Footwear and apparel brand Vans will move towards creating circular products and systems that use regenerative and recycled materials, designed to reduce waste and keep products in use and out of landfills. This forms part of the company's new commitments to environmental sustainability and responsibility that it says will be achieved by 2030. 22 Apr 2021
Retail advertising innovation company, Smart Media, has launched its till-point solution called Smart Grab & Go. 22 Apr 2021
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As Earth Day is observed around the world on 22 April, new research on sustainability, commissioned by Mastercard, reveals a marked increase in consumer passion for the environment, as personal attitudes toward the environment evolve as a result of Covid-19. 22 Apr 2021
Credit: Rack n Grill
A statement released by RocoMamas regarding its dispute with small business owner Muammer Kasu has been described by members of the public as "condescending" and "dishonest". 22 Apr 2021
Health and wellness e-tailer Faithful to Nature opened the doors to its first flagship store this month. Located at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, the new store offers visitors the opportunity to shop the green retailer's broad range of eco-friendly and ethical products across food, health, home, body, beauty and more. 21 Apr 2021
Attacq Limited, the developer of Waterfall City and Logistics Hub, has launched an online retail app called Shôping. According to the JSE-listed Reit, which owns the Mall of Africa, the Shôping app will curate unique experiences for mall visitors, in line with Attacq's mission to put the customer "back at the centre of the retail experience". 21 Apr 2021
A survey conducted by mass retailer Game has found that despite increasing levels of digitalisation around consumer behaviour in the last year, South African bargain hunters are using leaflets more than Google search (55%-45%) to compare prices. Additionally, 86% of them prioritise bargain hunting more so now than they did a year ago, no matter how much they earn or how big their household. 21 Apr 2021
The past 12 months have seen unprecedented changes to the retail scene. Marie McCarthy, regional sales director at Centric Software, outlines three key trends that will define 2021. 21 Apr 2021
Legal cannabis is set to increase from $30bn in 2020 to over $90bn in 2025, as consumers increase their usage in diverse parts of their lives, according to global market research company Euromonitor International. 21 Apr 2021
When the pandemic hit and the first lockdown arrived, everything ground to a halt. Looking at sales volumes from merchants trading on the SnapScan platform, we saw activity plummet by 50%, likely consistent with what the wider economy also experienced. But this plummet of activity didn't last long and with the swift onset of the e-commerce boom by the following month, in May 2020, we were seeing record numbers which have continued to grow month-on-month to date. This is fantastic news for online merchants, but where does it leave traditional brick and mortar establishments, and more importantly, how can we support these smaller businesses and the locals who run them to ensure they thrive? 20 Apr 2021
Nestlé has become the first food manufacturer and brand owner to join the Polyolefin Responsibility Organisation (Polyco) in South Africa, a not-for-profit industry body established in 2011 to focus on reducing the amount of used polyolefin plastic packaging waste going to landfill and ending plastic waste in the environment. 20 Apr 2021
Toymaker Mattel has announced its Drive Toward a Better Future commitment to make all Matchbox die-cast cars, playsets and packaging with 100% recycled, recyclable or bio-based plastic. Featuring a arrange of electric vehicles and environments that model the real world, the toys are designed to engage kids in a greener future of driving. 20 Apr 2021
TFG has launched the Foschini All Women app to offer its increasingly mobile customers easy access to Foschini's full range of fashion and cosmetics, alongside the Donna range and products from TFG's kids' brand Soda Bloc 20 Apr 2021
Credit: Rack n Grill
RocoMamas will meet with Cape Town-based Rack n Grill food truck owner Muammer Kasu on 20 April, after the burger franchise was called out for "corporate bullying tactics" when it demanded that the small takeaway business refrains from using the term 'Smash Burger' on its menu. 20 Apr 2021
Brand Intelligence® firm, Ornico tracked and analysed FMCG advertising in February 2021 to identify media habits and trends. This will form part of a broader annual trends discussion about the FMCG industry in a virtual event that takes place on 28 April 2021. Research shows that the most popular day of the week for new executions is Sunday across the top FMCG brands. 19 Apr 2021
Mitch Slape, Massmart CEO
While the financial impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic have left many retailers trading in an uncertain environment, Massmart CEO Mitch Slape said the retail group has recognised that while a large segment of consumers remains in financial distress, others are more flush with cash as monthly expenses have reduced. 19 Apr 2021
Domino's in the U.S. is trialing a new delivery service using self-driving robot cars to deliver food to customers in Houston, Texas. Customers who opt-in will have their pre-ordered pizzas and pies arrive in a fully autonomous vehicle made by self-driving delivery company Nuro. 19 Apr 2021
The past year has seen a massive surge in e-commerce. Data from Standard Bank shows an "84% increase in the value of online spend at supermarkets and grocery stores year-on-year while spending at online general merchandise stores increased by 458%". 19 Apr 2021
The wine and spirits industries are reminded to submit their respective entries for the 2021 Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show and Old Mutual Trophy Spirits Show by Friday, 23 April. 16 Apr 2021
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Any business comes with an element of risk, but with a proven system and support, the chances of success become higher, and this has been one of the main selling points of franchising. However, despite having demonstrated practices in place and immediate support from franchisors, the advent of Covid-19 sent shockwaves that left no industry unscathed, including those in the franchise chain. 16 Apr 2021
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