Simon Susman is experiencing an awkward exit from the role of CEO at Woolies. First the foreign exchange allegations from embittered ex-Country Road MD John Cheston. Then sarcy suggestions at the AGM from professional bloody nuisance Theo Botha that his ascendance to the position of Chairman might be contrary to the spirit of King III, as he could exert undue influence over incoming CEO Ian Moir. Mr Susman in the meantime has taken over the reins as deputy chair – a custom-built position – with immediate effect. Moir, in the meantime, has said that he will be leading the business into the further reaches of cyber-retail, and into the earthier extremes of the African continent, where, he says, it’s important to take the long view.

Please note: this story originally referred to “the Reserve bank’s intention to pursue the matter” of possible foreign-exchange violations by Mr Susman. In fact, the Reserve Bank has made no such intentions clear; rather it has said that generally speaking it would pursue contraventions of the provisions of Exchange Control Regulations.

Comment: Chin up, Mr S. Or should we say “Number 2.”

Economic Development Minister, the economically-bearded Ebrahim Patel, has convened a panel to advise the government on the likely implications of Walmart’s bid to buy a majority stake in Massmart. The panel will identify the policy issues, speak to a wide range of stakeholders, including retailers, manufacturers and trade unionists, and will focus on issues of economic development, like how many jobs will be created by the deal, or otherwise, as the case may be. SACCAWU, in the meantime, has indicated that it could go on strike should the deal go ahead, and has handed the unflappable Mr Pattison a list of demands, including that all existing conditions and agreements remain in place after the dotted line has been signed.

Comment: For the real lowdown on the deal, of course, you’d want to invest in our special report on the subject, by simply clicking here.

The awkward buggers down at the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) have scuppered, for the moment, Pick n Pay’s chances of an easy exit from that apparently pointless continent, by refusing Metcash (Aus) the right to acquire all of its Franklins stores. The transactees, if that is the expression, have extended their cut-off date for the deal and Metcash has told the ACCC in no uncertain terms that in no fewer than five business days it would take further steps to proceed with the deal. The hard men of the analysts penal battalion, in the meantime, have opined that tough as it may get, Pick n Pay should be able to get shot of Franklins piecemeal, no problem – although PnP CFO Mr Cope has said that it probably wouldn’t be at the same attractive price per store. Woolies (Aus) is apparently having a bit of a nibble at some Franklins stores already.

Comment: The whole unfortunate situation reminds us of a racehorse we once owned.

KZN is the next Saudi Arabia as local hero Tongaat Hulett gets into energy production. For starters it’s negotiating with Eskom to sell everyone’s favourite parastatal as much as R3billion worth of electricity per annum – that’s 350 megawatts, or 5% of SA’s requirements – generated from the burning of bagasse and trash in the mills. Then of course there’s the ethanol you can wring out of the cane itself to power that Merc, a line of business Tongaat have yet to really get into. On the actual sugar front, in the meantime, Tongaat generated ten times more revenue from its operations in Mozambique and Zim – R466million – than it did from its sugar business in SA.

Comment: The hot air generated on Tongaat Hulett’s many attractive golf courses is probably worth another 350mW.

Astral Foods’ sales fell 5% to R8.4billion for the year to September, dispatched thither by a depressed consumer market in an economy which had lost 1.2million jobs, as well as by a stronger rand which made imported poultry more affordable than the local variety. However, and it’s a nice one, a tight rein on costs meant that operating profit rose marginally by 1% to R585millions. Astral’s feed division is an interesting case – low maize prices hit the division’s revenue, despite an increase in demand from the company’s poultry division. However, while revenue dropped 11% to R4.2billion, operating profit was up 8% to R281million.

Comment: Poultry businesses are the real lightning rod for economic circumstance, providing us with a dramatic yet nuanced view of what’s really going on out there.

In March last year new CEO Paul Polman promised to engineer a recovery in sales volumes over at le Grand Bleu, by repositioning products and brands, and this has largely succeeded. Gimlet-eyed analysts are sceptical, however, pointing to dramatic industry price deflation which would have driven those volumes anyway. This view explains in part why Unilever’s share price is lagging competitors by up to 15%, and is down by 7% this year. Broad-based businesses have also fallen out of favour with investors, and with products ranging from detergents to tea, Unilever is a broad church indeed. The upside, of course, is that the stock offers great potential for growth.

Comment: And given Unilever’s history of innovation and reinvention, growth is exactly what one might expect.

Most of our retailers received honourable mention in this year’s Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Report, with Woolies and Clicks in joint 8th place with 83%, Pick n Pay pipping Massmart for 17th, with scores of 77% and 76% respectively, and newcomer SPAR in an impressive 18th place with 73%. The Carbon Disclosure rating, which has been used for the past four years in South Africa focuses on the disclosure of emissions, the degree to which a company has identified the risks and opportunities facing it from climate change, and the development of internal structures for information management and governance. The scores are a credit to an industry which is taking meaningful strides in the direction of both compliance and transparency.

Comment: Disclosure of this nature is a mark of confidence in a company, and an acknowledgement that today’s shoppers really do care about how you do business.

GDP growth grew by a trifling 2.6% in the third quarter, well below the 3.2% certain shifty-eyed pundits were predicting. And to make matters worse, growth for the second quarter was revised down from 3.2% to 2.8%. As our favourite economist, Cees Bruggemans over at FNB somewhat drily has it, “If there was any World Cup growth dividend, it certainly was well hidden in the detail.” Mrs D at the Reserve Bank, in the meantime, warns us somewhat superfluously that the economy is “still fragile”. Star performers in this fragile economy of ours turned out to be mining (28%) and agriculture (16%), while this jolly old sector we call home came limping in at a less than robust 3%. The villain of the piece is of course manufacturing, negative to the tune of 1.5%.

Comment: We’re looking at an average of 2.8% for the year, with 3% just possible for next year only if certain boys would learn to apply themselves a little better.

FVC, as they are somewhat racily known in the industry, have opened up a prizewinning marrow of a store, a stonking great 4,000m2 Food Lovers Market in Woodlands Boulevard, Pretoria, where they like an eco-friendly purveyor of all that’s crunchy and fresh as much as the next ou, and where they will be treated to sundry pulverised goodies at the Daily Grind, a large and sinister stone ground mill that will reduce to a powder any number of things from coffee to legumes and cereals.

In Nigeria Shoprite has received kudos in the press from a pair of suppliers who commend the Big Red One for its integrity, insistence on quality and supplier development. In Zambia, not so much – its Kabwe store got slapped with a K450 000 (R690.76) fine for sanitation and aircon issues. Which, reading between the lines is probably more a question of the municipality fishing where the kwacha are rather than any real lack of performance in these areas.