SPAR has managed at last to offload its underperforming Polish operation to local outfit Specjał, a retailer with a reputation for growth and innovation. In the ‘deal’, SPAR will be paid the equivalent in złoty of R185m for 200 stores, three DCs and one production facility, but (brace yourselves) the Group will be required to recapitalise the business by R2.7bn, mostly to settle its funding debt. In essence, it will be paying a hefty price to get the Polish operation off its hands. “We are pleased to have been able to structure this sale in the agreed timeframe and are ready to take our own business to the next level by focusing on our Southern African strengths as the heart of our business,” says Group CEO Angelo Swartz. In other SPAR news, Kagiso Trust, through its Tyala Impact Fund, has awarded R300,000 each to 10 farmers in the SPAR Group’s Rural Hub farmer development programme, which supports small-scale farmers through guaranteed markets for their produce, by providing relevant technical and food safety training and facilitating access to funding.

Comment: Quite the blow for SPAR vis-à-vis Poland, make no mistake. However, an important step on the road to recovery.

Last month we reported that Discovery had bumped Pick n Pay as a partner off its HealthyFood benefit in favour of Checkers. This was a big freakin’ deal for the latter, which has launched the programme in store and on screen with the endorsement of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, greyer, true, cuddlier, but as twinkly as ever and very dapper in the teal blue Checkers livery. “Anything that can help people on the path to cooking and eating delicious, nutritious food is a win in my book,” he says. “We have to acknowledge that this journey starts with our shopping baskets, so I’m delighted to support the launch of Checkers’ new partnership with Discovery Vitality.” Under the new partnership, Vitality members will be rewarded for choosing any of the more than 2,500 HealthyFood products in Checkers stores. Pick n Pay, in the meantime, has moved on, with the launch of its free-to-join Pick n Pay Live Well Club, which will give its 11 million Smart Shopper loyalty members triple Smart Shopper points on over 1,000 Live Well Club-approved products and 15% off discount vouchers to redeem on the items they buy most often.

Comment: Pick n Pay as the scrappy underdog is an interesting look. But one which Sean Summers wears well.

Woolies has 20 WCellar stores now trading, with more in the pipeline. “Our Woolies customers do spend a lot on alcoholic beverages, but they spend this with our competitors,” says CEO Roy Bagattini. “We would like to offer our client base an environment where they can buy their alcohol.” And when he says client base, he’s referring in no small part to women, who make up a solid majority of shoppers there, and to whom no liquor retailer currently caters with any real enthusiasm. Next Pick n Pay is expecting to raise as much as R8bn when it lists main-market phenom Boxer Superstores towards the end of the year. "The Boxer IPO (initial public offering) will also ensure that Boxer is accorded a market value that appropriately reflects its growth trajectory and return on invested capital,” says PnP. Finally, Sasol has been named the customer experience winner in the Petrol Stations: Forecourt Industry category for the third consecutive year in the 2024/2025 Ask Afrika Orange Index. The experience in question includes the convenience retail offered by its Sasol Delight forecourt stores.

Comment: The arrival of Boxer as an independent retail force is eagerly anticipated.

Another one in our occasional series of picking a country and digging into the foibles of its grocery retail sector, for the benefit of any brand which might want to do business there. This week: the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which with a sector value of $30.17bn in 2023, is comparable in scale to our own. Its projected growth, of +6.2% through 2029, is enviable though, and is driven by rapid urbanisation, an expanding expat population of, as far as we can tell, sharky English real estate agents, and growing demand for convenience. The main formats? Supers and hypers (which account for around 85% of spend), as well as online. The big players are Carrefour, local outfit Lulu Hypermarket, and Spinneys, a regional institution established in the 1920s by a retired British soldier. Popular lines? Organic fresh items and imported delicacies will definitely get you in the door, and once you’re there, you’ll encounter a well-heeled shopper base eager to experiment and keen on convenient solutions like high-end ready-to-eat.

Comment: Also, there’s a solid market of South African expats absolutely hanging for Zoo biscuits, Ouma rusks and Lucky Star pilchards.

Beefmaster Group is a family-owned and impressively branded supplier of beef products throughout Southern Africa, the Middle East, the Far East and points beyond. And they believe that China is where the action is going to be, following trade talks during President Ramaphosa’s recent state visit. “Although South Africa already exports beef to China, the deepening relationship between South Africa and China could unlock an additional 50% more beef exports within the next year,” says executive chairman Louw van Reenen. In the first six months of 2024, the South African beef industry exported over 23,000 tons of the popular protein – more beef than any corresponding period in the past eight years, according to the Red Meat Producers Organisation. This following similar trade agreements between the Middle East and South Africa.

Comment: This eastward pivot could prove an economy-saving move by the government. Provided it doesn’t also annoy certain other large trading partners.

Nice work to Heineken, Diamond sponsor of Tuesday’s Sustainability Summit Africa in Joburg. The event, titled “Resilient Supply Chains: Navigating Challenges Sustainably”, saw industry experts and thought leaders discussing strategies to build resilient supply chains in the face of global challenges like climate change, geopolitical instability and economic volatility. Because – as we have said before – these issues are at or near the very top of the agenda for global businesses like Heineken. Congrats also to Khaled Ramadan, appointed by Nestlé Kenya as the new Managing Director and Head for East & Horn of Africa, and Greater Zambezi markets. He will oversee operations in 16 countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia. Finally, Capitalworks Group together with its, erm, wingman Crown Chickens has increased its stake in Quantum Foods to 11.44%. This ahead of a much-anticipated special shareholders meeting this week with an agenda that included allegations of market manipulation and irregular share purchase by certain directors.

Comment: More on that next week when we have a clearer picture.

The excellent Trade Intelligence Economic Report for the month of August is in ( get your freebie here), and as the first fragile shoots of spring appear on the vlaktes, it’s a promising one. GDP growth was up +0.4% QoQ for Q2, while CPI came in at +4.6% for the month of July, comfortably within the Government’s targeted band, and bringing substantial cuts to the interest rates within view. On the downside, the unemployment rate for the quarter was 42.6%, with 8.4 million people unemployed, 463,000 more than last year – and 3.2 million discouraged people of working age. Consumer confidence at -12 was still in negative territory for Q2, although higher than it’s been for 18 months, while business confidence also ticked 5 points up, to 35. And retail trade sales, as we have reported, stormed through with a +4.1% increase for June, with General Dealers (that’s FMCG) growing more modestly at +3.3%.

Comment: All in all, numbers we can work with. Except unemployment – that remains a number we all need to work on.