Those Pick n Pay half year results then, how they do roll around. Turnover up 6.4%, or 3.8% on a like-store basis, with profit before tax positively jumping 19.1% to R670.2m, driven thither, they say, by the price cuts which brought shoppers flocking. And these being interims, they come wrapped up in a whole bunch of other goodies that management throws in to amuse and delight the punters, like this: Smart Shoppers will soon be able to earn points while filling up at BP’s nationwide, and on purchases made at forecourt stores, where they’ll also be able to redeem those points. And also this: the Group is planning on reducing by up to 20% the amount of food waste that goes into landfills, by the simple but brilliant method of turning it into compost then flogging it back to you, the shopper, or indeed us. The share price dropped on the day reflecting the concerns of the financial community. For more info, take a look at our snappy little summary here.

Comment: Despite positive communication from Pick n Pay around performance, it is a business which sits with a 1.5% trading profit margin – a fact, among others, which did not gone unnoticed in the share price.

Dis-Chem began the FY we are pleased to call ’19 with 129 stores; it has since added another seven, and with them another 9.4% in revenue, for a total of R10.5bn. Time to rest on the old laurels? Heck no. They’re planning on adding another 13 through Feb, sticking to their promise of 151 by the end of FY2019. Pre-tax profit grew 10% to R635m for the six months through August. Much of this came from the robust retail arm of the business, up 13% to R711m; the wholesale division, which contributes just 8% of turnover, saw a loss of R76m, from R53m six months previous. Within retail, the dispensary brought in 37% of turnover, health and beauty 27%, and healthcare and nutrition 20%, positioning Dis-Chem firmly in its lane as a drugstore.

Comment: An impressive business with their eye firmly on the benefits that investment in supply chain and distribution infrastructure can bring.

Woah. SPAR in Ireland, through its BWG vehicle, is intent on adding 45 new SPAR and larger-format Eurospar’s to its current stable of 450 stores over the next two years, employing 1,000 new staff and dropping (with the help of its franchisees) a cool €25m on store refurbishments. The refurbs will include all sorts of techy gizmos, like digital shelf labels, digital menu-boards and in-store Wi-Fi. The new format is being pioneered in Dublin, but rollout is likely to be global. For the new stores, SPAR is looking for high-transit locations, like town centres and commuter hubs. The strategy was apparently developed in consultation with the SPAR global parent company, and according to BWG CEO Leo Crawford, does nothing less than transform the retail sector.

Comment: The synergies! Looking forward to seeing how it rolls on south of that Emerald Isle.

Comment: If they ever list, we may wish to take a little flutter ourselves.

Tiger Brands has reopened its Enterprise Foods factory in Germiston after closing it as a precautionary measure in March, when traces of Listeria were found on the premises. They also recalled all of their Snax products at the time. Now the plant is up and running again, value-added meat products – including bacon, salami and frozen sausages – are back on the menu, and punters couldn’t be happier, rewarding the Group with a 5% uptick in the share price on the news. This on the anniversary of the listeria outbreak which claimed over 200 lives and disrupted production among some of SA’s major meat suppliers. “We will be providing our consumers with assurance of product safety through our on-pack seven-step farm-to-table quality check process,” says chief corporate affairs officer Mary-Jane Morifi, by way of assurance.

Comment: A real crisis for Tiger and its customers, what a year. But a well-led organisation, with a power brand stable which should enable it to get back on track.

OK so petrol has just got pricier than it’s ever been here in the Beloved Country. The good news is we’re only one American cent above the global average. The other good news is that we’re going to have to stop burning the stuff sooner rather than later if we don’t want to have to teach our children to sharpen sticks and form war bands with the neighbours. And the even better news is, who needs petrol when our economy is about to start running on 100% Tito Power? Mr Mboweni’s first task will be to deliver the budget, which will need to take CEO Cyril’s stimulus package into account. And if the pundits happen to be right, he may be overseeing a second VAT increase, in an election year, for which he will need every ounce of his awesomeness. At issue is of course declining revenue collection in a straitened economy, and the fact that money does not grow on trees.

Comment: Tough times for consumers, and businesses. But the fact that a soldier like Mboweni will answer the call at a time like this is encouraging for all of us.

Carrefour and Walmart are among the retailers which have partnered with IBM and a whole lot of suppliers, including Nestlé and Unilever, in building the IBM Food Trust block chain network, a subscription-based ledger system which will revolutionise traceability and food safety in this great industry we call home. Be interesting to see which South African retailer is the first to hop on board. In the UK, in the meantime, Tesco’s dirty laundry is flapping in the breeze as the trail begins of Chris Bush and John Scouler, two of the three execs who conspired with the more rubber-armed of their suppliers to conceal a yawning £250m chasm in the books back in the day.

Congrats to Pick n Pay, celebrating their 50th anniversary on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE), one of only 10% of businesses which have ever managed to stick it out so long. Chairman Ackerman The Elder listed the Group when it only had three stores. Well does he deserve the privilege of that ceremonial blast upon the horn of the mighty kudu.