Gaborone, Botswana - After a challenging few months following the government’s decision to put VAT back up to 14% from 12%, trade has been steady. Government reduced the rate in August last year in response to inflation and other pressures on consumers, but in May and June this year put it back up. We’re slowly climbing the gr ...more

We asked 35 retailers - mostly privately owned chains and mini-chains - across SA, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini and Zimbabwe - for a 1-sentence comment on Black Friday. Just 10 responded, 1 whose response is under They Said It, 1 to promise a response later today, 1 to say 'no comment', and another to say he didn't offer it. ...more