A trading update from Woolies for the 20 weeks through 12 November, and the big news is that online food sales have surged by +46.2% and now contribute a statistically significant 5% of total South African sales. Group revenue was up a more muted +4.7%, affected by such factors as the Western Cape taxi strikes, congestion at ports, and the impact of the avian flu on the availability of key products. In other news, with implications perhaps for the wider industry, Woolies has taken imported Israeli pearl couscous off its shelves in response to credible threats it has received, and not, the retailer emphasises, because it supports a boycott or is pro-Palestinian. “Many of us have been deeply affected in various ways by the atrocities and death of innocent people we are witnessing on our screens. Intolerance is on the rise and, we as an organisation, cannot and will not add fuel to the fire, and will always continue to seek ways to bring people together,” read a statement from the business.

Comment: Conflict in the Middle East always has wider implications. But in this instance, businesses and individuals alike are being called on to take a position they may not wish to take, one way or the other.

Some of the negative nellies of the local press are already calling it Bleak Friday; we at Trade Intelligence decided to do our own research, in the form of a survey of 600 South African shoppers, conducted with the help of our friends at Chirp. We found that while the occasion is unlikely to be the spendapalooza of Black Fridays past, brands and retailers may yet have cause for cautious optimism. On the one hand, South Africans planning to engage with Black Friday in some way are excited – nearly two out of three say they are five-out-of-five excited for Black Friday. Household basics like groceries and other necessities occupied the top two planned purchases, with ‘gifts for myself’ in third: Black Friday is being seen as a way to stretch the beleaguered household grocery budget rather than an opportunity for indulgence. And punters are not expecting grocery retailers to bring the Black Friday specials; only one supermarket made the top 6, viz. Checkers in third, although Game and Makro took positions #1 and #4 respectively. A whopping 69% of respondents said they’ve set money aside to spend on Black Friday deals, and 30% planning to spend between R5,000 and R10,000, with a further 11% planning to spend more than R10,000.

Comment: For more on this research, have a look over here.

Awards season is upon us. First up, Boxer Superstores, which took home a number of awards at the coveted W&R Seta Awards held recently, including the Best Woman in Leadership, won by Ntombi Dludla, Group Executive: Stakeholder Engagement and Sustainability, and the Best Super Large Retailer and Best Innovation Programme, for its work in small scale farming. Moving on, Checkers recently took home the prestigious NielsenIQ BASES Breakthrough Innovation Award for its premium Forage and Feast private brand range, endorsed by SA’s first Michelin star chef, Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen. Since launching in 2020, Forage and Feast has expanded to include hundreds of products across 34 different categories, from artisanal cheeses to desserts, speciality deli items, and festive foods. In related news, Pick n Pay has been ordered by the Cape High Court to destroy the packaging or branding associated with its Crafted Collection premium private brand that bears too close a resemblance to the Forage and Feast branding. Pick n Pay has said it will seek leave to appeal. Finally, Pick n Pay was spared having to refund qualifying asap! shoppers for their grocery purchases for the first 19 days of November by the Protea’s capitulation to the Australian bowling attack in the semi.

Comment: Big up to Boxer and Checkers, each in their own way trading with a unique understanding of their target shoppers.

In the UK, impossibly dapper Marks & Spencer CEO Stuart Machin has decreed that the 3,800 staff – including himself and the other execs – at the posh retailer’s London head office have to spend at least seven days on the shop floor in order to pass their annual review. “And by the way that’s not just popping in, saying hi and doing your shopping – it’s proper work,” said Machin, who began his retail career as a teenage shelf-stacker at Sainsbury’s. The idea is that head office staff look for problems to fix, then propose solutions. This has led, for example, to extended paid leave for the parents of premature babies. “When the boss jumps in and gets their hands dirty, it shows why they ascended the ladder. It also makes them more relatable. This can help drive trust in the organisation and leadership, and help employees feel more comfortable about talking to a manager,” says one HR expert.

Comment: It might make executives more circumspect about replacing actual people with software or self-checkouts, too.

South Africa’s largest poultry business has just recorded its first-ever loss in its 23 years of business. Astral Foods, which took over the mantle from RCL FOODS some years ago, posted a loss of R512m for the year through September, even as revenue flatlined at R19.3bn. What gives? “Load shedding-related and bird flu costs decimated the group’s earnings for 2023,” says CEO Chris Schutte. Load shedding is a particularly complex issue in the chicken industry; as blackouts slow down the slaughtering process, chickens get larger, exceeding the 1.8kg limit preferred by the fast-food industry for example, while adding feed costs. Culling due to bird flu cost the business around R400m, while water supply disruption saw off another R31m. One analyst describes Astral as “the best cost producer in the sector and a very good operator” but pointed out that the widespread collapse of South Africa’s infrastructure had flatfooted even this excellent business.

Comment: Another great business brought low by impossible conditions.

More results for you, this time some maiden interims from the newly listed Premier, who reports that revenue rose +7.1% year-on-year to R9.4bn for the six months through September, and operating profit up +33.3% to R805m. The Millbake business performed particularly well, with revenue up +8.1%, while the Groceries and International categories grew +2%. The business has expanded its reach in recent months with the acquisition of a 35% stake in UK-based niche skincare range Science of Skin, and the launch of Lil-lets on Amazon in the US. Moving on, PepsiCo has announced an investment by its independent fund Kgodiso Development Fund into agri-tech company Khula! that will enable Khula! to continue developing innovative and sustainable financing for emerging farmers and support a marketplace that allows farmers to bridge gaps to market access. Finally, Clover has announced that it will be returning to the original packaging of its apparently iconic 2l milk bottle, in a nod to values and heritage. This follows an initiative to raise awareness of breast cancer through the use of pink packaging.

Comment: Although we remember when the only way you could get Clover milk was in a stumpy glass bottle with an aluminium cap, on your doorstep every morning.

As we enter the unknown territory of an El Niño summer, a group of agricultural economists has completed a study of the likely impacts of climate change on sub-Saharan Africa, and even a cursory skim makes for disturbing reading. They have found that countries in our region are extremely vulnerable to climate change, and that farmers here are not using effective adaptation strategies, which include planting drought tolerant crop varieties, and conserving water and soil. Among the expected agricultural impacts of climate change are yield reduction, food insecurity, income loss and poverty, decreased livestock productivity, and the vulnerability of smallholder farmers. What is needed, say the economists, is for countries to strengthen institutions for policy development and implementation, improve rural infrastructure, initiate public welfare programmes, and establish more forest plantations and maintain existing ones.

Comment: Vital reading; for more,click here.