Just yesterday, Makro opened its 23rd store (on the 23rd day of the month) in the beachside town of Gonubie, East London, bringing an end to the six-year-long dry spell on new Makro store openings. Gonubie is one of the fastest-growing business hubs in the Eastern Cape and the new Makro will bring families, local businesses and holiday-makers visiting the region a comprehensive offering of the key departments Makro is famous for – including a standalone liquor store alongside the main store. It will also, of course, support the orders received through Makro’s app and website, bringing delivery and click and collect to the seaside town. Says Duval van Rhyn, Interim Vice President of Makro, “This is a move that we have been working on for some time, and one that has been highly requested by shoppers in the area. We’re also proud to have created over 200 new jobs within this store.”

Comment: It’s been a long time coming for one of SA’s most iconic shopping destinations. Congratulations, Makro.

We don’t often cover dealings in the furniture market, but when the seller is Shoprite, our ears instantly prick up. As you may or may not recall (no judgment here… we’re all busy people), in August last year, Shoprite announced that it was looking to sell its furniture stores to Pepkor, subject, of course, to approval by the competition authorities. Said approval has now been provisionally granted, on condition that no employees be retrenched, and that the level of sourcing from local furniture suppliers be maintained or even increased. The deal means that Shoprite will pocket some R3bn and allow it to slim down its overall business to focus on areas of greatest potential. For Pepkor, it will mean taking its store count from 900 to 1,300 across South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, eSwatini and Zambia.

Comment: Nothing is cast in stone, just ask Shoprite. If a division no longer serves you and your broader strategy, cut it loose and make a buck off of it while you can. We look forward to seeing where Shoprite invests that R3bn.

Botswanan retailer Choppies has announced that it will be selling its Zimbabwe business to Pintail Trading, a supermarket chain based in southern Zim. The sale is in line with Choppies’ strategy of focusing on its more profitable regions and has been approved by the Competition Authority of Zimbabwe. A little further north, B2B e-commerce platform Twiga in Kenya will be snatching up majority stakes in three regional FMCG distributors, Jumra (Nairobi and Central), Sojpar (Western Kenya) and Raisons (Coast), to extend its reach in the country and enhance its procurement and distribution capabilities. Integration with Twiga will allow the three regional players to leverage Twiga’s tech and solutions, while Twiga will benefit from the warehousing, fleet and local expertise of the new partners to drive national scale-up. And finally, The Entertainer, the UK’s largest independent toy retailer, has partnered with no other than the UK’s largest grocer, Tesco, announcing that it will be expanding its already existing concession partnership into over 2,000 Tesco Express stores. This follows the success of The Entertainer’s first roll out of concessions into 850 Tesco supers in just two years, which was completed in Oct 2024.

Last week, Heineken Beverages, which brings us the likes of Amstel, Savanna, Amarula, Windhoek Lager, Nederburg and Hunter’s, let it be known that its first quarter of business was not all that, with beer and cider sales volumes dropping in the Beloved Country. This resulted in organic revenue performing below the market, with growth increasing by a “low-single-digit percentage” while consolidated volume declined. Investment holding company, Remgro, which owns almost one-fifth of Heineken Beverages, was not particularly complimentary, saying that “they scored a few own goals”, such as raising prices ahead of the market, which lost it market share. There were some bright spots however, with “strong growth in cider led by Savanna” and the new Bernini Mimosa being positively received by the sweeter-toothed alcohol drinkers.

Whether consumed to kickstart our daily food intake, or as an on-the-go snack, breakfast cereals are one of those ultimate comfort foods found in most homes. And like many other food categories these days, they’re all about the balance between function and flavour. This according to Insight Survey’s ‘South African Breakfast Cereals Industry Landscape Report 2025’, which covers the latest global and local trends, as well as innovations, drivers, and challenges within our SA cereal market. According to the report, the health-conscious consumer is now a key target for local brands, where leading players are reformulating and expanding their ranges to better meet this demand. Sacrifice flavour for health at your peril, however. To win consumers over, cereals still need to taste good, which has led to the emergence of indulgent, limited-editions creating nostalgia and appealing to novelty-seekers – pizza-flavoured cereal, anyone? Look here if you don’t believe us. With consumers no longer willing to sacrifice one for the other, brands that can offer nutritional value alongside engaging and indulgent flavour experiences are well-positioned for success.

Our manufacturers have been buzzing with news this week, which we have the pleasure of synthesising for you right here. In no particular order other than alphabetical, we start with Adock Ingram, which has won a trademark dispute against Cipla Medpro its use of the trademark Furizome (a UTI antibiotic drug), which the Western Cape High Court has found is visually, aurally and conceptually too similar to Adcock’s Urizone. Staying with pharma, Aspen has warned that it may see a R2bn dive in earnings due to a “material contractual dispute” involving the manufacturing of its mRNA vaccines (used to prevent COVID and similar fiends). Details are still thin on the ground. We’ll bring you those as they emerge. Next, last week Coca-Cola Beverages SA (CCBSA) said that it would be working hard to shield its consumers from the effects of the VAT increase. Guess what? You’re off the hook there now, Coke. And finally, the socials are all aglow with the launch earlier this month of Vaseline’s Cera-Glow range, with something called “Pro-Ceramide Technology” which, apparently, helps our skin “create over 100 custom-made ceramides”, the latter being important for our skin’s protective barrier, or so our 17-year-old niece tells us.

Comment: Glowing credentials aside, this new range from Vaseline certainly elevates the brand, shifting it from an affordable, if iconic, manufacturer of petroleum jelly based products to one that competes on a more premium playground.

Inflation data for March 2025 came out yesterday, with total CPI at +2.7%, its lowest reported level since Jun 2020 (shew, feels like a lifetime ago). Why so low? Fuel prices are lower than last year (by over R2 per litre for both petrol and diesel) and inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages was contained at +2.7%, due to meat inflation at only +0.4% and milk, eggs and cheese at only +0.6%. There were some highs, though, like hot beverages (tea +13% and coffee +19%) and +13.1% more for maize meal, but the lower inflation in other categories kept the total contained. Looking ahead, and attempting (Ed note. Good try…) to account for unpredictability from the US, inflation forecasts for SA are supported by the lower international oil price expectations. Barring any major geopolitical changes, SA’s credit-active consumers should see some relief, with an interest rate cut, or two, but only later in the year – when and if the tariff-dust settles. In the meantime, however, the price of a household food basket is still increasing, just not as fast as it has been, with data from the PMB ED&J showing it costs over R5,300 per month to feed a family of seven, plus another R1,022 for household and personal care products. Compared to three years ago, that’s +R1,200 more per month (+23%)!

Comment: Moderation is welcome but households remain under pressure at a time when nothing is certain. The US tariff rollercoaster continues, and SA’s +0.5% VAT increase, expected on 1 May, has just been withdrawn by the Finance Minister. You missed our submissions deadline this week, Honourable Godongwana. But for you, we make an exception.