Massmart Well they were right about the cold showers, anyway…
Is disingenuous a word? We think it is, meaning something like “deliberately and knowingly talking out of the top of your hat, while affecting an air of innocence.” And this, it would seem is what Massmart have been doing when they say that they genuinely thought, that having gone into food, they would be competing in a spirit of good-natured fun with the other retailers, who would scrub the exclusivity deals they had with cringing mall owners just in order to give the new chap a chance and level the old playing field a bit. Don't take it from us though, here’s Massmart’s senior counsel, the Hon. Michael Spivey: “WalMart did not see these lease exclusivities coming. We believed that once the merger was complete we would compete fairly, openly and aggressively.” And that matron would be round to tuck you in every night, no doubt. In the interests of fair and open competition, Massmart haven’t cornered the market on disingenuousness, oh no. Mr James Wellwood Basson (Shoprite), take it away, sir: “There’s a reason for that exclusivity, because otherwise we won’t go into some of the shopping centers with developers and the centers won’t take off. Somebody has to take the risk.”
Comment: We’re feeling a little queasy. Must be all the choccies Mummy put in our tuck box.