A solid set of results from Pick n Pay, which reported turnover growth of +5.2% to just shy of R98bn for the terribly difficulty 12 months through February, with trading profit up a solid +12% to R3.0 bn. So much for the numbers. The exciting news at the results presentation was twofold. One, Pick n Pay has entered into a commercial agreement with Takealot that will see its food, groceries, and liquor products added in a dedicated section to the Mr D app this August, with delivery available nationwide by the end of the financial year. And B: a big overhaul in the structure and focus of the core Pick n Pay business, to better distinguish between its offerings and compete across different consumer segments. The main Pick n Pay trading brand will be positioned as an upmarket retailer, offering the current 18,000 SKUs and competing more directly with Checkers and Woolworths. And then there will be something currently operating under the intriguing nom de guerre ‘Pick n Pay Project Red’ – a mid-range brand serving shoppers that will cover consumers between the high-end and Boxer’s low-income heartland, carrying around 8,000 SKUs with an emphasis on both quality and price.

Comment: For a more detailed take on those results, have a look at this excellent summary from our analysts.

Some news from the marathon/sprint that is the burgeoning home-delivery market here in the Beloved Country. Research outfit 22seven Insights has had a gander at what gives, and it’s a bit of an eye opener. It turns out that for the last quarter of 2021, Checkers’ Sixty60 service made up three-quarters of all on-demand grocery delivery spend, with PnP’s asap! and Woolies Dash sloping home at 13% and 12% respectively. But it’s not all plain sailing for Checkers – while a median Sixty60 order was worth R481, Woolies Dash leads with a median order value of R575, while PnP’s asap! comes in at R438. The success of Sixty60 comes even though it was almost the last to enter the delivery market. It has succeeded in part because of the velocity at which it scaled and the fact that it kept things very simple, basing the system around its stores rather than complex and costly fulfilment centres.

Comment: With Massmart’s recent acquisition of OneCart and Pick n Pay’s Takealot deal (see above), Checkers’ last-mover advantage may be somewhat diminished the next time we check in. Or perhaps not at all. We will watch this with interest.

Another week, another award for Woolworths. Five of them in fact, from the New York-based Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA), including one for its Berry & Yoghurt Smoothie Bars, one for its Coconut & Pineapple Sparkling Spring Drink, and one for its Lemon Verbena Fragranced Posh Pets Urine Destroyer. There was a time – hands up ballies – when Woolies offered just two house brands, ‘Servus’ in clothing and ‘Princess’ in foods, and that was it. For those born this side of 1972 with a penchant for history, have a look here. Moving on then, last month, we neglected to mention, Game zhoozshed up its e-commerce platform assisted by an investment from Massmart and dedicated support from Walmart’s global tech hub in Bangalore, India. The website is equipped with new features, functionalities, and product categories, aimed at providing a more streamlined experience for the customer. And of course, reviving Game’s flagging fortunes. Finally, Dis-Chem has let it be known that a data ‘incident’ involving a “third-party service provider or operator” has led to the compromise of around 3.7 million client records containing personal information, although no sensitive medical, financial or banking information was impacted. In other Dis-Chem news, it has just added to its portfolio of insurance products with the launch of Health Gap Cover, which provides for the payment of shortfalls incurred during medical treatments and procedures.

Comment: Welcome to the real world, Dis-Chem. Data compromises are something of a rite of passage around here.

OK what the heck Tesco, who in its wisdom, and in partnership with office operator IWG, has decided to trial flexible working space in its stores. It’s testing the concept in a new store, with a 3,800 square foot flexible working area boasting room for 12 private desks, 30 co-working spaces and a meeting room. If this works out it will help fill the aisles formerly occupied by the electrical goods, music and films now bought online or streamed. Over in the US, food solutions SpartanNash has partnered with grocery delivery platform DoorDash to expand its on-demand grocery offerings from 100 Family Fare stores and Martin’s Super Markets outlets. Back to Blighty now, where supermarket chain Morrisons has secured the deal to acquire struggling convenience chain McColl’s, defeating its rival bidder EG Group. The 1,160 stores in question comprise 270 Morrisons Daily format stores.

Comment: We’re all for a change of scenery, but we’re not setting up a Tatler satellite office in the old GM section of a Tesco, believe us.

Pioneer Foods has warned that global supply chain issues and the war in Ukraine will shortly raise prices across its portfolio. “The recent surge in soft commodity prices, most notably wheat, maize, and vegetable oil, on the back of the war in Ukraine is real,” says CEO for sub-Saharan Africa Tertius Carstens. “And [it] will have an unavoidable and material impact on the price of locally produced food such as wheat flour, bread, pasta, maize meal, breakfast cereals, and snacks.” Over at Tiger Brands, Thabani Msomi has been appointed Customer Strategy and Capability Director bringing deep FMCG experience to the role. Moving on, flavour and texture specialist >strong>Kerry has officially opened the largest and most advanced taste manufacturing facility on the African continent, a R650m facility in Hammarsdale, KZN, that will produce sustainable nutrition solutions to be consumed across the African continent. Kerry is also expanding its Development and Application Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, to further support customers in East Africa and the development of sustainable food processing for the continent.

Comment: Manufacturers like Kerry are the unsung workhorses of the industry, producing the ingredients without which branded goods couldn’t be made. Great that the business is investing so significantly on our continent.

A couple of big releases from the hoary sages over at Statistics South Africa, who continue to do a bang-up job reporting on the numbers which shape our world. First up, CPI, which – perhaps surprisingly – came in at 5.9% year-on-year, shifting not one iota from March. The monthly number was a +0.6% increase from the previous month, however, reflecting the impact of food and fuel prices on the cost of the basket. The main contributors to the annual rate were food and non-alcoholic beverages at 6%; housing and utilities; transport; and miscellaneous goods and services. On to retail trade sales, where the pedal of household disposable income hits the metal of the macro-economic context: at constant 2015 prices, retail trade sales increased by +1.3% year-on-year in March, with the largest positive annual growth rates recorded for retailers in pharmaceuticals and medical goods, cosmetics and toiletries at +6.2%; retailers in household furniture, appliances and equipment (+5.5%); and all ‘other’ retailers (+3.5%). Quarterly numbers, different story: sales increased by +2.5% year-on-year in Q1, with our own great sector – food, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores – growing +14.8% and contributing a 1.0 percentage point to the total.

Comment: So, it seems there’s life in the old fiscus yet. But the inflation numbers for May are likely to be worth a look.