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Clicks has offered to purchase in its entirety Pick n Pay’s retail pharmacy business, and should the transaction be approved by the competition authorities, will acquire the pharmacy licenses, the ethical drug stock, and the services of all staff currently employed in the pharmacies. The transaction includes Pick n Pay’s 25 in-store pharmacies, which will trade under the Clicks banner. The move will bring to 632 the number of pharmacies owned by Clicks, from 601 announced at its half-year results, putting it basically out of reach of all comers: currently 50% of South Africans now live with 6km of a Clicks pharmacy. Says Clicks CEO Vikesh Ramsunder, “The acquisition … accelerates our strategy of extending the convenience and accessibility of the Clicks pharmacy network.” What’s in it for Pick n Pay, aside from the obvious heaping pile of cash, whose value is as yet undisclosed? They haven’t been opening pharmacies hand over fist, and in offloading this asset will be able to focus further on the knitting, while letting existing punters down gently.

Comment: Of real interest to us here at Trade Intelligence is how these two mighty brands will trade together in the same space – the first time we’ve seen such a thing in we don’t know how many years.

While not exactly the jewel in the Massmart crown – that would probably be Makro – Game is working gamely (Really? Ed.) to remain relevant and deliver innovation in a rapidly shifting retail landscape. To this end, it’s putting considerable resources into growing online sales, revamping its mobile app, beefing up its third-party delivery partner network, and helping punters easily find what they’re looking for online. 70% of shoppers access Game’s website via the app, which was not initially designed as an end-to-end shopping experience. Enter COVID, and with it an increase of +70% in online sales last year. How to meet demand? Omnichannel. “We want to create multiple platforms that will, for example, enable customers to engage and shop via the app, the WhatsApp engagement channel or via our call centres, and for all platforms to work seamlessly together,” explains Game e-commerce and digital VP Paris Philippou.

Comment: Massmart has seen some troubled times these few years past. But it remains one of Africa’s largest retailers, and seems to be tightening its offering to bring the punters what they want, when they want it.

Two innovations from The Dapper One as it continues its recovery from the Australian side hustle that has distracted this otherwise iconic business these few years past. The ‘Virtual Try On’ service gives customers the opportunity to try on hundreds of shades of lipsticks, eye shadows and mascaras through an augmented reality platform. ‘Virtual Consultations’, developed in partnership with Clarins and Estée Lauder, give shoppers at-home access to one-on-one, digital-based consultations with beauty specialists who offer personalised skincare advice, product recommendations and application techniques. As you already have discerned, these developments speak to the recent ascendance of beauty at Woolies, which now stocks key global brands like Chanel, Clinique, Tom Ford and Smashbox, as well as its own, WBeauty – and also to the rise of online retail.

Comment: As goes Food, so goes Beauty. If Woolies get clothing right, that’s the whole shooting match right there.

In the US, Walmart is slowing its expansion into brick-and-mortar primary healthcare and growing its capacity for the national delivery of virtual urgent care, mental health services, and primary care with the acquisition of telehealth provider MeMD, tapping into a growing trend which sees more established players with retail presence going up against a new generation of online-only providers. Unrelated, but Walmart are currently on a hiring jag, offering thousands of well-paid jobs with leave and benefits as the US economy lumbers back to life. Aldi and Lidl are about to get a run for their money in the UK, where Russian chain Svetofor, which operates under ‘Mere’ in Europe, is setting up shop. And in France, Carrefour are working with suppliers Barilla, Bel, Danone, Savencia and Unilever to pioneer a range of balanced, gourmet recipes aimed at the healthier eater and made from the suppliers’ own products.

Comment: Telemedicine is massive and only going to grow – it is already on offer through South African health retailers, with select Clicks and MediRite pharmacy clinics offering Udok medical consultations and Dis-Chem clinics offering medical consultations through the Dis-Chem Clinic Connect service. Get onboard – opportunities abound.

Bit of a shakeup at Primedia, whose niche out-of-home media arm, Primedia Unlimited, will henceforth be known as Primedia Retail. Demand for the media biz’ in-store products have grown in the last couple of years, success the business attributes to a singular focus on marketing and advertising in and around retail environments, slick customer service, excellent mix of retail clients, prime locations, and unique success-measurement and reporting tools. And this despite the depredations of COVID-19 and dire predictions of the demise of retail as we know it. “We are confident that there will always be a place for bricks-and-mortar stores. Consumers have shifted to online for basics and commodities, but the retail experience is still highly desirable,” says Primedia Retail CEO JD Henderson.

Comment: Another business not afraid of some bold reinvention in the face of a dramatically changing landscape.

Sometimes its headwinds all the way (remember those grim days, some years back, when rising fuel and food prices lifted inflation out of the target range and the Reserve Bank in its wisdom piled on with the interest rate, in a doom loop of inflation and rising interest rates?) and sometimes we get a break. Like now, when we most need it, when commodity prices are something like +30% up across the board with no sign of slowing down, causing the value of our exports to reach an all-time high for the month of March, and a trade surplus somewhere north of R50bn. Mining is recovering nicely from lockdown, and this has helped us meet global demand. Commodity prices have risen in response to growing demand as the global economy rights itself much faster than expected, and green infrastructure investment programmes kick off in both developed and emerging markets.

Comment: Let’s hope that when we get busy on our own green infrastructure programme, we’ll be able to afford some of those commodities ourselves.