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Checkers Xtra Savings rewards programme has been around for a year now and has gathered unto itself 5 million members who have saved a combined R1bn in that time. It’s estimated that the programme has managed to garner Checkers R4bn in market share, which is a sweet deal. One of the great appeals of Xtra Savings is its simplicity. “Our customers don’t have to jump through hoops to receive the benefits of this programme. Personalised deals are automatically loaded to customers’ Xtra Savings cards,” says Group Chief of Strategy and Innovation Neil Schreuder. And this week it has also been launched into Shoprite stores. Other news from Checkers this week is that they are celebrating the 25th birthday of their popular Oddbins range of possibly very good but always inexpensive and drinkable limited range wines from local growers, with a competition involving 25 secret corks and pay-outs of R10,000 to the lucky, ahem, oenophiles.

Comment: Cheers!

Game and Makro will be running their Black Friday deals throughout November to capitalise on that global festival of affordable gizmos while maintaining COVID-19 protocols. “Black Friday traditionally sees high concentrations of shoppers in retail stores across the country, which can create a challenging shopping environment,” explains Massmart Corporate Affairs Executive Brian Leroni. Deals will be staggered throughout the month, with new discounts announced each week, and running only for that week, maintaining the heady sense of urgency for which Black Friday is adored. Sneak previews of the deals – including big-ticket items such as large appliances, electronics, home living items and of course televisions – will be provided on Massmart’s social media.

Comment: We’re a little on the fence about the long-term value of Black Friday to South African households. But certainly, Massmart are taking an innovative and strategic approach to the retail event this year.

According to the Retail Trends Report published by the SA Property Owners Association (Sapoa), overall trading at the properties it covers declined by -64.5% in April YOY, recovering 33.4% in May and another 37.4% in June, for a reduction in overall trading density of -36.2% for the quarter. This naturally resulted in a sharp increase in the cost of occupancy, the ratio between gross rental rates and sales revenue, which came in at a worrying 9.1% in June, with a particularly notable increase in malls larger than 100,000m2. Interestingly, though, larger centres experienced slightly lower vacancy rates for the period in question – the average across the industry was 5.6%, but for smaller local centres up to 12,000m2 it was 7.2%. According to one tenant, retailers that rely on a higher footfall for sales are harder hit.

Comment: Still, there has been an improvement, which at a time like this is not nothing. News of the demise of the mall, it seems, has been greatly exaggerated.

To Shanghai, China, where we do not often go, and where Carrefour is trialling a community-style fresh produce store to capture a greater share of that growing but challenging market. The store, Easy Carrefour, as it’s known, is 430m2 format selling fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, eggs, fish and shrimp, rice, noodles, grains, oils, and beverages, across 3,000 SKUs popular in the residential area in which it is located. In the US, in the meantime, where Amazon Prime Day is threatening to overtake Black Friday as the annual bacchanalia of buying, Walmart and Target are ramping up their curb side pickup services in response, each having launched their own version of the vulgar event – Walmart with its “Big Save Event” and Target with its “Deal Days”.

Comment: Footprint is the one advantage these businesses have over Amazon, and they are deploying it tactically.

Big News from Le Grand Bleu as UK shareholders have given the nod for ending the company’s dual ownership structure and move head office in its entirety to London. Shareholders of the Dutch portion voted in favour of the move last month. The dual structure, says Unilever, hampered the ability of the business to conduct acquisitions and asset sales quickly; the planned sale of the tea division is a case in point. This flexibility is key to Unilever’s strategy of moving into high-growth categories like premium beauty, which has been a winner during the pandemic. All well and good, if you don’t take into account the legal challenge being mounted by a Dutch opposition party which would like Unilever to fork over €11bn for the privilege of exiting that watery geography.

Comment: Still, a solid prospect for a great business with plans to get even greater.

A couple of items of legislative relevance to our many friends in the food and beverage industries this week. First up, the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies published a white paper last week proposing stricter regulations around the advertising of alcohol and unhealthy food, including those that are high in salt, sugars, fat, saturated fats or trans-fatty acids. There’s no indication yet as to how such advertising would be regulated. The Draft Liquor Amendment Bill, introduced by the DA, proposes wide-reaching changes to the marketing and sale of alcohol, including increasing the drinking age to 21 years; a 100-metre radius limitation of trade around educational and religious institutions; the banning of any alcohol sales and advertising on social and small media; and the introduction of new liability clause for alcohol-sellers.

Comment: Well and good. But we do have a history of well-intentioned legislation that is more than a little challenging to apply.

“Terrible, archaic, and disturbing” are words you may use to describe a short story by Edgar Allen Poe, or that B&B in Beaufort West last year. They are also the words being used by some analysts to describe the ANC’s plan for the recovery of the South African economy post-COVID. One critic pointed out that at least 95% of the items on the plan’s laundry list have not been costed, and it contains no mention of macroeconomic, monetary, or fiscal policy. Striking a more positive note, President Ramaphosa said at the ANC’s virtual Lekgotla this week that the country will focus on an infrastructure-led strategy as part of its recovery plan, with investments in energy, water, public transport and elsewhere. And simultaneously pleasing and horrifying twenty-five-year-old us and our circle of friends, there is word that the recovery plan will involve investments in establishing a cannabis industry and building new nuclear plants.

Comment: Bru, they should be building cannabis power plants.