Cape Town, W. Cape, SA - Cape Union Mart will be hosting the BANFF Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour in SA for the 20th time. There will be a press launch at Egrek Cinema in Parkhurst, Johannesburg, on Thursday, 05 October.

We’re excited to extend an exclusive invitation to you. This year marks the 20th occasion that leading outdoor gear retailer, Cape Union Mart, has had the privilege of bringing one of the world’s premier mountain festivals, BANFF, to the sunny shores of South Africa. As a respected voice in the media, we’d be honoured to have you join us for this landmark celebration. 

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA - Business has been down about 20% this year. Sales have been erratic all year with one fair month followed by a bad month. High raw material costs, load shedding and high diesel costs (for generator) are making it impossible to make a profit. We are finding sales down across all our product ranges, I think it is just a lack of disposable income among consumers. Things are picking up towards year end, but no fireworks. We just hope that things will be better next year when interest rate start coming down and the economy starts to improve. 

According to an article in Moneyweb on 05 September, foreign investors have “dumped” shares in entertainment business MultiChoice Group and apparel retailers Mr Price Group and TFG Ltd.

It said the catalyst had been a quarterly review of indices by US investment advisor MSCI Inc., which had led to “an approximate outflow of R7 billion (US$360 million)”.

In response to a request for comment by S&V, TFG CEO Anthony Thunström wrote: “The South African consumer remains under significant pressure as a result of high cost of living increases, elevated interest rates and the negative effects of ongoing load-shedding. These conditions are likely to remain for the rest of this year but should start to ease in the new year.”

Mr Price Director of Investor Relations & Stakeholder Engagement, Matthew Warriner, said the issue “has already been widely covered over the past few weeks as the MSCI index quarterly changes took effect”. 

Pinetown, KZN, SA - In a letter to customers dated 04 September, signed by CEO Brian Kuhnert, safety footwear manufacturer BBF Safety Group has accused competitor Dromex of “crossing an ethical line” by copying 2 of its best selling styles, the Sisi Reese and the Bova Neoflex. It says it is “considering the appropriate legal recourse against Dromex”.

More to follow. 

Windhoek, Namibia - Trading conditions this year so far show a positive growth monthly! Considering the increase in expenses, living costs, etc., there is still no balance between business and reality!

Namibia has an estimated population of 2.6 million. 43% of the population is experiencing multidimensional poverty!

1.6 million people live off grants/pension/feeding programmes (source: UN + Namibian Government), leaving a mere 1 million liquid people to keep the trading economy afloat.

To reach the trading peak of 2018 will still take a long time.

Customers have everything and too much. The quality of goods in general is declining and prices are climbing. Survival is the key word!