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Not content, it seems, with snapping up by the barrow-load the hard-earned cash of the posher punter, Mr Susman has some ideas for making a success of the whole entire economy, or so he tells us in the latest issue of Woolies: The Annual Report. Jobs, he says. That’s what we need. He points out that Woolworths provides 23,000 or so of them on its own books, and is additionally providing a shot in the arm for the fiscus by sourcing 90% of its product locally, a fair old chunk of it through its enterprise development programme. Then there’s the small matter of the R1billion they pay annually in taxes. Problem is, he says, not everyone’s onboard. The government and the unions, he argues, seem to be in some unholy alliance intent on shutting the unemployed out of the workforce and investors out of the country.

Comment: And in a week like this one, who would argue with him?

The voluntary retrenchments – both willing and otherwise – have commenced over at Pick n Pay, with many retrenched managers leaving the head office building last Friday without ceremony. And according to some analysts, Pick n Pay, with “several hundred” staff being let go - could be the tip of the iceberg as difficult trading conditions continue into the next financial year. And hard-eyed R852million (full year results showed a decline of 33.2%) of profit that they are, some are saying that this is not necessarily a bad thing, whatever the human cost: businesses need periodic restructuring. The problem is, in South Africa, retrenchments are seen as an admission of either failure or culpability in some way, so businesses tend to keep it under their lids, particularly where non-unionised management staff are involved.

Comment: Traumatic times for Pick n Pay, and for the retrenched staff.

We neglected last week to make any mention of the horrifying events at Kenya’s Westgate Mall, where three of our retailers – Mr Price, Truworths and Woolworths – have stores which were open during the terrorist attack. While Woolies report that no staff or shoppers were injured, they do say that some of their staff are having a hard time adjusting to the horror of what they experienced. But Westgate will not stand in the way of Woolies expansion into Kenya they say, where as you know they have recently rationalised their operation by entering into a franchise deal with local retailer Deacons, with which they had previously had a JV arrangement. Kenya is an attractive market for South Africa’s retailers, offering 5% GDP growth, over double the domestic rate.

Comment: A bold and rational approach in the face of terrifying violence. Nice one Woolies.

Last week, we somehow neglected to mention in an issue that was otherwise replete with stories of consolidation in the agri-business sector, that Afgri had announced that Mauritian-registered AgriGroupe Holdings had offered R2.6billion for their business. Afgri, as you know, are a diversified agricultural products business which began life as a good old-fashioned co-op, built by the state and commercial farmers, which listed in 1996 when all such businesses were disbanded. And this, say the African Farmers’ Association of South Africa (Afasa), is the problem with the deal. Afgri was built cheaply on public money, and now it is being offered cheaply for sale to an entity which is in effect a consortium of mainly American interests. As the largest owner of SA’s grain storage facilties, and providing services to 7,000 commercial farmers, many of them emerging, Afgri is a significant contributor to the wellbeing of the farming community.

Comment: Some heartening activism from a very influential quarter.

Bold claims are never really a good idea. However, once the financial crisis and its attendant recession were safely over, Unilever announced that they would be targeting 100% growth on an impressively abbreviated timeline, assuming one imagines that when growth returned it would come steaming back in like it traditionally had, not being paddled by an ancient purser and a cabin boy as it currently seems to be all over the world. Hence the announcement this week that third quarter growth was expected to come in somewhere between 3% and 3.5%, compared with 5% for each of the first two quarters. This as the slowdown hits even the developing world, where Le Grand Bleu derives 57% of its revenue. One of the drags on emerging economies is the weakening of local currencies. As with the Rand, so with the Brazilian Real, apparently.

Comment: The announcement itself is both responsible and fair, and goes against the tradition Paul Polman established when he took the reins in 2009 of keeping these things under his hat.

SA’s Trade Deficit – that yawning chasm between imports and exports – had widened to R19billion for the month of August, after economists had breezily predicted that it would narrow to R12billion after a R13.4billion shortfall in July. And this at a time when exports are actually being helped along by a weaker Rand, to the tune of 12% for the year to date, compared with 7% for the same period last year. The chief culprit, we are told, is weakening demand from the slowing economies of both the West and the East, although industrial action here at home must surely also play some part, as does the increased price of oil. If things don’t improve, the current account deficit for the year could be as high as 6%. This year, the global economy is expected to grow by 3.1%, while ours trudges along at 2%.

Comment: A case where bad luck globally is helped along by squandered opportunities here at home. Nice one okes.

Our friends at Imperial Retail Logistics have just been awarded a strapping new five-year contract for transport and warehousing services by Kraft Foods, now going by the cool, Latino-biker handle Mondelez South Africa. The contact represents Mondelez’s move from handling these functions in-house to outsourcing and will see Imperial Retail Logistics moving a total of approximately 62,000 tons - or 25million cases - per annum for Mondelez, or El Jefe, as they like their service providers to call them.

This is fantastic. FreshStop has been awarded the prestigious International Convenience Retailer of the Year Award at the Insight NACS International Convenience Retail Awards in London competing against 20 entrants from 11 different countries. The store they entered was the flagship store Airport City, located close to the Cape Town International Airport which not only boasts a full kitchen and bakery, a Steers, Super-Quick Fitment Centre, carwash, sit-down dining area with free Wi-Fi and parking but also conference facilities on-site, including boardrooms, projectors, screens and on-request meals for business people on the move, or those who simply feel the need to hold a conference on their way home from the club at 2a.m.