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A trading update from Pick n Pay this week, in which they were happy to report an increase in turnover of +4.3% in what they described as a “difficult year”. They seemed particularly chuffed with their performance in the South African grocery division, with sales up +9.9% in the first half and +10.1% in the second. Not so happy, though, were sales of alcohol and tobacco, for obvious reasons, where restrictions cost the business around R4bn. Other areas where COVID-19 hit the business were hot food, bakery, deli, clothing and GM. They also warned that some R200m were added to Group operating expenses as a result of measures relating to the ongoing pandemic.

Comment: No doubt we will have more for you following next week’s full year results preso. In the meantime, though, looking good.

Nice work from South Africa’s big retailers, all meeting their commitments to keeping prices down during this hellish time. This according to BusinessTech, who have run a price comparison across a basket of 12 common food items, looking at the relative performance of Checkers, Woolies, SPAR and Pick n Pay, comparing these to their numbers from a year ago. Woolies was -6.0% down on where they’d been (thanks to a new tea product), SPAR -4.5%, Pick n Pay -2.2% (although a basket including PnP’s No Name brand was down -3.3%) and Checkers -1.4%. Private labels from all of the retailers were included. All told, the Checkers basket was the most affordable, with Woolies not unexpectedly the priciest, and Pick n Pay and SPAR bringing up the solid centre. While there were some lockdown-related price increases, all retailers seem to have successfully invested in inflation-busting value for their punters, even as the National Agricultural Marketing Council’s Food Price Monitor found inflation of 9.8% on a basic urban food basket.

Comment: As the numbers reveal, such measures are subjective. But also informative.

Another slow news week in this great industry we call home, so we are here to tell you that Woolies dairy is the absolute bomb, and it has the awards to prove it. 96 of them, to be precise, which it picked up at the National Dairy Championship, where 900 products entered by 68 manufacturers, in more than 100 different classes, put up competition that was stiffer than Ayrshire’s double thick, whipped furiously for a minute and a half. 40 of these awards were first prizes. And two of the prizes were Qualité, out of just eight awarded. Are we done? No, dear reader, we are not. The Dapper One also took home the Grand Prize, nabbing the Product of the Year award for its 10-month mature gouda, for the third time, nogal. This, say the hosts Agri-Expo, who have been running the show since 1834, is a clear reflection of Woolworths’ ongoing dedication to offering consumers only the finest selection of quality dairy products, year after year.

Comment: And who can say fairer than that?

Getting good value out of Walmart this week is Zest Labs Inc., from San Jose, California, who have sued the Big Feller for $115m US for misappropriation of confidential information and trade secrets to do with the development of the ‘Eden’ system, which is used to keep produce and proteins fresh. They apparently asked Zest if they could check the system out, then straight up copied the technology. Over in France, Carrefour have struck up an ententé cordiale with Deliveroo to bring 60-minute home delivery to Paris, after launching in Belgium, Italy and Spain, and with plans to roll out to ten other cities in short order. And over the pond, in dear old Blighty, Tesco is offering punters half a million free electric vehicle chargers, as it works with Volkswagen and Pod Point to install EV charging points at 600 supermarkets across the UK. At one Tesco, in Slough, charge points have already been used over 10,000 times.

Comment: Free charging will rapidly become just part of the cost of doing business, you mark our words.

Regard, if you will, the humble sweet potato: oddly shaped, variable in hue, but uniformly nutritious, easy to grow, and commendably inexpensive. Its virtues have not gone unnoticed by McCain Foods, which is working with the International Potato Centre (CIP) to introduce orange-fleshed sweet potato puree as a nutritious and cost-effective ingredient in the food industry, bringing this beneficial technology to the diverse markets in South Africa. The CIP is an initiative of the Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CGIAR), which has developed more than 11 biofortified crops over the last 20 years benefiting tens of millions of small-scale farmers. McCain produce tons of puree every year as a by-product of their sweet potato fries and will be working with government bodies and CIP in public-private partnerships to bring this puree affordably to children and youth at risk of malnutrition.

Comment: A worthy initiative, and a model for our industry as we strive to do the right thing for South Africans in need, while remaining profitable.

It’s no secret that South Africa’s pubs and taverns were hit hard by the COVID-19 lockdowns, as were the businesses that supply them. Enter Diageo, with its #WeChoose campaign, launched in Durban, Jo’burg and Cape Town, which provides a stock injection and marketing support, and guidance for the promotion of responsible drinking. “We want to avoid another strict lockdown where the alcohol industry suffers,” explains Marketing Director, Zizwe Vundlaso, “So all parties need to play their part – responsible trading by outlets and responsible consumption by consumers.” 400 hospitality businesses have been targeted by the campaign, including newish kid on the block, 88 Beach Soweto in Jo’burg, and the iconic 50 On Gugs in Cape Town.

Comment: Admirable. South Africa has an enthusiastic but often dysfunctional relationship with alcohol, and the sustainability of the industry (and the avoidance of further lockdowns) depends on more responsible consumption.

Good news, at freaking last, from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has revised its growth outlook for the Beloved Country upward, from +2.8% to +3.1%, as South Africa struggles to recover from the economic fallout from the still-raging pandemic. The IMF’s global outlook is for +6% growth this year, which does rather put our own efforts into sobering contrast. Last year, the IMF forked out $4.3bn in emergency financing to help us over the lockdowns. In other macro-economic news, the dear old ZAR is the only emerging currency currently holding its own against the almighty dollar, trading at around R14.40 per at time of going to press, thanks to a rally in commodity prices, driven in part by Uncle Joe Biden’s massive infrastructure plan which, if adopted, will result in massive demand for stuff which we have in spades, like iron and steel. And our most recent budget proved chastening for the doomsayers among international investors, who have been forced to revise their projections for our economic prospects upwards.

Comment: Don’t bet against the resilience of this great place we call home, is our message.