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Massmart’s in yet another spot of bother with the competition boys, who have obviously never read The Art of War. At issue now are on-the-record comments by Chairman Mark Lamberti in minutes from a board meeting to the effect that the competition should not be allowed to flourish, and that margins might have to drop in order to fend the blighters off. These the Competition Tribunal has described as sinister, despite the fact that it has overruled the Competition Commission’s recommendation that a merger with PE wholesaler Finro be forbidden from proceeding, and to which the documents in question refer. The Tribunal also expressly states in its finding that Massmart is unlikely to engage in predatory behaviour, buying or squeezing out the competition until none is left.

Comment: What Lamberti should have said, obviously, is: “Gentlemen (and lady) it is imperative that we allow the competition to flourish to such an extent that they overrun our tillpoints and raze our office parks to the ground.”

Shoprite are buying some honest to jiminy, American-as-apple-pie, er apples, as it happens. For the first time ever, American apples will grace (if that’s the word) South African shelves, where we will be astounded by their redness, their full, fruity flavour, their heart-shaped perfection, these being the attributes of the Red Delicious, 8 000 cartons of which are winging their way hither as we speak. After two years of schlepping and pleading, Shoprite has wangled a permit from the Department of Agriculture to import the apples from Washington State, where they grow on trees. The apples should be here in time for Christmas, traditionally a lean time for red apples, which are generally harvested from February to April. To put things in perspective, the American apples will have little impact on local producers, from whom Shoprite acquires some 3 million cartons annually.

Comment: The arrival of the apples will be celebrated at Shoprite head office with a “hoedown”, which we understand is some kind of traditional American party.

Pioneer Foods grew revenue by a modest 9% to R16.3 billion in the year to September, with a deflationary environment in the second half putting the squeeze on growth. This compared with a whopping 27% last year, but in line with the performance of rival Tiger, which was also hit by deflation. And as with Tiger, grains were something of a saviour, with increased maize volumes and lower raw materials prices boosting margins over at Sasko. Sales in rice and legumes, which we thought were a kind of lizard, were down for the year, and Bokomo was generally hit by punters trading down. Pepsi volumes remained stable although they didn’t help the old bottom line much, which is something of a tradition for Pepsi – although Bokomo is investing in building the market share of that determined beverage. And speaking of investing, a solid R1 billion is earmarked for capex next year.

Comment: Simply staying in the game has been a result this year.

British American Tobacco has come out swinging against laws which it believes prevents it from communicating with adult smokers, to whom it wants to say: “Would you like to buy more cigarettes?” Last year, Parliament outlawed those “smoking parties” everyone got so excited about for a few years back then (we at the Tatler are still kicking ourselves for missing the Violent Femmes gig). Now, Batsa are asking the North Gauteng High Court to consider an interpretation of the law which would allow it to communicate one-on-one with punters through viral or guerrilla campaigns.

Comment: Now if America could just be persuaded to invade the tobacco-producing countries of the world. It’s done wonders for the small farmers of Afghanistan...

SAB has announced the full terms of its BBBEE transaction, which was first announced on 1 July 2009, and will place 8.45% of the company’s shares under black ownership. The transaction size has increased in value from the initial estimate of R6 billion to R7.3 billion, largely in response to the recent rise of about 70% in SABMiller’s USD share price, and the inclusion of a greater number of participants – namely 67 000, drawn from the ranks of SAB employees, qualifying black-owned retailers and the new SAB Foundation. Other distinguishing features of the deal are that it’s targeted at major stakeholder groups who play a meaningful role in SAB’s long-term business success; that no external bank funding is required; that a meaningful bi-annual cash dividend will be paid from year one; and that it’s both affordable and easily accessible.

Comment: And, of course, that it’s called Zenzele, as transactions like this generally don’t have first names.

The economists you find selling cellphone chargers at busy intersections these days have put their heads together and are quite frankly helluva worried about retail sales this Christmas. We’ve lost a million formal-sector jobs, and an unspecified number in the informal economy. The trend is already down, by 5.2% for the third quarter, and people no longer have the appetite for credit they once did, nor the means to acquire it. On the upside, consumer confidence as measured by FNB and the Bureau for Economic research is up to +6 in the final quarter of this year from +1 in the third – important stuff in an economy which is 60% reliant on consumer spending. Significantly, lower-income consumers – buoyed by lower inflation, social grants and government spending on infrastructure were particularly confident about their own prospects and those of the economy. Upper income punters too, because, well, they’re already loaded.

Comment: 2010 threatens to be a tough year too – but at least we can see it coming.