The Independent Trade is a notoriously tough nut to crack, if you’re a supplier, with a complex web of relationships to negotiate, a convoluted supply chain to master, and as many routes to market as there are mom and pop shops and spazas on the dusty streets of the Beloved Country. But it's a particularly – and increasingly – rewarding endeavour, if you have the right tools for the job, and that’s what we at Trade intelligence are here to provide you with. In Feb next year, we’re putting our heads together with the finest in the Independent Trade to bring you the Independent Trade Forum, a one-day event packed with hard facts, operational detail and strategic insights that will help you get your rightful share of the estimated R76billion plus spent in this channel every year.

Excellent work those sprightly fellows in green: SPAR’s revenue was up 15% to R55billion for the 12 months through September, with net income up 13% to a tidy R1.35billions, confounding the expectations of sundry analysts who had pegged it at R1.29billion. This largesse was driven by a couple of factors: sales of house brands, which offer succour to the cash-strapped consumer, and revenue growth of 14% to R6.6billion at TOPS, which come to think of it, offers succour to cash-strapped consumers. And if you’re looking for them to rest on their laurels, don't: 36 sparkly new SPARs will be opened in the next year, we are told, with 59 twinkly new TOPSes and 30 brand spanking Build its. Newly-purchased BWG, which owns the SPAR brand in Ireland and the southwest UK, contributed R2.7billion to turnover, and is expected to bring in 30% of the total next year. 

Comment: All of which must be causing the competition to run their fingers nervously around the inside of their suddenly damp collars.

“A multicolored tomato pack is relevant to one group of people, but an extra-large beetroot is relevant to another group.” These are the words of Mr Richard Brasher, musing not upon the religious observances of remote island peoples, but on the need for Pick n Pay to succeed across the economic spectrum in its quest to claw back market share from Woolworths at the top end and Shoprite everywhere else. Now more from Mr B., who brings a refreshingly frank approach to the realities of retailing in The Beloved Country. The poor in South Africa, he says, “have almost no money, they are at best subsistent and at worst hungry. So there’s no point in pretending I’m going to put a fully-fledged Pick n Pay into exactly where they live because the economics of it won’t stack up. But it doesn’t mean I can’t market my brand so should they find an opportunity they would aspire to shop in a Pick n Pay.” 

Comment: Do these rough times call for that sort of pragmatism? We shall see.

Stepping quite literally into the void created, if that’s the word, by the demise of Ellerine, is Africa’s canniest retailer, Shoprite. Ellerine went into liquidation on the failure of parent company Africa Bank Investments Ltd. The Big Red One, strapped for nothing but retail space, is reported to be one of two retailers in talks with the administrators to take over the leases on 200-odd of the doomed furniture business’ 940 stores. Shoprite has already taken 10 of them for the furniture business. They have mentioned that they would like to double the number of furniture stores over the next ten years, shifting its focus away from the major urban hubs to the smaller, dustier places where Ellerines once thrived. Handing over the leases to a major player like Shoprite will limit the fallout for landlords and perhaps some of the retrenched Ellerine staff. 

Comment: Definitely some merits in the move after the unfortunate events leading to the downfall of a great South African retail brand.

IMPERIAL Logistics, you will be interested to know, now derive 35% of their income from the great and fabled land of Africa, which lies somewhere to the north of us. But don’t let anyone tell you that that’s because of the parlous rate of GDP growth and shaky social prospects back home, oh, no. According to wunder-CEO Mark Lamberti, it’s driven, if you’ll forgive the pun, by a need to diversify in order to grow, as IMPERIAL’s market share here is so large as to be close to saturation. And the opportunities presented by Africa are too enticing to ignore: growth from 27 sub-Saharan countries was 50% last year, and business there is worth about R9billion as we speak. 

Comment: However, Africa, as well documented, is not for cissies – what of that? No problemo, according to Mr Lamberti: Ebola has actually been good for the IMPERIAL medical supplies business, and should violence rear its head in one region, well, that’s why you spread yourself more widely in Africa. Go trade somewhere else until things quieten down.

Tongaat Hulett have just released their interims, and not too shabby, hey Nige? While turnover was up only 2.8% to R8billions for the first six months, operating profit grew 9.3% and HEPS were up 16.6%. And all this at a time when the sugar price actually fell – 57% since their 2011 high, would you believe – bringing in increased imports from the likes of our old nemeses Brazil and Australia. How’d they do that? Containing production costs, bringing to market more value-added products like starch and glucose, and selling off more of the ancestral canefields around Durban for residential developments. (“The kids can leave their bikes on the lawn ay.”) More is to follow: TH reckon they can increase production to the tune of 400,000 tons over the next four years without having to invest a red cent in new infrastructures, as yields and extraction rates improve. 

Comment: Nice one, boytjies. Another one of the many great Durban businesses that give lie to that subtropical paradise’s relaxed ways.

Retail trade sales soared a giddy 2.3% for the otherwise relatively drab month of September, beating August’s more dispirited 2% and confounding the economists who had predicted it would be closer to 2.8%. According to RMB, the lift is probably a result of the release of pent up demand after the conclusion of the platinum strike. The increase echoes a general buoyancy in the retail sector, with retail stocks on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) climbing by 2% against a flat performance by the overall market. However, before we get all excited, there are any number of experts out there eager to tell us about the miserable state of the dear old South African punter, who, according to Investec Chief Economists Annabel Bishop  is likely to “continue to deleverage over the remainder of this year and 2015.” 

Comment: And that can’t be good.

Last week we reported, in error, on “the likely acquisition of Danone” by Clover. This was a slip of the pen. We meant the “likely acquisition of Dairybelle” – likely because the Competition Commission has recommended that the Tribunal OK the deal, which was thrashed out in May, after Clover lost a contract with Danone for the distribution of some of the latter’s products. Clover is however in discussions with an unnamed entity, as we reported last week, discussions which may affect the value of the share. So apologies for the mistake, and thanks to those friends who drew it to our attention.

Comparable sales were up 7.3% for the 44 weeks through November 2 over at Massmart, compared with 4.3% over a similar, 46-week period last year. The big performer during the period was Massbuild, up 8.9%. Just thought you’d want to know.