Motswana (read ‘of Botswana’) Competition authorities have announced their conditional approval of local grocery powerhouse Choppies’ acquisition of SupaSave, a deal that will boost its mass grocery retail market share by a handsome 30%. Thanks to the multi-million pula deal (exactly how many million pula we’re not permitted to know), Choppies will be taking over SupaSave’s six stores located in Gaborone, Molepolole and Palapye as well as its distribution wing, MegaSave. The deal was a no-brainer for the Comish, who revealed that SupaSave has been in a significant spot of financial bother since 2011. Of the three bidders in contention, it was felt that the Choppies’ offer represented the lesser of competition evils, and good thing too since the deal has also meant that the 300-odd jobs which were in peril at SupaSave have now, well, been saved.

Comment: And so the Choppies’ expansion continues… watch this space.

Leading once again in issues environmental, Woolies has pledged to support the abolishment of “gestation crates” i.e. narrow metal stalls with bare floors which “house” pregnant sows in the intensive pork farming industry, a practice which, you might be interested to know, has already been banned in the UK, Sweden, Switzerland and some US states in favour of an open pen system providing sufficient space for the pretty, pink, pregnant pigs. The announcement is strongly supported by the NSPCA, which has been fighting to put an end to this injurious practice by 2016. The association, we are told, has also been in talks with other major retailers who have shown their support of the initiative. And in other feel-good Woolies’ news, the MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet programme which it so strongly supports was honoured as the “Best Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative Linked To Loyalty” at the recent International Loyalty Awards in London. But back to the piggies…

Comment: Good on you Woolies, for picking up on those farming wrongs that we scarcely knew existed.

Rhodes Food Group has announced its acquisition from KAP Industrial Holdings Limited of the Bull Brand food business, makers of pasta and meat mixes, meals and sauces and of course bully beef, onetime hero of our school lunch box. The acquisition will also include other well-known brands such as Gants, Spekenam and Apex, and as with all such things, is subject to the approval of the Competition Comish. But in the meantime, Rhodes are well pleased with the deal, acknowledging that Bull Brand is a “good fit for the Rhodes business in terms of our skills base and product range”. And who can blame them for their enthusiasm, considering that the brand has been welcomed and enjoyed in many a South African home for over half a century, never mind how it will mean one hefty foot in the door of the wholesale and informal trade sectors where Bull Brand is particularly settled.

Comment: Now that’s what we call a good buy.

What’s trending this week? Acquisitions it seems, with another major deal being announced by Aspen Pharmacare, who like us, have their roots in Durbz, the city where the sun never sets, where bunny chows just can’t be beat and where… oh, the deal, yes... the ninth-largest generic pharmaceutical manufacturer in the world has signed an agreement to acquire an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing business from Merck for R10biljoens. The manufacturing facility, based in the Netherlands, means that Aspen will now have a presence in the one continent where it was absent, viz. Europe, and places the pharmaceutical giant is a great position to continue reinforcing its global competitiveness. The plant will produce chemicals for niche products in categories such as hormones, steroids and anti-coagulants, very popular treatments in hospitals and globally apparently. All this on the back of a bid by Aspen to buy two of GSK’s branded thrombosis medicines, as well as a manufacturing facility for an undisclosed amount earlier in June.

Comment: The sky is the limit it seems for Aspen, and why not?

Coca-Cola will be introducing a cola that is sweetened with sugar and the no-calorie, naturally-occurring sweetener, stevia, the Group has announced. Known as Coca-Cola Life, the new drink will contain half the calories of regular Coke and will for now be launched in Argentina, the best place to test a soft-drink of this nature apparently, because with 50% of Argentine soda drinkers preferring Coke, if it don’t fly there, it won’t fly anywhere. This is the first time that Coca-Cola has added the Paraguayan shrub (aka sweetleaf, sweet leaf, sugarleaf or simply, stevia) to its flagship cola, having used it previously in Vitaminwater Zero and Fanta Select. Company execs at a news conference in Buenos Aires likened the launch with the 2005 debut of Coca-Cola Zero, which was first introduced in Australia and later sold elsewhere.

Comment: And timely perhaps too, in a market where consumers seem to be turning away from drinks with the bubbly undertones in favour of “healthier” alternatives.

In what feels decidedly like chastisement following the tragedy that took place on that miserable day in Marikana last year, foreign direct investment flows into our beloved country dropped by 24% in 2012 when compared to 2011. According to speakers at the UN Conference on Trade and Development, the drop from R60.6billion in 2011 to R46.46billion last year was “largely due to net divestment in the third quarter of 2012 as a foreign mining company offloaded its stake in a local subsidiary”. It seems we shouldn’t worry too much though, since most regions across the world experienced similar declines in foreign direct investment due to shaky economic conditions globally.

Comment: So all is not lost then, or so we hope.

Brace yourselves – this ain’t gonna be pretty. The price of petrol has risen by 84c to a new record high today, or in other words, if you happen to live in Gauteng and need to fill up, you’ll be forking out R13.23 to the litre for the 95 octane kind and around R12.15 for diesel. Why, why, WHY (!) you ask? The rand of course, which has declined 15% against the dollar since Jan. And things generally aren’t looking great for Joe Consumer either, who in addition to the grief caused by the petrol price must contend with an electricity price hike this month, and for those who live in and around Egoli, the introduction of e-tolling in the next moon or three.

Comment: Not much to say here except perhaps, eish…

Amalgamated Beverage Industries (ABI) will be investing R1million over the next two years with a KZN NPO, the Unlimited Child, thereby having a positive impact on the lives of over 1,000 young ones in 20 crèches across the province. The funds will go into supplying the schools with educational toys and training crèche staff to make the most of them in order to create a stimulating learning environment for the children.

Some moving and shaking going on at the Shoprite Remuneration Committee with Christo Wiese stepping down from his position as chairman with immediate effect, while Mr JA Louw has been appointed as interim chairman until a permanent replacement is found. “A further announcement will be made in due course,” says the Big Red One.