LONDON, UK: Restaurants (the restaurant category includes restaurants and catering companies), although recuperating, remain hooked up to the discounts drip though pub company insolvencies (the pub category includes nightclubs and bars) are down a third from the peak of the recession but fears of further Government spending cuts, potential interest rate rises, and a reduction in discretionary spend could slow recovery - causing a further wave of restructuring and insolvency. 12 Jul 2010
Much hyped contactless payments may be a long way off from becoming the norm in the UK despite trials by retailer Boots ahead of a potential roll out at their till points nationwide, finds Datamonitor. 12 Jul 2010
The World Cup has brought additional income earning opportunities boosting job creation, says Consumer Assist. 12 Jul 2010
The physical volume of manufacturing in South Africa in May 2010 rose 7.9% year-on-year (y/y) after increasing a revised 8.6% (8.7%) in April, data released by Stats SA on Thursday, 8 July 2010, showed. 12 Jul 2010
BEIJING, CHINA: Chinese authorities have seized 76 tonnes of milk powder tainted with the same chemical responsible for the deaths of six babies two years ago, state media said on Friday, 9 July 2010. 12 Jul 2010
A men's motoring and lifestyle event will be held at SMG Cape Town, part of the national BMW dealer group, on Saturday 23 October 2010 to raise funds for an education bursary fund. 12 Jul 2010
According to Irshaad Moidheen, associate in the commercial department at Garlicke & Bousfield Inc, the new regulations relating to the labelling and advertising of foodstuffs (R146 of 2010), when coupled with the Consumer Protection Act, may expose manufacturers to both civil and criminal liability. 12 Jul 2010
The 14th Annual African Congress of Shopping Centres, hosted by the South African Council of Shopping Centres (SACSC) and sponsored by Growthpoint Properties, will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) 13-15 October 2010. 12 Jul 2010
Last week, Logitech announced the launch of two new headsets featuring support for super wideband audio, the USB Headset H530 and the Laptop Headset H555, both of which offer clear sound. 12 Jul 2010
Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC), Customer Interaction Solutions magazine has named SAS a winner of a 2010 CRM Excellence Award for its customer intelligence system. Winners must demonstrate the improvements their products have made in a client's business and are chosen because of their product or service's ability to help extend and expand the customer relationship to cover the entire enterprise and the entire lifetime of the customer. 12 Jul 2010
CRM transformation needs to be linked to overall IT strategy of the organization. While the business demand is the key value driver in the phasing of CRM transformation, the interdependencies between CRM and other operational systems are a major cost and risk consideration. Therefore, the business demand alone cannot dictate the CRM transformation phasing. 9 Jul 2010
"The [e-commerce] industry is growing quite rapidly despite the recession and high unemployment. That in fact helps us, as it is also causing people to search much more to make sure they are finding the best options. People are looking for coupons, local stores, bargains," says Siva Kumar. 9 Jul 2010
LONDON, UK: The share of 'green' vehicles in the European car parc will increase from 2.3% in 2009 to 3.2% in 2015, Datamonitor has predicted in a new report*. 9 Jul 2010
Two years after its grand opening with the promise of putting Mdantsane on the map, the R550 million Mdantsane mall has left some local businesses in limbo. 9 Jul 2010
According to Coface, which facilitates global business-to-business trade through credit insurance, factoring, ratings and business information and receivables management, the benefits of the 2010 FIFA World Cup will include a short-term cash injection into the economy and a net additional economic impact of 0.54% on the South African GDP. This will be limited to retail-related manufacturing and hospitality with beverages also benefiting. 9 Jul 2010
Halls has relaunched its range with an appealing new pack design that is intended to be sleek and modern and include fresh, fruity and colourful imagery. 9 Jul 2010
According to Renato Palmi, director of The ReDress Consultancy, the South African clothing industry needs to take a stand against fake apparel after another textile company has shed 100 jobs and R50 million's worth of fake clothing was found in Durban. 9 Jul 2010
"Companies already complying with the principles of good corporate governance contained in the King Report on Corporate Governance (King III) shouldn't have anything to worry about," says Natasha Bouwman, supervisor at the Institute of Directors of Southern Africa's (IoDSA) Centre for Corporate Governance. She was commenting on the final enactment of the new Consumer Protection Act, due to kick in on 24 October 2010, which has some companies in a flap about potentially huge claims over substandard products. 9 Jul 2010
Using a cross section of Shoprite and Checkers customers in what was reportedly the first mobile voucher study undertaken in South Africa, over 68% of participants said they are very interested in receiving mobile vouchers. The other interesting insight from the research is that consumers do not want spam on their phones; they want vouchers and coupons that are targeted, relevant to them and asked for specifically. 9 Jul 2010
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: French supermarket giant Carrefour has denied that its stores in Malaysia and Singapore will close following reports that it would shut down its Southeast Asian outlets. 8 Jul 2010
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