Christmas trading for SA's retailers proved fair to middling, with more of the same expected as the year goes on. 20 Jan 2015
The Foschini Group (TFG) said Christmas trading was above expectations with group sales growth of 12.5% for December 2014‚ the clothing retailer said in a sales update on Thursday, 15 January 2014. 19 Jan 2015
Keith Warburton, outgoing Clicks COO
Image: Clicks Group
Clicks (CLS) on Friday, 16 January 2015, announced that Keith Warburton‚ an executive director and chief operating officer of the company‚ has resigned effective 31 March. 19 Jan 2015
The Foschini Group (TFG) on Friday, 16 January 2015, announced that it had acquired 85% of UK clothing chain Poppy Holdco - which trades under the name Phase Eight - for £238m. 16 Jan 2015
Shoprite (SHP) increased its turnover for the six months ended December 2014 by about 12.5% from the previous comparable period to R57.5bn‚ the supermarket group said in an operational update on Wednesday, 14 January 2015. 14 Jan 2015
Retailer Truworths is set to become the dominant player in the money-spinning children's-wear market after agreeing to buy iconic specialists Naartjie and Earthchild. 7 Jan 2015
Spar, which services independent retailers trading under the Spar, Tops at Spar, Build It and Savemore brands, plans to open 35 new Spar stores in the year ahead and renovate 180, CEO Graham O'Connor said in the group's latest annual report, released last week. 5 Jan 2015
Speciality products such as well-priced tablets and smartphones and digital toys will dominate Christmas sales. 22 Dec 2014
PARIS, FRANCE: French retail giant Carrefour said on Thursday, 18 December 2014, it has sold 10% of its Brazilian subsidiary to local billionaire Abilio Diniz for 525 million euros ($650 million). 22 Dec 2014
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) eased to 5.8% year-on-year in November in line with market expectation. 17 Dec 2014
Woolworths has opened a new store in Accra's upmarket West Hills Mall, the retailer's second store in Ghana. At 555sqm, the new store is large enough to meet growing Ghana's demand for Woolworths modern product offerings. The West Hills Mall store stocks a comprehensive range of men's, women's and children's clothing as well as beauty, footwear and accessories. 15 Dec 2014
Following the success of the Orange Online Store, introduced to South Africa earlier this year, telecommunications services provider Orange will launch its first branded retail store in South Africa, situated in Claremont, Cape Town. The store is expected to start trading in January 2015. 12 Dec 2014
If Woolworths' cold chain is broken for eight consecutive minutes, the retailer considers the products waste and dumps them. For Pick n Pay the "down time" is seven minutes... 12 Dec 2014
While initially anticipating festive retail sales would only grow marginally in 2014, Growthpoint Properties Retail Portfolio Divisional Director Stephan le Roux believes the added stumbling block of load shedding, which is often unscheduled, has become major obstacle for retail sales growth during this important season and the continuation of load shedding has made even slight growth for retailers, restaurants and malls unlikely. 10 Dec 2014
As Cotton On continues to grow its global footprint, the Australian-based retailer remains committed and invested in expanding its South African fleet, opening its largest global store this Friday in KwaZulu-Natal's Gateway Theatre of Shopping. At 2,368sqm, it offers collections from a number of brands within the group, including Cotton On, Cotton On Body, FREE by Cotton On, Cotton On Kids and Rubi Shoes. The new store will reflect the brand's updated brand look and will represent its future direction in store design. 10 Dec 2014
Retailers are complaining that they are having to bear the brunt of Eskom's load-shedding over successive weekends during their peak trading season ahead of Christmas. 8 Dec 2014
After the launch of its first store in Zambia in 2010, Pick n Pay opened its 9th store in Chingola yesterday, 4 December 2014. 5 Dec 2014
Retailers are unlikely to experience much festive cheer this year as the strain on disposable income persists... 2 Dec 2014
Nigeria, where most of the people live on less than US$2 a day, is the fastest growing markets in the world for French champagne and digital TVs and could be the next big growth frontier for luxury goods. 28 Nov 2014
November through to February means increased time in the malls either for shopping, entertainment or simply catching up with friends and family over a meal or coffee for many consumers. The challenge for shopping centres and landlords is to drive traffic to their malls and hold the attention and interest of their shoppers during a time that has many distractions. 28 Nov 2014