Everything, as it turns out. There’s a law in South Africa which states that if an insurance company is granted the right to sell a health-related product, it must get the approval of the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) before making any substantial changes to that product – including changing its name. Which is why Dis-Chem and its medical insurance partner, Centriq, now find themselves in a spot of bother over the naming of the health insurance products they have partnered on. In a classic case of ‘white labelling’ (or basically private labelling), the word ‘Dis-Chem’ was placed in front of Centriq’s existing ‘MyHealth Core’ and ‘MyHealth Vital’ products and marketed through and by Dis-Chem to its customer base. White labelling, although not illegal, follows very strict rules when it comes to pharmaceuticals and other health products. The CMS argued that by adding ‘Dis-Chem’ to the name, Centriq effectively created a new product name, for which it did not ask permission, and that customers might think Dis-Chem was the actual insurer. Centriq appealed against the decision, which the Appeals Board overruled. Centriq is currently engaging with the regulator to fix the paperwork and has already started stripping ‘Dis-Chem’ off the product names, as can be seen on the Dis-Chem website. “We do not anticipate a material impact on our policyholders and will continue to cooperate and work with CMS going forward,” says Centriq.

Congrats to Shoprite, which, ten years after launching its first solar project in 2015, has installed its 100th solar photovoltaic (PV) system in Soshanguve. The retailer’s solar portfolio ranks among the largest of any South African private company, and currently, its rooftop solar systems generate enough clean electricity to power nearly 12,300 households a year. In the 2025 financial year, 7.2% of the Group’s electricity came from renewable sources – both via its own systems and through agreements with private generators. As you may recall, in 2024, the Group became one of the first companies to ‘wheel’ renewable electricity through the City of Cape Town’s grid, effectively buying clean electricity from a private party and using the city’s grid to deliver it to head office. “Our focus is on scaling these initiatives by increasing solar installations and expanding wheeling arrangements across our supermarkets and distribution centres,” says Sanjeev Raghubir, Chief Sustainability Officer at the Group. “We will continue to engage with landlords and partners to unlock greater access to clean energy, particularly in malls where we don’t own the rooftops.”

A real perk of burning the midnight oil in Tatler Towers is that we get first-viewer access to all Trade Intelligence’s latest reports and presentation decks. In combing through Ti’s latest ‘SA FMCG Retail Outlook’ product (more about it here), we learnt with interest that after 53 years of being listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Walmart has moved over to NASDAQ, making it the largest company by market capitalisation ever to switch between the two exchanges. What’s the big deal? NASDAQ is a particularly tech-heavy stock market, including the likes of Apple and Amazon. By joining it, Walmart is signalling to investors that it is no longer just a ‘brick-and-mortar’ retailer, but a real tech-powered company committed “to innovation and growth as a people-led, tech-powered omnichannel retailer.” 

Back on home soil, the Big W has announced that its third South African store will be opening in Boksburg on the East Rand. Although specifics on the store’s location have not been officially disclosed, we’re willing to place our bets on the East Point Shopping Centre, since we’re told its Game store has been closed since July last year. An announcement will no doubt be made sooner rather than later, since plans are to open the doors of store no. 3 in the first quarter this year.

Four months ago, Amazon closed all its till-free grocery stores in the UK, marking the end of its ‘Just Walk Out’ experiment in Blighty. In a “thorough evaluation”, the company realised that British shoppers preferred having their groceries delivered rather than visiting small high-tech convenience stores, which did not offer much more than leaving without physically paying for their goods. So, Amazon is shifting its focus to ultra-fast grocery deliveries in under 30 minutes, testing its Amazon Now service in selected postcodes in the Southwark area in London, with plans to roll it out further in the coming months. Groceries will be delivered “by bike”, with riders recruited through Amazon Flex, its very own crowdsourced delivery platform. Meanwhile, over in the USA, it’s also looking to large-format stores, pitting itself directly against big-box Walmart. Never a dull moment in FMCG, huh?

Next, who is the UK’s favourite super? According to over 1,600 readers of Good Housekeeping magazine, that would be Aldi, which pipped the likes of Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys and others in a recent poll. Aspects voted on included everything from value for money and fresh produce to in-store experience, and Aldi was commended for its competitive prices while still offering quality products.

And we close off with an interesting promo mechanic picked up by one of our intrepid analysts, who are always scouting for the latest developments. Carrefour Belgium has introduced new tiered pricing, where shoppers are increasingly rewarded for buying multiple packs – buy one, get it at the normal price. Buy two, get 5% off. Buy three or more, get 10% off. The mechanic applies to 200 essential everyday products, and Carrefour claims that it is the first Belgian super to do this.