officially open in Las Vegas... read | |  | LAS VEGAS - Spending on personal tech gadgets is taking a hit from the economic slowdown in China and the strong US dollar, researchers from the Consumer Technology Association said Monday... read | |  | BERLIN - Online retail giant Amazon said it will donate the profits from the online purchase of a tune released by the far-right anti-migrant PEGIDA movement to refugees in Germany... read | | | More International | |
| Lula Fabrics (www.lulafabrics.com) offers exciting opportunities to consultants equipped to increase brand presence and sales in the interior decorating and hospitality and commercial procurement markets in inland provinces. Read more >>
| | | Effective customer careFront Foot Strategic Consulting - 21 Jan 2016, Randburg | 22 Jan 2016, Boksburg | 16 Feb 2016, Randburg | | |
| Theodore Roosevelt "It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed." Theodore Roosevelt "Believe you can and you're halfway there." George S. Patton "Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory." Plutarch "What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality." Edmond Mbiaka "Just because many have tried and failed, doesn't make the task impossible." |
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