HELSINKI, FINLAND: Divers have found bottles of champagne some 230 years old on the bottom of the Baltic which a wine expert described as tasting "fabulous". 20 Jul 2010
THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS: Anglo-Dutch food and cosmetics giant Unilever said on Monday, 19 July 2010, it would sell its Italian frozen foods business for €805 million (US$1.04 billion). 20 Jul 2010
Hotels in Sandton were the biggest beneficiaries of the World Cup, with revenue between 11 June and 11 July 2010 surging close to 300% from a year earlier. 20 Jul 2010
Outlets in East London are still charging exorbitant prices for gas despite the government capping the price at just under R16 a kilogram. 20 Jul 2010
Richemont opened nine more franchises last year. The world's largest producer of luxury products, with brands such as Cartier, Jaeger LeCoultre and Montblanc, also opened 20 more company-owned retail outlets. 20 Jul 2010
Wine Magazine's 2010 Global Trader Shiraz Challenge found Rickety Bridge 2008 and Saronsberg Provenance 2007 running neck and neck for first place as both had achieved the same arithmetic average score. 20 Jul 2010
LONDON, UK: Global premium spirits business and independent, family-owned distiller William Grant & Sons has won the top Masters award for Glenfiddich and The Balvenie at this year's Scotch Whisky Masters, a competition by international trade drinks publication and leading global market authority, The Spirits Business. 20 Jul 2010
With visitor numbers and spending well ahead of what forecasters expected in the months prior to the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals, many local businesses have profited from the event. The overall benefit however is still unclear, with government estimating an injection to GDP of 0.40% (R38 billion). The question however remains; with the victors crowned and the vuvuzelas reluctantly being silenced, is the South African economy truly on the way to recovery? 20 Jul 2010
The Cape Town FanFest at the Grand Parade, which was the only South African FanFest with a craft village, netted Western Cape craft producers R589 000 from 10 June to 11 July 2010, as well as developing valuable contacts and boosting exposure of the craft sector to visitors and locals. 20 Jul 2010
At the WorldStar 2010 Awards, held in Beijing last month, Nampak won nine awards, developed by different divisions within the group, including Nampak Zambia and Hunyani Paper and Packaging in Zimbabwe. 20 Jul 2010
Aiming for quality rather than quantity, the organisers of the RMB WineX Cape Town have amended the show format by cutting it back to a two-evening event and narrowing the focus. The show takes place on 19-20 August 2010 at the CTICC. 20 Jul 2010
The fast-food and eating-out business enjoyed a World Cup boost as people filled with the soccer spirit bought more pizzas, burgers and meals out, restaurant owners said. 19 Jul 2010
Shoprite, SA's biggest supermarket owner, said Thursday, 15 July 2010, that sales for the 12 months to June rose 13.6%, as new stores and aggressive marketing boosted sales growth. 19 Jul 2010
Higher-than-expected retail sales figures for May 2010 suggest that consumers are loosening their belts and gradually spending again. 19 Jul 2010
The Professional Editors' Group (PEG) is determined to ensure that the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act of 2009 are met and that at least English, as the country's primary written language, is used in a way that is understandable and accessible. 19 Jul 2010
SAITEX, reportedly the largest international trade show in Africa, takes place at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand from 25-27 July 2010. Asia, a major trading partner with South Africa, will be thoroughly represented, as more than 100 Chinese exhibitors will go on show, added to the Indian Pavilion, which again represents considerable investments from the sub-continent. 19 Jul 2010
Game Stores has come a long way since it opened its first store in Durban in 1970 in cramped premises in the city's CBD, ringing up sales of R78 000 in its first month of trading. Its founders believed that shopping had become a tedious and boring pastime. They wanted to create a fun shopping environment and so conceptualised retailing as a game. The signature bright pink prevails to this day. 19 Jul 2010
A new international speaker has been confirmed for RAC Lite 2010, a one-day version of the American Retail Advertising Conference, on 24 August 2010 in Johannesburg at the Kyalami Theatre on the Track and on 26 August at The Lord Charles in Somerset West, Cape Town. 19 Jul 2010
Ocean Basket has launched a new fresh seafood and sushi bar at OR Tambo International Airport and the concept may well be rolled out to other airports, shopping centres and suitable venues. 19 Jul 2010
Subtropical Fruits Growers Association (SFGA) said on Wednesday, 14 July 2010, that the total damage estimate to avocado crops as a result of the current bad winter spell is "negligible", and will therefore not drive up prices at this stage. 16 Jul 2010
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