SACCAWU have come out guns blazing in a nasty legal strike in which they’re accusing Pick n Pay – in fairly general terms, it must be said – of racist employment practices. These include an alleged tendency to rehire retired white staff, discrepancies between what black and white staff are earning, particularly among junior management, and the perceived fast tracking of white ‘casual’ staff over experienced black employees. More nastily still, workers also allege that CEO Nick Badminton made racist remarks some ten years ago, and SACCAWU is demanding that these must be withdrawn. SACCAWU has persistently turned down or ignored PnP’s invitations to meet and discuss the issues. Strike action involving 20 000 staff took place around the country last week, with more planned in Cape Town on Friday. The Big Blue has taken out full-page ads in influential newspapers repudiating SACCAWU’s claims and rapping the union over the knuckles for this mischief.

Comment: Chairman Ackerman is regarding the whole thing as a hurtful slap in the face, for which given his liberal record, he has some justification.

Shoprite has announced the acquisition of one of SA’s largest pharmaceutical wholesalers, Transfarm, in a move which will help it grow the already burgeoning MEDI-Rite arm of the business. MEDI-Rite currently has over 100 stores, and the plan is to open another 80 – 100 more in the next twelve months. The purchase of Transfarm, which turns over up to R200 million per month, will bring the benefits of centralised purchasing – like better availability and lower prices – to the Big Red One, according to Mr James W. Basson, CEO. It will also, no doubt, put the wind up competitors like Dis-Chem and Clicks, who purchased their own wholesaler, UPD, back in ’03. MEDI-Rite is now the second biggest pharmacy group in SA.

Comment: Aggressive stuff in a sector which is rapidly becoming as consolidated as the grocery sector, to the undoubted detriment of the little guy.

Checkers has entered into a partnership with the BBC Lifestyle Channel, where it will be sponsoring the stand in the programme Full on Food, which features such luminaries as Gordon Ramsay, Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver and Hester Blumenthal. It will also be the exclusive sponsor of the show’s recipe planner, an online application which allows punters to plan their weekly meal, print their grocery lists and access exclusive recipes featuring goodies you can buy at Checkers. Nice one Auntie Beeb.

Comment: We had some of that Boerie of the Year on our new Weber last weekend, and it was something else.

P&G and rival Alberto-Culver have been involved in a nasty spat in the salons and at the Advertising Standards Authority this last year, over Alberto-Culver’s claims that its TREsemme brand is the choice of hairdressers, sorry “salon stylists” everywhere. The ASA Final Appeals Committee, who is a complete and utter b%@!& and who probably washes its hair with bath soap and wouldn’t know a protein wrap from an undercut if it slapped it in the face, has ruled in Alberto’s favour and ordered P&G to pay half of the costs. P&G happens to have proof that one “Leo” who is quoted in the TREsemme advertising actually personally uses and sells L’Oreal products in his salon. P&G backed its claim that TREsemme wasn’t all that with research from Synnovate proving that it was used by only 8% of stylists and on 7% of their customers.

Comment: The drama!

Clover has mentioned in passing that it’s going to be selling its 45% stake in its JV with Danone – catchily-titled Clover Danone – to the French yoghurteur, if that’s the word, for le princely sum of R1 billion plus some francs. Danone is keen to focus on Africa – it currently makes 30% of its sales from JVs in emerging markets – but believes it needs the full stake here to achieve this. Clover will be using some of the wedge to reduce debt and some of it to assist in the process of moving production facilities closer to farms, and improve distribution. Clover is currently in the hole to the tune of around R820large.

Comment: This is the sort of foreign direct investment Mr Manual gets so excited about, as well he should. Merçi beaucoup, that dashing continental chap!

Last week, we reported in these pages that Shoprite would be importing some yankee apples, to the tune of 3 000 boxes out of a possible 8 million. Seems like Pick n Pay took the issue a little more seriously.

CPI inflation, the one we’ve nailed our colours to, which includes the bond rate, plummeted to 5.8% in November from, erm, 5.9% in October, within the government’s 3 – 6% targeted band, and causing certain young and excitable economists to wonder if that Marcus fellow over at the reserve Bank is going to drop the rate again come Jan.