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It seems that when Choppies South Africa closed shop, as it were, back in 2020, that wasn’t the end of the story. The failing business was sold to Kind Investments, controlled by one unnamed previously disadvantaged owner, for the sum of one ront, on the understanding that Kind would inject a further R100m into the business. Subsequently, the new ownership was approached by SPAR, Pick n Pay, and Shoprite, but only Shoprite, it seems has the appetite for a turnaround. While the Big Red One is keeping silent on the possibility of a merger or acquisition, it is apparently close to closing a deal – although whether it’s for the full 93 stores or a reported 38 is not completely clear right now.

Comment: Shoprite is always on the lookout for room to grow in South Africa. Competition Commission considerations aside, this is one way to do it.

Happy 53rd birthday to Game, who is celebrating the occasion by giving customers spending R500 or more the chance to win up to R1m in Game vouchers to spend in store or online. In store, customers will pop a balloon and if a scratch card falls out, will be asked to scratch the card to reveal the voucher amount. Online, the retailer will deploy a balloon widget. Over at SPAR, its popular ‘Win a Car’ promo is back, offering a Special Edition Hyundai Grand i20, linked to the purchase of products from participating brands. In other SPAR news, CEO Mike Bosman has offered assistance to the KZN Department of Education with the National School Nutrition Programme debacle, after its main service provider, Pancia Retail, failed to properly implement the programme for the second term, and subsequently pulled out of the contract at short notice. The programme is meant to deliver food to poverty-stricken pupils in schools, and SPAR had mounted a rival bid to Pancia in the tender process. Bosman has offered the interim services of SPAR’s South Rand, North Rand, Lowveld and Eastern Cape DCs to address the crisis.

Comment: Another instance of private sector initiatives supporting, if not supplanting, the work of government.

In bad news for the Big Fella, Walmart ranked at the bottom for customer service among 20 general merchandisers with an overall score of 70 out of a 100 according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Not taking this lying down, Walmart has sprung into action, launching a week-long training programme called ‘Manager Academy’ to help managers better oversee employees and store operations. The programme is part of an initiative Walmart announced in 2021 to spend $1bn over five years on career development and training. News now from our colleagues at the Irish Farmers Journal, which reports that Tesco has clarified that it does not buy milk directly off farmers but from dairy producers. This as a dairy price war wracks the Irish retail industry and puts the wind up Irish farmers. On the front of a pack of Tesco long life milk reads the legend “From Farms in the Republic of Ireland”. Finally, to Taiwan where with the sale of Carrefour Taiwan’s 68 hypermarkets and 272 neighbourhood supermarket locations to Uni-President, the latter is upping the ante in its longstanding battle for market dominance with rival PX Mart.

Comment: Another market becoming unsustainably consolidated.

There’s only one story among the suppliers this week, much as it annoys us to report on it. And that’s the runaway success of Prime Hydration, yours recently for as much as R450 a bottle, and the energy-drink face of equally inexplicable YouTube sensation, human brand, and unsuccessful prize-fighter, Logan Paul. Anyway (sigh), what explains the demand? Fame and social media, for one. Witness the global success of AQUAhydrate, the alkaline water product launched by teen matinee idols Mark “Marky Mark” Wahlberg and Sean “Puffy” Combs. Or Beyonce’s WTRMLN WTR, a beverage so pure it doesn’t even contain vowels. Then there’s the general rise of value-added water and vitamin beverage products and energy drinks, backed heavily by the big players; Nestlé has said it will shortly be investing in the “nutritive beverages” category. (Like milk? Ed.)

Comment: And finally – sorry – there’s the fact that as hip as we generally are to the global marketplace, sometimes we on the southern tip do reveal a certain naïve enthusiasm for the trappings of the wider world.

To PepsiCo, global parent of the eponymous local business, which reported a +16% increase in prices globally for the first quarter, even as sales volumes slipped -2%. Rivals Nestlé and Coca-Cola have recently reported similar results. CFO Hugh Johnston expects that while inflation might ease this year, commodity prices should remain high, and in certain inflationary markets around the world (coughthat’suscough), they may have to continue to take price increases. To Oceana, which confidently predicts that HEPS will be up by between +127% and +147% for the six months through March, thanks to higher opening inventory levels, strong volumes in canned fish and firm international pricing for fishmeal, fish oil and wild caught seafood. Next, farewell to Distell, which delisted from the JSE last week, having completed its R40bn merger with Heineken’s local operation. Finally, British American Tobacco pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges it conspired to violate US sanctions by selling tobacco products to North Korea, and to commit bank fraud, from 2009 and 2017.

Comment: Lots to digest, not all of it wholesome.

The Producer Price Index, which measures ‘factory gate’ inflation for manufactured goods and is considered a leading indicator of where consumer inflation is going, rose by +10.6% YoY for March, compared with +12.2% in February. In the same month, the prices of agriculture goods, mining and electricity and water also rose more slowly, with the PPI for agriculture falling 6.7 percentage points to 7.5%. Earlier this month, you will recall, the CPI hit 7.1%, an unexpected high and well beyond the Reserve Bank’s targeted 3-6% band, prompting some traders to speculate that that august institution may increase the lending rate by 50 basis points in late May rather than the more usual 25. South African consumers are already struggling, as real wages declined -10% in one year as new jobs were created in poorer paying sector like hospitality.

Comment: Even the pale hope of a slightly lower than expected PPI may offer some relief.