RETAIL NEWS ON FASTMOVING

The pharmaceutical sector - both locally and globally - is following suite with general retail and going through uncertain times. More consumers are shopping the basics with baskets of necessities only. As CEO of the Shoprite Group, Pieter Engelbrecht, said in response to their interim results (which speak for the average South African), “In the external operating environment, economic conditions have left the group's core customer under significant financial pressure.” read more

British online fashion group Boohoo bucked a tough retail market with robust sales growth in its latest quarter as its offer of cheap clothing, delivered quickly, chimed with shoppers. read more

Shares in Woolworths have rebounded in recent weeks, thanks to a recovery in the sector and optimism that the worst may be over for the high-end retailer, whose foray into Australia has proven costly for investors. read more

SA’s retail sales jumped 2.4% in April, led by clothing retailers, adding to hopes that a technical recession may be avoided in the second quarter. read more

The much-anticipated R1.2 billion Capital Mall in Atteridgeville will go ahead despite efforts to halt its construction on the basis that it would “cannibalise” smaller shopping centres in the vicinity.  read more

Zimbabwe’s biggest retail operator, OK Zimbabwe is revamping its outlets and plans to open more stores, riding on the back of a 37 percent revenue increase and limited exposure to foreign currency woes afflicting other operators and industries in the country. read more

Naseema Adams has had enough. She has decided to close her women’s clothing store after four years. read more

Prospects for retail sector companies on the JSE had withered this year in line with the slumping economy, but there were outliers, such as Foschini and Clicks, providing good returns for shareholders in the sector, analysts said. read more

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon says the retailer is concerned that fresh produce prices would rise if tariffs are placed on imports from Mexico.  read more

Retail banks have been slower to embrace blockchain technology and face greater challenges in reaping its potential benefits than their more adventurous counterparts in the investment-banking world, according to new research from McKinsey & Co. read more

High-end retailer Woolworths has appointed Christopher Colfer, a former CEO of Richemont’s Alfred Dunhill business, as an independent non-executive director, with effect from July 1. read more

Steinhoff's [JSE:SNH] financial scandal and sugar maker Tongaat Hulett’s [JSE:TON] admission it may need to restate results is spurring South African auditors to weigh tougher measures for the profession. read more

Sainsbury’s has announced its latest moves to reduce the amount of plastic it uses. This includes the retailer removing the plastic bags in its stores used for loose fruit, vegetables, and bakery items. read more

South Africa’s leading value retailer Ackermans has been announced as the Platinum winner in the Children’s Clothing Store category at the 2019 Beeld Reader’s Choice Awards. read more

LVMH shares gained after the head of the Louis Vuitton brand gave a rosy view of its China business, easing concerns about the effects of a trade war with the US.  read more

Since 2008 Pick n Pay has reduced its energy intensity per square metre by 36.9% through both improvements in technology and behavioural change. The group has also expanded its solar installations.  read more

Alibaba is considering raising as much as $20bn through a listing in Hong Kong, people familiar with the matter say, lining up a second blockbuster deal following its 2014 record $25bn float in New York. read more

Waitrose has launched a new scheme where customers will be able to fill up or refill their own containers with a range of products as part of its ambitions to reduce waste. read more

Retail displays and visual merchandising are — and will always be — essential in driving attention and conversion in brick-and-mortar retail. Studies have shown that much of the information that human beings process comes through the sense of sight.  read more

The Competition Commission said that it wants Pick n Pay, Woolworths, Spar, and Shoprite to stop enforcing exclusivity clauses in shopping malls they do business to allow for more competition. read more

Mr Price Group’s new CEO wants the retailer to take a new approach to offshore growth after the group pulled the plug on its fledgling Australian business and as it considers doing the same in Poland. read more

La Lucia Mall is undertaking a major upgrade that aims to modernise and re-imagine its retail space. The centre said it had undergone eight extensions and five major mall upgrades since it first opened its doors in 1974 in order to be at the forefront of retail trends. read more

For apparel retailers, the plot has to unfold just right for investors to buy into the narrative. And by the market’s reaction, they clearly did not stick to the script. read more

Artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things and other next-generation automation technologies are starting to revolutionise the retail business. One glimpse of the future can be seen in Amazon Go’s “Just Walk Out” stores, now open in a handful of major cities in the US. read more

Food Lover’s Market has expanded its hugely popular eatery stores in Gauteng with the launch of Food Lover’s Eatery in Braamfontein’s Business Improvement District. The store opened on May 16 to a positive response from the local business community and the University of the Witswatersrand students. The newest addition to the Eatery division saw 4,000 customers on opening day, with a queue leading out of the store for most of the day.  read more

Mr Price Group’s shares opened sharply higher after the company raised its annual dividend thanks to better earnings. read more

Massmart, which owns the Game and Makro chains and other smaller retailers, received a major boost after the Competition Commission said Spar, Pick n Pay, Shoprite and Woolworths should be barred from entering into long-term exclusive lease agreements. read more

Long-term exclusive lease agreements by SA's major supermarket chains at shopping centres are stopping new competitors from getting a foothold, the Competition Commission has found.  read more

The acquisition of cash retailer United Furniture Outlets (UFO), along with changes to credit granting regulations, boosted the results for the furniture and appliance retailer Lewis Group, despite a sluggish economy. read more

A recent study suggests that grocery shoppers who use their phones in the supermarket end up spending, on average, 41% more than those who don’t.  read more

Pepkor, which owns the Pep and Ackermans brands, says sales and earnings rose in the six months to end-March thanks partly to market-share gains in clothing and merchandise. read more

I was recently asked to give advice to someone wanting to launch an FMCG product in the pharmaceutical space in South Africa. My short answer was that it would prove tricky at this particular point and time. But of course, there are some tips to be shared from practical knowledge of the business, here are ten of mine.  read more

Building contractors are on site at Paledi Mall in the rural Limpopo town of Mankweng, with construction underway on the 7000m² third phase expansion of the centre that will take it to 32,000m² in size. The project will entrench the mall’s position as a regional shopping centre for the community with several new stores, service offerings, and leisure spaces. read more

The “retail apocalypse” in the US has claimed more victims in the first quarter of the year than last year combined.  read more

Massmart Holdings fell the most in three months as the troubled SA retail chain warned on profit and majority shareholder Walmart sent one its own to help stem declines.  read more

The parent company of French grocery chain Casino insisted on Friday that there would be no consequences for some of the country’s best-known supermarket brands after it filed for bankruptcy protection following a long battle with hedge funds.  read more

Online turnover grew 57.2% in the year and now accounts for 8.8% of group sales, with 23 brands of its 29 now available online. read more

Shares in Massmart, which owns the Game and Makro chains, fell 12.5% to R68.24 in early trade on Thursday after the retailer said earnings in the six months to June could more than halve.  read more

Tiger Brands, which carries brands including Koo canned foods, All Gold, and Tastic rice, said that revenue from continuing operations fell 2% to R15.4 billion in the interim period. read more

Global food-services group Bidcorp expects rising food price inflation in SA, where food producers and retailers are grappling with higher costs and low selling price increases. read more

Nike, Adidas, and other footwear giants urged President Donald Trump to reconsider his tariffs on shoes made in China, saying the policy would be “catastrophic for our consumers, our companies and the American economy as a whole”. read more

Rhodes Food Group, which makes Bull Brand corned meat and Bisto gravies, says profit after tax was slightly down in the six months to end-March despite better sales. read more

Corporate America has been under political pressure to ramp up investments at home. read more

In our daily lives, we hardly give the barcode a second thought. We only really come across it when we’re shopping and even then, it’s merely a ‘bunch of lines and spaces’ that helps us process the transaction and buy an item. read more

As the country’s excitement builds to back the Proteas, Pick n Pay has launched Cricket Super Cards for all South Africans to get to know their favourite cricket players.  read more

Weak performances in the retail, mining and manufacturing sectors, which bore the brunt of the most severe power cuts the country has experienced yet, indicates that the economy contracted in the first quarter of the year. read more

Richemont chair John Rupert says group sales rose 27%, 'reflecting growth across all business areas and distribution channels.' read more

Fashion retailers are faced with a dilemma: to keep up with the demands of 'fast fashion' they need rapid stock turnover. But what do they do with the surplus? read more

Consumers were under pressure in March with a 74c/l hike in the petrol price and slightly higher inflation. read more

Dis-Chem Pharmacies says a strike by employees that lasted nearly five months shaved up to R76.4m off its profits in the year to end-February. read more

Brian Joffe’s Long4Life says its Sorbet beauty and grooming business boosted profits in the year to end-February as the chain’s salons for male customers gained traction. read more

Spar Group has hiked its half-year payout to shareholders by 5.2% on the back of “a strong performance” in the six months to end-March. read more

Pepkor, previously Steinhoff Africa Retail, said that its half-year earnings rose by up to 54.1%. read more

Steinhoff International was for many years run by a board of tight-knit people, many of whom had done business together for decades. Just how close they were became apparent with the release of Steinhoff’s 2017 annual report which identified a plethora of related-party transactions that the company now says weren’t properly disclosed according to best corporate governance practice. read more

Pop star Rihanna is joining LVMH to launch a fashion house under her Fenty brand, pairing the world’s largest luxury conglomerate with one of the biggest cultural influencers. read more

Africa’s largest grocer Shoprite said that its lead independent director Edward Kieswetter had resigned as a result of his appointment as the commissioner of the SA Revenue Services (Sars).  read more

Londani Nemaguvhuni’s Sunday trip to the Mall of Africa north of Johannesburg is a finely balanced operation. The 29-year-old has to provide for his young son but also needs to cut costs. read more

Talk of a looming global recession continues to impact emerging markets. And, as South Africa continues its longest downward cycle in many decades, local business owners are actively looking for ways to shore up ahead of future uncertainty.  read more

With the share price almost 50% below its 12-month peak, there was little surprise from the market at the departure of Massmart CEO Guy Hayward. It comes a week after the news that CFO Johannes van Lierop was stepping down. read more

With experiential retail being one of the hottest trends in the retail and shopping centre industry right now, the South African Council of Shopping Centres (SACSC) commissioned a research report to get insight into the growth of experiential retail in the local mall marketplace.  read more

By purchasing your Slipper Day 2019 wristband for R10 at any Pick n Pay, Wimpy or Dis-Chem, you will contribute to providing strength, hope and courage to children with life-threating illnesses that Reach For A Dream empowers. read more

Hugo Boss says the renovation of several major stores should revive sales growth after the German fashion house reported a drop in first-quarter earnings due to reorganisation costs, higher marketing spending and a strong US dollar.  read more

Innovative phygital business models, where bricks and mortar and digital seamlessly integrate, are popping up across the globe. But the best phygital experiences still remain aligned with old-school sales strategies: Customer attraction, retention, engagement, experiences, loyalty and the brand itself. The factors which keep shifting are shopping behaviour and new technology. The upshot is: to keep in the retail game, phygital is the way to go and it’s currently an adapt or die situation.  read more

Checkers customers who loved its highly popular Little Shop and Little Garden promotions are in for a treat with the launch of Little Checkers.  read more

Without the deal with its creditors, there would have been a real danger that the retailer, which employs about 40,000 people, 14,000 of whom are full-time, would have gone under. The closure of Edcon would have had far-reaching implications, as its chains account for about 10% retail space in SA, and source much of their clothing from local manufacturers. Given the implications of Edcon shutting its doors, the government has been very supportive of the deal. read more

South Africa’s largest private sector employer, the Shoprite Group, created 409 new jobs with the opening of 16 new stores across five provinces in South Africa during the second half of April 2019.  read more

WG Compass is used by suppliers to prompt in-store merchandisers to check stock levels, allowing them to quickly fix potential out-of-stocks or merchandising issues.  read more

In a constant drive to excite and inspire customers, Builders has developed a new store prototype which was debuted at Builders Warehouse Boksburg last week. The store not only features a new layout and look & feel, it has been relocated from its previous site, adjacent to the new location, giving it a total overhaul.  read more

Investors seem to think it’s the retail turnaround story of the decade. But while it’s indisputable that CEO Richard Brasher has finally steered Pick n Payout of the financial wilderness, the holy grail of fatter profit margins still remains elusive. read more

Walmart-owned Massmart, the retailer whose brands include Makro and Game, says Mohammed Abdool-Samad will take over as its chief financial officer from August 1.  read more

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has confirmed that it is blocking the proposed merger of Sainsbury’s and Asda. The two chains, along with Walmart, have since stated that they are abandoning the deal. read more

Fashion brand H&M has become the first major retailer to list individual supplier details for each garment on its website to increase transparency in an industry with high risks of slavery and labour abuses.  read more

Majestic Wine could sell its 200 or so branches in Britain as it shifts focus to its booming online business Naked Wines, the retailer said. read more

E-commerce giant Amazon and French retailer Casino are expanding their partnership, with Amazon installing pick-up lockers in Casino stores and more of the French company’s products to be available on Amazon.  read more

After a six-month trial in four of its Western Cape stores, including the launch of their first plastic bag free store, Woolworths confirms that it will be rolling out its new low-cost, reusable bag to more stores across the country as well as announcing three more ‘plastic shopping bag free’ stores.  read more

South Africa has been a net importer of butter for years. In 2018, 85% of those imports came from as far afield as New Zealand, Denmark, Ireland, and the Ukraine. read more

The 10th annual AskAfrika Kasi Star Brands Survey, which measures brand relevance across all segments of the demographic, has awarded leading value retailer Ackermans the top award in the Clothing Retail: Children’s category. read more

Retailers must accept that cash crime is prevalent in SA and not going away any time soon, says Richard Phillips, joint CEO of retail cash management company Cash Connect. read more

SA shoppers spent more than expected in February, with retail sales growing 1.1% year on year, led by expenditure in the textiles, footwear and clothing sector. read more

L’Oreal got more revenue from Asia than from Western Europe for the first time last quarter as the region’s surging demand for luxury products continued to resist the drag of a slower Chinese economy. read more

There is a tendency among criminals to use the Easter long weekend - and its spike in shopping - to their advantage, says Richard Phillips, joint CEO of retail cash management company Cash Connect. read more

Checkers hot cross buns are trending on social media and South Africans are in stitches following the release of a viral video in which a false-positive breathalyser reading was recorded for a police officer. read more

Clicks Group says it grew headline earnings by 12.9% to R763.3m in the six months to February thanks in part to better sales of its private-label products and higher profits from its distribution business. read more

Mulberry has launched a partnership with online luxury fashion retailer Farfetch to strengthen its international omnichannel strategy. read more

While there’s pessimism in the air with regards to global product sales, every day there are also groundbreaking changes being implemented by brands and activists who genuinely want to “be the change” when it comes to sustainability. Influencers and businesses are seeking to establish new markets through innovation, leveraging their ideas and products to help fight climate change. read more

Thrift is increasingly going mainstream and a Gumtree survey estimates it could be worth more than R1trn in terms of items in SA households that are not being used, that the owners would happily sell. read more

Debenhams’ lenders took control of the ailing retailer after it went into administration, wiping out shareholders including billionaire Mike Ashley in the latest corporate failure on Britain’s high street. read more

Pick n Pay, under its joint venture deal in Zimbabwe, has approved an expansion programme in the troubled country despite waning consumer spending power and disturbances to operations in the past few months.  read more

Made by entrepreneurial spirited local gin brand Sugarbird®, the Sugarbird Gin Eggs is the brainchild of co-owners Nzeka Biyela and Rob Heyns.  read more

The start of 2019 has been bleak for most SA retailers, raising questions about the future of the sector. read more

Data shows that 2 out of 3 South African consumers participated in Black Friday shopping at some point, according to Isana Cordier, sector head for consumer goods and services, corporate and investment banking at ABSA.  read more

Ted Baker has agreed to a new joint venture with Shanghai LongShang Trading Company to expand its brand in the East Asia region.  read more

Debenhams’ lenders took control of the ailing British retailer after it went into administration, wiping out shareholders including billionaire Mike Ashley in the latest corporate failure on the high street. read more

Over the next two weeks, Pick n Pay will give 20 000 customers a free reusable bag every day in stores across the country.  read more

Pick n Pay, one of South Africa’s largest supermarket chains rose after the group reported turnover growth of almost 10 percent in the financial year to the end of March, underscoring the resilience of its South African division, which clawed back market share from competitors. read more

Smartphones have become the go-to technology for online shopping, with more than 20percent of South African consumers using them weekly over other mobile devices. read more

Retail is not dead, and physical stores are not dead, but "boring retail" is dead, according to Linah Maigurira, Google's head of retail business in South Africa.  read more

Nestlé is looking to take a bite of the fast-growing vegan foods market with a range of plant-based burgers, saying its recipes could compete for taste with traditional beef patties. read more

Shares in Superdry fell more than 11% after founder Julian Dunkerton narrowly forced his way back into the company, which sparked the exit of most of its board members, including top executives. read more

More and more consumers are buying into the idea of loyalty programmes — and it’s paying off for retailers in terms of valuable information, as well as increased revenues.  read more