The SPAR acquisition of 80% of the BWG Group in the UK we reported a month back really is, in case we hadn’t made this perfectly clear, a Big Freakin’ Deal. The BWG Group, you see, services over 1,100 stores, including 100 outlets it owns. It owns the SPAR brand in Ireland and south-west England, servicing 700 SPARs in a model similar to the one they run here. The acquisition comes at a time when the Irish economy is enjoying a modest rebound, growing at 3.5%, and with it the Irish consumer – a relief to SPAR back home, some of whose franchisees are taking some strain under the current economic regime. SPAR is apparently looking at the ownership model in South Africa – not in preparation for a Woolworths-style takeover of franchise stores, but to ensure that the current model is optimised for both SPAR and its members.

Comment: Tough times for everyone out there. SPAR, with its unique model, is meeting these challenges head on, with its unique trading model and an added twist of boldness.

Woolies has launched a rights offer (something we’re pretty sure we covered in the inaugural Tatler all those years ago) to the tune of R10billion, which largesse it will use to pay down its bridging finance and loan for its R20billion purchase of David Jones in the Blasted Antipodes. Shareholders will have the option to buy additional Woolies’ stock or to turn the offer down. The market has begun to respond favourably to the acquisition, by which Woolworths hopes to become a southern hemisphere fashion giant along the lines of northerners H&M and Zara. One of the benefits of the deal for the Dapper One will be a whole new market for the private label brands it already owns, like as Studio W, JT One, and R.

Comment: No word as yet on a line of stylish but inexpensive bush hats with dangly corks.

You will be relieved to know that Woolworths might not have been the target of the pipe bombs which exploded in Cape Town last week, and that Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS), the non-profit wishing to bring these measures against Israel, was not involved. The first bomb exploded outside a motor dealership, the second outside a small business centre, and it was this one which damaged the nearby Woolies. Be this as it may, Woolworths has mentioned that it purchases less than 0.1% of stock from Israel, and will continue to do so. Various parties have pointed out that some of this at least comes from the West Bank or from Gaza. Meanwhile, CGCSA has defended the constitutional right of Woolies and others to free and fair trade.

Comment: Thorny. But we are of the view that clear and accurate labelling should allow consumers to make purchasing decisions according to their own ethical framework.

Carrying on the Woolies’ theme, supplier Rhodes Food, which sells ready-to-eat meals and Ayreshire products to the Dapper One, is having a go at the big time as it lists on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE), offering 25% of its stock for purchase by the discerning punter. The listing is aimed at settling debt and funding growth. To give you a sense of scale, Rhodes turned over 195milions of rand in the nine months. After a management buyout last year, Rhodes went ahead and bought the iconic Bull Brand, an injection of beef into the business which could not have hurt. The acquisition also taps into Rhodes’ particular competence in the canned foods sector.

Comment: This could, we feel, be the start of something big. Provided, of course, Rhodes do the responsible thing and bone up on the trade with the Trade Intelligence Trade Profiles.

Bokomo Foods, yes that Bokomo, is about to launch its first branded line in the UK where it is otherwise known as a vendor of private label goodies to retailers like Marks & Sparks, Tesco, Aldi and Lidl. As you’d expect, the product in question is a range of cereal known as Perfekt for…. “First out of the gate is Pefekt for …Wheat Biscuits”, although not perfect for punctuation or spelling. They do however have the distinction of being round. The idea, apparently, is to “challenge squareness and defy the norm.” Squareness having been the scourge of teenager in the 1960s, of course, but apparently it’s back and more threatening to their happiness than ever, particularly at the breakfast table.

Comment: Bokomo produce over 10 million bowls of cereal at their two UK plants every week, so clearly they know what makes the English brekkie tick.

Pioneer Foods have given notice that headline earnings per share are likely to grow only 20% for the year to December, about half of what analysts had been expecting given their beefier performance of 58% at the half-year mark. Softer commodity prices, say Pioneer, have not led to harder sales numbers. And in perhaps more momentous Pioneer news, they’ve also mentioned that they’re going to be spinning off their Quantum division, which produces eggs, chicken products and animal feed and has returned to profitability after something of a hiatus. Quantum is soon to be listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE).

Comment: Still forging the way when it comes to judicious reinvention, Pioneer remains one to watch.

Vast, cavernous energy-consuming malls are not about to be replaced by vast energy-consuming fleets of delivery trucks anytime soon and that’s official. Or so we are informed by various speakers at the recent SA Council of Shopping Centres conference, although come to think of it, these speakers might have had vested interests in the continued success of these quaint but bloated throwbacks to the 1980s. The internet, apparently, is used substantially for browsing, while 95% of punters still prefer to schlep out to the mall, whining kids in tow, to purchase their actual lingerie. But online has its uses and its adherents, and no retailer wants to get left behind. So predictably, everyone is hedging their bets and beefing up their online offering to keep today’s informed and “tech savvy” consumers interested. Of particular interest to mall owners is the fact that malls are places where young people like to socialise, not merely to shop.

Comment: Because of course, young people don’t like to socialise onli… oh, cr@p.

Catering giant Bidvest, having recently succeeded up to a point in their bid, ahem, to take over Adcock, have let it slip casually that they quite fancy this consumer goods lark, and intend using it to help fuel their relentless expansion in points both north and east. Which will surely be of some concern to established FMCG businesses with similar ambitions.

Big shakeup over at SABMiller’s local unit with the departure for greener partners of strategy chief Yolanda Cuba, who will be joining the board as a non-exec. Among the new names in new jobs will be Andrea Quaye (marketing director) Yokesh Maharaj (director of sales and distribution), Khaya Ngcwembe (human resources director) and Monwabisi Fandeso, (corporate affairs director).