The Pick n Pay interims are in, and oooh boy. Group turnover was up +5.4% to R54.1bn, declining at the core supermarkets with growth of only +0.3%, and buoyed as usual by Boxer, which grew +16.1%. And – here’s the kicker – the business posted a trading loss of -97.1%. The Group has already announced a leadership change; something else that might be headed for the chopping block is the Ekuseni strategy, by which numerous Pick n Pay stores were converted to QualiSaves. “To be honest, the execution of that strategy needs to be revisited and we need to have a look at what is actually going on that we're not getting the return we set about getting,” said incoming CEO Sean Summers. “So yes, those Ekuseni numbers and targets are going to be revisited.” This might involve converting some QualiSave stores back to Pick n Pays or into Boxers.

Comment: Some unkind commentators have suggested that the return of Summers means that Pick n Pay is out of any other ideas. For more on those alarming results, have a look at our excellent summary.

Some significant developments in sustainability from our retailers this week. First up, Pick n Pay, which is extending its partnership with WWF South Africa to address Scope 3 emissions and Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) target-setting for Pick n Pay’s supply chain. The partners, who first worked together on Pick n Pay’s sustainable seafood work in 2006, will also work on developing a strategy to reduce food waste within the supply chain. With WWF, Pick n Pay will empower its suppliers to navigate water-related risks, enhancing methods for measuring food loss and waste across their operations and supply chain. Next, SPAR has commenced roll-out of its electric vehicle fleet for deliveries ordered via the SPAR2U online shopping platform. “Our goal is to achieve a 50% SPAR2U green fleet by 2025, not only enhancing our nationwide availability but also delivering a greater positive environmental impact,” says omnichannel exec Blake Raubenheimer. Finally, Makro, which has called off its e-waste recycling campaign due to an overwhelming response by punters last weekend. The “Future Started Yesterday” campaign, which rewarded people for handing in their electric waste with Makro vouchers up to R600 per person per day, was initially planned over two consecutive weekends. Over 12,500 people dropped off 130 tonnes of appliances and electronic equipment last Saturday and Sunday alone, resulting in all the allocated vouchers being snapped up.

Comment: “Money for jam,” as one Twitter user so aptly described it. And in these straitened times, who wouldn’t want some of that.

Inserting itself into the South African dialogue this week is Woolies, which has announced a partnership with the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation to convene a national conversation about our identities and ways in which we can reimagine how we belong together as a society. This collaboration aims to ignite a nationwide dialogue around belonging, focus attention on the rich tapestry of identities within our society, and foster meaningful, inclusive conversations that strengthen our shared humanity. In practical terms, the initiative will launch with a panel discussion on identity and belonging in South Africa on 25 October, bringing together such luminaries as Lwando Xaso, Dr Buhle Zuma, and others willing to embark on a courageous conversation addressing the process of reimagining who we can be together as a society. The panel will be followed by a multimedia storytelling campaign, launching early in the new year, which will explore some aspects of discrimination that manifest in South Africa.

Comment: Intriguing, timely, and hopefully a small but important step towards a country where everyone feels they truly belong.

Taking its turn in the legal barrel this week is Dis-Chem, currently being sued by HG Manolas CC, trading as Sunward Park Pharmacy, which some years ago sold a pharmacy to Dis-Chem, which it now alleges breached the sale agreement by not fulfilling obligations in the contract, that remain sub judice, and is suing the listed chain for close on R12m in damages. The continuation of the trial is uncertain; the eponymous Mr Manolas has apparently decided to bring the case himself, without benefit of legal representation, despite the fact that our law doesn’t usually allow for this. Sticking with the law, former Clicks finance clerk Themba Maneli has been sentenced to eight years in clink after creating fake purchase orders that led to Clicks paying more than R4m to his company. He and his girlfriend Nanky Tozama Kanase were charged with six counts of fraud and two counts of money laundering. Next, Shoprite’s Oom Christo Wiese has disposed of almost R1bn worth of his stock on the open market, leaving him with just north of a 10% stake in the business. Finally, Woolies, which has been in financial services for years and is now offering pet insurance through the extremely clunkily-named WPetInsure, which offers four plans ranging from R115 to R460 per month.

Comment: Although Woolworths doesn’t have a standalone pet store (yet), it has a mean range of pet food and accessories on its online platforms. Pet insurance would seem to be the next step.

To Ireland first, where credit card spending at home was down -8% for the month of September compared to August, as consumer spending took a dive at the end of what passes for summer on that misty isle. Irish rugby fans blew it all in France, where their card spending was up +9%. Until last Saturday, that is. Next, to the US, where third-largest retail pharmacy chain Rite Aid has filed for bankruptcy, amid piles of debt, declining sales, and prescription painkiller lawsuits. The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing means the troubled chain plans to stay in business while restructuring its debts through a court-controlled process. Rite Aid currently owns 2,000 stores in 17 states and will be closing more than a few of those. It has in recent years become the plaintiff in many lawsuits in which it is accused of knowingly filling prescriptions for addictive painkillers that did not meet legal requirements.

Comment: The US is fast becoming a graveyard for the losers on the battlefields of unregulated capital.

A quiet week among the suppliers, so let’s take a look at a couple of innovations in packaging and merchandising. Tetrapak has introduced a new product, the Tetra Pak Tetra Brik Aseptic, a shimmery carton that will get its first airing as the container of choice for Clover Bliss Double Cream Custard. “It allows designs, brand names, and/or logos to pop out with a tin-like metallic effect, bringing a contrast between metallic and non-metallic to emphasise key product aspects” says Lebohang MothobiTilo. No word yet on sustainability or otherwise of this specific product, although Tetrapak is edging towards a more planet-friendly business by using recycled materials and reducing its carbon footprint, among other measures. Next, local outfit Pyrotec PackMedia, which offers discerning marketers the ability to display their products vertically and in front for the actual shelf using its proprietary Klip Strip and Do-It® Hang Tabs. Klip Strips, in particular offer many benefits – flexible attachments for different weights, impulsability, and the capacity to pre-load before hanging. And they’re made of recycled plastics.

Comment: Truly we live in a time of wonders.

More industrial action, of which there has been a fair bit these past months. This time an indefinite strike at Pioneer’s Clayville plant in Ekurhuleni, where Afadwu-affiliated workers have downed tools over pay increases. They want 8%, Pioneer is offering 6%. Globally, parent company PepsiCo (see what we did there?) is doing alright, raising its annual profit forecast for a third time this year, as it racks up a veritable rash of price increases in its major markets and enjoys the resilient demand for its snacks and beverages, seen by many punters as affordable luxuries to take the edge off these difficult times. While its volumes were down -2.5% for the third quarter, its prices increased +11%, with net revenue up almost +7% to US$23.45bn. Finally, one last tranche of legal shenanigans: as you will recall, last week we reported that the Competition Tribunal was questioning the proposed R16m antitrust settlement between the Competition Commission and Unilever, citing that the sum seemed low. This week, Unilever has agreed to a R400m settlement over the alleged market division of margarine with Malaysian outfit Sime Darby Hudson Knight in SA between 2004 and 2012. Unilever admits no wrongdoing, and much of the settlement goes to substantial investments in procurement and supplier development.

Comment: A positive outcome. Nice work.

We are a country not particularly known for consumer activism. But sometimes someone is willing to put their head over the parapet, in this instance perennial gadfly Visvin Reddy and his organisation People Against Petrol and Paraffin Price Increases (PAPPI). Petrol prices have increased +20% since the start of the year and diesel by +17.7%, despite consecutive cuts in the first half, and PAPPI have had enough. “I think it spells disaster for every South African – irrespective of whether you’re a motorist and own a car or not. What we need to understand is that when fuel prices go up – especially the price of diesel, it means that food prices, the cost of living, everything goes up,” says Reddy. Among the solutions, he says, are to acquire fuel from non-OPEC countries like Russia and China, or to keep some of that coal-produced petrol that Sasol flogs across our borders. Cut the general fuel levy and make up the R95bn in lost revenues by taxing the big boys on the JSE. Thinking creatively, we could get prices back down to around R10 a litre.

Comment: Pie in the sky? Perhaps. But something’s got to give.