Markets/Africa and Middle East/News

Africa & Middle East news & analysis

23 November 2018
We look at how retailers in the Middle East are digitising their shopper experiences. Souq.com announces dates for ‘White Friday’ Online retailer Souq.com, owned by Amazon, has revealed its ‘White Friday’ sale (a regional version of ‘Black Friday’) will take place from 20 to 24 November 2018. The sale will feature "more deals than ever" with discounts of up to 70% on products including ca...
19 November 2018
South Africa-based Woolworths and OK Zimbabwe have released their latest financial statements. Meanwhile, wholesaler and retailer Sefalana has successfully trialled 10 Botswana Post kiosks in stores in its home market. Woolworths sales increase 2.7% Woolworths reported an increase in overall sales of 2.7% and by 3.6% in constant currency terms for the first 20 weeks of its 2019 financial ye...
16 November 2018
SPAR South Africa's CEO, Graham O’Connor, has reported a growth in sales following the company's 2018 full year results. O'Connor said that the retailer's South African operations had benefited from  President Cyril Ramaphosa’s drive to encourage inward investment into the country. At a group level, SPAR South Africa said its turnover grew 5.8%, while operating profit rose 7.9%. Investment dri...
16 November 2018
We look at how Israel-based Shufersal and Super-Pharm are competing in the drugstore channel, as Shufersal also announces plans to rollout cashier-less technology in all its stores. Shufersal to increase competition in pharmacy channel… Shufersal is looking to compete further in the pharmacy channel following its acquisition of New Pharm. Shufersal is set to develop and combine New Pharm’s ...
15 November 2018
Saudi Arabia-based marketplace noon has announced plans to launch its first Yellow Friday sale. The event will run during November and will see it offer a series of deals, offers and fun events for shoppers. Event to provide deep discounts… Noon has launched the event, which will operate for shoppers in Saudi Arabia and UAE, to enhance the customer experience by offering ultra-competitive p...
08 November 2018
Spar South Africa has revealed plans to develop its digital strategy. The retailer hopes it will “streamline its IT operations and maintain its competitive edge in the local retail market” . SPAR adopts Microsoft Office 365 The retailer has adopted Microsoft Office 365 and the cloud computing service Microsoft Azure. Greg Hay, group technology and operations executive at the SPAR Group, ex...
07 November 2018
We look at how UAE-based Lulu and Spinneys Egypt are investing in Egypt. Lulu to open four new warehouses… Lulu has announced plans to invest US$500m to expand in Egypt over the next two years. The retailer will open four warehouses in 6 October City, New Cairo and Obour and two logistic centres. The logistic centres will support the logistics of frozen fish and are likely to be located nea...
30 October 2018
UAE-based Majid Al Futtaim, which operates the Carrefour brand across the Middle East and Africa, has undertaken a series of steps in different countries to create a more convenient experience for shoppers. Investing in Wadi Group in Saudi Arabia As part of its strategy to expand its omnichannel offering, Majid Al Futtaim has invested in Saudi Arabia-based Wadi Group. The investment, which ...
30 October 2018
UAE-based LuLu has announced plans to invest US$500m to expand its presence in Egypt over the next two years. LuLu will build four hypermarkets… LuLu hopes to open four new hypermarkets in 6 October City, New Cairo and Obour. The expansion is expected to provide 40,000 job opportunities and is due to start in November 2018. …and two logistic centres The retailer will also build two lo...
19 October 2018
South Africa-based Pick n Pay reports its strongest six-month trading performance for five years. The retailer also extends its partnership with BP to benefit its loyalty programme customers. Positive H1 2018 results… Pick n Pay has reported growth of 19.1% in profit before tax in H1 2018. Profit reached ZAR670.2m (US$46.8m) compared with ZAR562.8m (US$39.3m) in H1 2017. The retailer’s LFL ...