The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) has revealed that in the recent drive for the registration of informal retailers, over a third of the applications received were from foreigners. The registrations, you will recall, were a somewhat misguided and slightly xenophobic attempt to stop dangerous food from being sold to children after several well-publicised food poisoning incidents, most of which actually had to do with industrial pesticide being sold as rat poison. During the seven-month window, municipalities around the country received 82,924 spaza shop registration applications, almost 20,000 of them in KZN. More numbers for you: according to StatsSA’s 2023 Survey of Employers and the Self-Employed , the total number of people who ran informal businesses (i.e. not registered for VAT) declined from a high of 2.3 million in 2001 to 1.1 million in 2009, before heading back northward to 1.9 million in 2023. 48.2% of these in 2023 were in the trade (defined by StatsSA as including retail, wholesale and catering and accommodation), where just over half were owned by women. 74.4% of informal businesses did not have bank accounts.

Comment: Fascinating – and daunting numbers. However oblique its motivations, the Government’s attempt to register informal businesses might one day prove a net positive.

A little more on the team-up between Shoprite and Standard Bank, and Pick n Pay and FNB, respectively, in the loyalty landscape. It is definitely giving rom-com vibes, with the main cheerleader and football captain taking the prom royalty crowns, and the likeable also-rans finding love with their long-time best friends. You figure out who’s who in this somewhat laboured scenario. Anyhoo: Under the new Shoprite / Standard Bank match-up, Standard’s UCount Rewards members will get up to 30% back in Rewards points in store at Shoprite and Checkers, up to 40% back from Sixty60, and the flexibility to redeem Rewards points both in store and online. Across town, FNB Premier cardholders can earn up to 30% back in eBucks on Pick n Pay asap! and up to 20% in store, while Aspire cardholders get R150 in monthly vouchers. And in news that screeched in right ahead of our publication deadline, the two businesses will also be sharing jersey space on our Springboks’ match and training kits, with FNB taking over as title sponsor from MTN and PnP now partnering with SA Rugby as a Tier 1 sponsor.

Comment: Back to the rewards partnerships though. For both, the bottom line seems to be the confluence of loyalty and delivery: since COVID, shoppers seem to have become more agnostic about where they shop, meaning that delivery is the last great frontier for shopper loyalty. For brands, this might be interesting territory to explore.

For anyone who has ever wandered the empty aisles, haplessly, looking for a particular item or brand and no-one in sight to ask, Makro and Game are here to help. Their new ‘Call for Assistance’ system from Service Systems allows customers to request assistance with a single press of the ‘call’ button on the pads strategically placed at critical touch points throughout the stores – and, not incidentally, lets management keep their eye on the shopfloor through the associated portal, with KPIs for both response times and customer satisfaction. Next, more on that Checkers FreshX slotting into Pick n Pay’s old digs in Hyde Park Corner: among the delights on offer are a Meat Market with free-range chicken and restaurant-quality steak; a bakery; the now-standard Health and Wellness section; a wine cellar; and a sushi bar. Finally, Namibia’s Ohlthaver & List (O&L) Group has announced that it will be terminating its 27-year franchise agreement with Pick n Pay, converting the 19 stores falling under the agreement to O&L’s ‘Model’ banner.

Comment: Pick n Pay says that it will continue to explore its options in our neighbouring country. Still, this is a development that seems to align with Mr Summers’ laser focus on getting the basics right at home.

In France, the Autorité de la Concurrence (that’s the competition authority to the rest of us) has declared that Carrefour may go ahead and acquire the French operations of its rival Louis Delhaize – a move the Autorité has determined will not appreciably improve Carrefour’s buying power, as Delhaize’s footprint is relatively small. However, to ensure that punters still benefit from a competitive landscape, Carrefour will be required to flog seven outlets to rival brands, end a franchise contract in favour of another competitor, and offload a mall it owns. The acquisition includes Provera, Louis Delhaize Group’s purchasing alliance for consumer goods, Delparef, which manages food retail stores under Cora and Supermarchés Match, and Galimmo, a real estate firm that develops and manages shopping centres next to Cora hypermarkets. The Louis Delhaize Group is headquartered in Belgium and also operates in Luxembourg and Romania.

Comment: An interesting peek under the bonnet of a major European market. With perhaps a slightly more laissez-fair competition authority than our own.

A tough year just gone for Libstar, which reported revenue growth of +3.1% to R11.7bn for the 12 months through December, with operating profit down -6.3% to R631m. What gives? Well for starters, the Finlar Fine Foods division lost a major – although unnamed – food service customer, suffering a R400m impairment as a result. The business also sustained a R98.2m impairment in its Denny Mushrooms business to align the division with its recoverable value. These impairments, combined with higher consulting costs and salary increases, resulted in a +7% rise in operating expenses, putting paid to any gains in what, ironically, had started out as a promising year. “Our initial progress from simplification and growth initiatives, particularly within the ambient products category, was encouraging,” noted a philosophical Charl de Villiers, CEO. “This, together with the strengthening of our balance sheet in 2024, are a testament to the potential of our business.”

Comment: That’s the spirit! But yes, in this environment, there is precious little wiggle room. Libstar would be wise to diversify its customer base, as it has promised to do.

First up, Astral Foods, SA’s biggest chicken producer, has issued a trading update to the effect that it expects an additional R20m knock on its bottom line after a cyber attack last week, having already noted that profits may drop as a result of weak consumer spending. Next, in honour of Global Recycling Day, Nestlé’s East and Southern Africa Region (ESAR) has announced that nearly all its packaging is now made from recyclable materials. The company’s commitment to a waste-free future is evident through its D4R (Designed For Recycling) focus on designing packaging that, you guessed it, is specifically intended for recycling. “Plastic neutrality is not a choice — it is a necessity,” says Packaging Engineering Manager Mark Helfrich. “We have the opportunity and responsibility to drive lasting change, and each step we take brings us closer to a world where waste is minimised and resources are preserved for future generations.” Finally, Unilever is selling its successful ‘The Vegetarian Butcher’ brand to Vivera for an undisclosed price, having achieved double-digit growth and presence in 55 markets with its range of chilled and frozen meat substitutes. Unilever intends to sharpen its focus on core brands like Dove, Surf and (checks notes) Horlicks (although in South Africa it is owned by Bounty Foods). Vivera is one of the largest vegan foods companies in Europe and is owned by global meat processor JBS.

Comment: Despite some pretty stiff lobbying by Big Meat, brands like The Vegetarian Butcher are a major node of future growth. As even meat producers like JBS seem to realise.

Excellent news last week from the beard-tugging worthies at StatsSA is that retail trade sales were up a very surprising +7.0% YoY for the month of January, the largest contributors being general dealers at +8.4% and contributing 3.6 percentage points to the increase, and retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods at +10.1% and contributing 1.6 percentage points. Our own great industry, under the title of Food, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores, grew a pleasing +7.3%. Overall sales were also up +1.2% MoM, and +5.7% for the last three. This as consumers continued to benefit from economic tailwinds, including rate cuts. “Sales volumes remained positive for a second consecutive quarter, supported by a reduction in load-shedding-related costs for retailers and a lower inflationary environment boosting real incomes for consumerism,” says Investec economist Lara Hodes.

Comment: An industry with a limitless ability to surprise – sometimes on the upside. Let’s take the win while we can.