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One of the miracles of Massmart is the sheer volume of hungry young talent they have at the top, and how they all seem to pull together for the good of the team. But there do seem to be enough serious positions to go around, and when they aren’t, they make them. Witness this week the appointment of CFO Guy Hayward into the newly-created role of Chief Operating Officer. This, we are told, because top man Grant Pattison has his hands full with matters Walmart, and needs a tested comrade to unload the more day to day aspects of his job onto. Hayward is extremely well-qualified for the role, having once been a serious consideration as CEO. He is replaced by the similarly well-qualified Ilan Zwarenstein, who has worked alongside him for years and has served as a non-executive Divisional Director. Pattison’s number of direct reports now drops from 14 to 8.

Comment: Strategic deployment of key resources there, lieutenant.

The pleasantly verdant one has received a prestigious vote of confidence – and not of the phony-awards variety. The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, which runs one of the world’s largest sovereign investment funds, last week bought up 5.18% of the ordinary shares in SPAR, leaving analysts grasping for their underutilised superlatives. “SPAR is definitely doing something right,” effused our usually taciturn Uncle Sydney. Last month, you will remember, SPAR reported six-monthly turnover up 13.6%, and more importantly for investors has delivered consistent returns to the punters over the past 40 years. Nor are its future prospects any dimmer, with an experienced and respected management team in place under Captain Hook, Tops and Build It going great guns and 100 stores of one sort or another to be opened in the next 12 months.

Comment: And the retail sector continues to attract the big international money, a pleasing expression of interest in an economy which could use a little love.

The Big Blue has cemented and formally announced its partnership with the Nkomamonta Organic Farmers’ Co-operative in Tzaneen in Limpopo. The Collective will be supplying a modest though significant 217 tons of fresh organic veggies to 50 selected stores nationwide, in a Pick n Pay Foundation initiative to get more of the good stuff on shelf while bringing along the small local agronomist. It consists of a group of 16 farmers in the district and is registered as a primary co-operative with a secondary registration to follow later. Reading between the lines, this means that the 16 farmers will be able to outsource their production to yet smaller fellers.

Comment: The development meshes neatly with Pick n Pay’s produce strategy, where their buying teams work closely with the Pick n Pay Foundation and other supporting bodies such as the DTI, IDC and NEF to develop and grow emerging farmers, while giving punters the crispy, wholesome stuff they are increasingly demanding.

Meanwhile down under, SABMiller has its work cut out for it arresting the declining market share of Fosters.  What was it that Fosters had done wrong, you might ask, apart, obviously, from brewing a beer only an Australian could love. Oh, nothing, really. Neglecting brand differentiation, that’s all. Failing to create category value. Letting things slide with the retailers, arguably a fairly important part of the beer value chain. Not managing the channels. That sort of thing. So what does SABMiller have up its sleeve, now that it’s forked over $12.3 billion for the Aussie op, and in anticipation of the re-entry of former pal Coca-Cola Amatil into the beer market in two years time when the restraint clauses expire? They will explore “mutually beneficial solutions” with the retailers, and focus on shopper marketing. They will, as has been their recent wont, revitalise both mainstream and premium brands and grow their profitable beer segments.

Comment: And generally show the Aussies, what’s what, that’s what.

Bringing up the rear of results season, packaging outfit Nampak have just reported their performance for the six months ending 31 March, and it’s a solid one. Turnover up 10% to R8.78 billion, operating profit up more modestly by 7.8% to R934 million as the boys from SENS will tell you, Nampak is Africa’s largest packaging manufacturer with operations in Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and the major supplier of plastic bottles to the dairy industry in dear old Blighty. And it is in Africa, unsurprisingly, that much of the score has come these last six months – profits from that region we somewhat patronisingly know as “the rest of Africa” rose 60% for the period.

Comment: Which is something we should put in our pipe and smoke as we recline in our chesterfields, pondering our first leisurely strides onto the continent formerly known as dark.

South Africa’s Purchasing Managers’ Index, (PMI) a reliable measure of the health of the manufacturing sector, has declined for four months in a row, stopping just north of the critical midway mark dividing expansion and contraction. And while a modest rebound in the manufacturing sector is expected for the month of April, we’re still smarting for the numbers in March, which showed a decline of 2,7% year on year. While it is something of a national pastime to berate ourselves (or at least, each other) for our economic woes, the consensus is that in the shabby state of the world economy generally “South Africa will only perform as well as the global economy allows it to perform,” sagely notes economist Colin Garrow over at the super-awesomely-named Meganomics.

Comment: It could be worse. We could be that nice Mr Obama with his dismal jobs reports.

Astral Foods, which we know and love as a producer of chicken and associated goodies, has just rather cannily offloaded a non-core asset, it’s 50% share in East Balt Bakeries, which sells buns to the purveyors of hamburgers, for the tidy sum of R96 million, which should take the edge off the yellow maize prices the poultry boys are always on about.

Zup, my “neighbros”? Our “homey” Pick n Pay has just been voted “Coolest” Supermarket in the Sunday Times generation Next 8-22 Youth Brands Survey, and further attempts at “youth slang” will serve merely to exhaust us. But “respect”, anyway. Anyone who can get eight year olds to think Saturday morning shopping is cool probably deserves it. Backward “baseball caps” all round.