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Those Clicks interims, then, for which we’ve stopped the presses: Group turnover up +6.2% to R15.3bn in the six months through February, with operating profit up +11.3% to R1bn. Health and beauty was the chief contributor, category-wise, with sales up +8.5%, while the star performer of the Group was pharmaceutical distributor UPD, growing +21.9% to R10.2bn. Retail expenses were up +7.8%, it is true, as the business forked out for 33 new Clicks stores, 35 pharmacies and space extensions in 25 stores in the past year, but it’s also true that retail margin was up, as a result (their words) of “more customers switching to Clicks private label products and the positive mix impact from the stronger growth of front shop relative to pharmacy.” Clicks also increased its share of the retail pharmacy market from 23.0% to 23.8% for the period. For more on this, have a look at our summary here.

Comment: As neat a set of numbers as we’ve seen in a while. Nice work, that Clicky One.

Present at the launch of the In2Food’s new Bonaero 22,700m² ultra-fresh food production facility was Zyda Rylands, CEO of Woolworths South Africa. To which news you will no doubt respond, in quick succession, “Where?”, “What?” and then of course “Why?” In2Food is Woolworths’ biggest supplier of fresh and prepared food, disposing of the first and third of your questions. And as to the “what”, the plant will churn out some 2,000 litres of soup and 10,000 pancakes an hour, then shipping these at a furious pace out of nearby OR Tambo, to Woolieses all over the country, in fulfilment of Woolies’ ambition to expand its ready-to-eat offering.

Comment: We have said it before: Woolies is a world-beater in food, and it is here that it seems, sensibly, to be focusing for local growth, while it sorts out the clothing story.

Brimstone, under pressure from lobbyists Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), has pulled out of the Israeli-led consortium that’s negotiating for a controlling interest in Clover, SA’s biggest dairy producer. Brimstone is now doing the gentlemanly thing and seeking a replacement empowerment partner for the deal, probably International Beer Breweries Limited (IBBL). Israel’s Central Bottling Company (CBC) has a 59.5% stake in the MilCo consortium, which includes Ploughshare Investments, IncuBev, and Clover Management, who will retain a 6.3% stake in the eventual entity.

Comment: It seems certain that this deal is going to go through, and perhaps more certain that Brimstone will not be part of it.

Oi, Premier Fishing and Brands ‘and Boats’ (not to be confused with Premier Foods of Snowflake, Iwisa, Blue Ribbon, Lil-lets, Manhattan and Super C fame). May we suggest that fishing and brands are not mutually exclusive and there is room for economy in your name? Be that as it may, nice interims: revenue up +55%, with operating profit up +20% ... what? Sorry, +200% in the six months through February, with punters in Europe and the States accounting for the bulk of the sales: South Africa currently accounts for only 10.4% of sales. Squid and lobster, at combined sales of R230m, were big earners for the Group, which also goes after small pelagics, hake, horse mackerel, swordfish and tuna. Understandably, the business is buoyant about its continued ability to “create and maintain shareholder value through organic and acquisitive growth.”

Comment: Excellent work Premier Fishing. Excellent.

The Merchantec CEO Confidence Index dropped -11.6% in Q1, which means (inter alia) that the honeymoon between the Pinstriped Ones and the President is over, at least for the time being. CEOs are apparently disappointed in the pace of economic reform, and believe that the lead up to the election has become a wait and see period for consumer spending and other drivers of growth. They, in turn, are postponing further investments in their businesses. They’re also looking for answers, says Merchantec: what’s up with economic policy? Whither Eskom? What’s petrol going to cost next week? And who, exactly, will be arrested for corruption and fraud? BNP Paribas, in the meantime, point to improved governance under the new(ish) President, and indications that capital markets are already responding positively to a strong showing for the ANC in next month’s elections, with the belief that a buoyant Cyril could appoint a small, technocratic, investment-friendly cabinet.

Comment: Fascinating times, if we weren’t in the thick of them.

South African retailers do significant work in the communities they serve – from the corporates through to the independents. It works for building the brand, but the positive impact to the daily lives of everyday South Africans is immense. So let’s take as an example Unitrade Management Services (UMS), who are sponsoring a team of U12 boys from the Lungisisa Indlela Village (LIV) in KZN to compete at the International Rugby Tournament in Monaco, organised in part by our very own Princess Charlene. LIV has been providing holistic residential care for vulnerable and orphaned children since 2010. UMS are, as you know, a grouping of independent retailers that has built its reputation, in part, on serving the communities in which its member stores are located.

In 2019, retailers globally will spend $3.6bn on Artificial Intelligence. By 2023, the number is going to be around $12bn, and the winner will, naturally, be the early adopters, who will unlock operational efficiencies and take advantage of advanced analytics in areas like demand forecasting and automated marketing to make them nimbler and improve their margins. Aldi and Lidl have entered a grim and bitter arms race in sustainable packaging, with Lidl offering shoppers in-house recycling for the paper and plastic wrappers of the items they’ve just acquired, and Aldi promising 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging and a 15% reduction in overall packaging material by 2025. And that, in more ways than one, is a wrap.