THIS ISSUE: 10 Oct - 18 Oct
YOUR NUMBERS THIS WEEK
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Massmart Whew. For a second there, we thought you said R200 gazillion.
In a stunning victory for either Massmart or the ministries of trade and industry, agriculture and economic development and Saccawu, the Men in Black will be required by the Competition Appeals Court to cough up R200million into a supplier development fund, twice as much as they’d initially budgeted, but only 2/5 of what Saccawu were asking for. The monies (ahem) which will be disbursed (harrumph) over a five-year period, will be used to protect small local suppliers against a putative Walmart-funded wave of foreign imports, like no-one else does that, and enable them to take advantage of Walmart’s global value-chain. For e.g. bringing small-scale farmers into the supply chain through training, mentoring and technical assistance. Importantly, Massmart-Walmart will have discretion over the total, which is beefed up by R40million they’ve already kicked in, although advised by a board made up of representatives of the various parties.
Comment: So that, we hope, is settled.
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Pick n Pay Best of the rest
While the dear old Tatler scooped almost everyone on getting a Richard Brasher interview into print last week, he batted a couple of pearlers past our slips and into deep cover, Mr Brasher being as fond of a sporting metaphor as the next man, particularly if the next man is Hugh Bladen, and these we have retrieved from the grubby pages of our competitors and reproduced here:
On Rugger: “Defending a position is not as much fun as creating one.”
On Batting: “Averages are not much use. Appealing to an average might have worked in the past, but the closer you get to how people really live their lives, the better you do as a retailer.”
On Footie: “I will make sure we have the team to make sure it’s the most successful retailer in the country.”
On Aerobatics: “I’m not the kind of manager who floats at 50,000 feet. I will have a clear strategy, and everyone will know what it is.”
On Test Matches: “I played against Walmart in different countries – they’re a good competitor, but a competitor who can be bettered so I’m not concerned on that front.” -
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Retail Awards The important thing is to take part. Then rip the head off of the competition.
It’s big fat Sunday Times supplement time again, readers, and here’s the roundup: Our great industry got 2.5 retailers in the top five of the flagship Retail Grand Prix category of the Sunday Times TNS Retail Awards, Shoprite having come in 1st with the love of 84.73% of surveyed punters, Pick n Pay in second at 78.36% and Clicks, who in fairness we’re counting as 0.5 of a grocery retailer in third at 74.15%. Honourable mention go to Woolies in 6th, and Makro, SPAR and Game (8th, 9th and 10th). And of course SPAR’s TOPS, which won the liquor category. But let’s face it, there’s no real glory in beating the likes of Totalsports (titter) and Spitz (snigger). The real contests, as always, were down in the rough and tumble of the Supermarkets and Wholesalers categories, where the scoreboard after 12 bruising months went a little something like this:
Supermarkets and Hypermarkets Shoprite 51.4 Pick n Pay 48.2 SPAR 41.2 Checkers Hyper 40.6 Woolies 37.4 Wholesalers Makro 67.3 Metro 59.9 Kit Kat 54.9 Jumbo 47.4 Rhino 47.2 Comment: Pongraczulations© to Shoprite as usual, but also to Massmart for a handsome showing across the categories.
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W&RSETA Government agency wants you to take its money … wait, that can’t be right …
Skills development levies, eh. We all pay ‘em, moan a bit then promptly forget we’ve done so. This has resulted in a situation where the Wholesale & Retail SETA is sitting on a war chest of R350million in unclaimed levies, which it cordially requests the industry to come and get. Skills across the board are a precious commodity in this great sector we call home. About 70% of the jobs issued require skilled, experienced hands to fill them; about 44% of all applicants have any of the necessary. As you probably know, 50% of your skills development levy is due back to you as part of a mandatory grant after a year, with the rest of it less a 30% SARS and admin fee being paid back on submission of a Workplace Skills Plan and an Annual Training Plan Report, reflecting your efforts in upskilling your people over the last year.
Comment: It’s not free money. But it’s there for the taking if your business is doing the right and sensible thing.
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BAT Put that in your pipe
Up north, the tobacco boys are shrewdly taking the initiative in meeting Zimbabwe’s onerous indigenisation requirements. BAT Zimbabwe have offered to sell a 21% stake in the business to employees and other local interests, and to unload the full stake of 51% required of foreign businesses in the next three years. BAT Zim are currently 57% owned by the international parent company, with Old Mutual Zim holding a sizeable 17% chunk of equity. The consequences of non-compliance are of course takeover by the government and a motley crew of war veterans camping on the grass outside. But while the government desires full compliance by next year, it’s just possible that BAT have some swing here: the industry contributed about $500milion US to the Zimbabwean economy in the last harvest despite coming in slightly under the 150 million kilograms they’d predicted.
Comment: 150 million kilograms of baccy. Wow.
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Things generally The ghost of Christmas future
As the rand weakens, consumers dig themselves deeper in debt and petrol at our pumps defies a slackening in global demand with record high prices, the holiday season this year is looking more than a little Dickensian. Add to that the current wave of industrial action and social anxiety, and consumers are likely to be looking at the budget crackers and the smaller turkey come December. And Mrs Doubtfire over at the Reserve Bank doesn’t share Pravin Gordhan’s optimism that the rand will recover strongly after being hit by bad news from Marikana and elsewhere. She’s of the grim view that our economic outlook is deteriorating rapidly, with further job losses to come as the effects of the mining and transport strikes come into play. She’s also casting a worried eye on the Eurozone, where South African exports have taken a major hit, saying that things are unlikely to clear up on that troubled continent anytime soon.
Comment: So it’s time to dig out the value messaging and give the punters the happiest festive season you can.
IN BRIEF
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Nampak Can’t see the food for the trees
Big up to Nampak, which is donating indigenous and fruit trees to communities all over the show as part of their sponsorship of Food & Trees for Africa. It’s an appropriate initiative for a business which makes so much of its product from trees, 1.3 of which are apparently planted for every one which is pulped.
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Pioneer Foods The PFECT outcome
The pioneering one has established as part of its ongoing BBBEE initiative the Pioneer Foods Education and Community Trust (PFECT), which will be the sole beneficiary of 20% of all dividends declared on the 10.6 million shares it issued to its BBBEE trust last year. PFECT will assist in the provision of school buildings or equipment for public schools and educational institutions and the granting of scholarships, bursaries and study loans.
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