Stocktake: Retail support for sustainable initiatives
Sustainabile fashion retailer Luxity opens more stores; Game supports artists; and Shoprite provides training for unemployed youth.
Sustainable fashion retailer Luxity opens more stores; Game supports artists; and Shoprite provides training for unemployed youth.
Luxity opens new stores
Luxity is celebrating five years in business with the opening of two new stores retailing authentic, pre-owned luxury items in mint condition. The sustainable retailer is taking fashion up a notch, and achieving 63% YOY growth in 2020 year. The business, which is the country’s largest pre-owned luxury retailer also proved that inimitable luxury is still exceedingly sought-after after by South Africans, even in tough economic conditions, selling hundreds of handbags, shoes and accessories from coveted brands such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Hermès and many others. The two new boutique stores are situated in Nelson Mandela Square, in the Sandton CBD; and in the recently developed Menlyn Maine shopping precinct, in Pretoria. However, as co-founder Michael Zahariev explains, these stores are not purely shopping destinations, as 70% of their sales take place online. “The stores simply enhance the shopping experience by enabling consumers to collect their luxury goods in an opulent environment, with other benefits such as complimentary hospitality in the lounge areas, and attentive service by staff.”
Game supports local performers
Expanding on its 2020 ‘Beat the Winter Blues’ virtual music festival, African retailer Game this year plans to expand its support for local artists – bringing live music to shoppers in all nine provinces throughout the winter months. “This year, we wanted to continue to support the local music industry through the pandemic and give our customers the joy of live music,” says Katherine Madley, vice president of marketing at Game. South African artists, Arno Carstens and Ami Faku shot performances in Game stores in Johannesburg and Cape Town that were live streamed to the Game Facebook page in June. Shoppers visiting their nearest Game store over the weekends can see in-store performances by local buskers in all the provinces.
Online platform for processing and packaging industry
ProPak Connect is an online supplier showcase with sourcing features for buyers launched by international trade show organiser, Informa Markets. The platform aims to provide a comprehensive and year-round showcase for suppliers and buyers to trade, engage and connect with each other and to source products, machinery, and technology. Features on ProPak Connect include a 365-day company showcase and supplier’s directory with online demos and enquiry management, instant messaging and video chats, AI powered business matching, themed events and webinars and content hub. The platform will also host all of the upcoming hybrid and virtual events within the portfolio, offering buyers and suppliers a complete sourcing and engagement experience. Established for 29 years, the ProPak brand and its series of events across Asia and Middle East & North Africa have attracted and maintained qualified buyers and suppliers with in-depth customer insights within the processing and packaging industry covering Processing & Packaging Technology, Packaging & Converting, Coding, Marking & Labelling, Testing & Analysis, Cold Chain, Logistics, and Material Handling & Warehousing. Over the years the brand has also partnered with several industry associations and bodies to deliver worldclass content-led conferences and seminars, which will add value to the newly launched platform.
This week in numbers
R700 million
Shoprite has invested R700 million to upskill unemployed youth over the past five years on extensive retail skills and training programmes to provide career options. This has been expended on training 24,308 people in the Group’s own Retail Readiness Programme, providing 1,027 bursaries, and training 5,765 young people (over the past three years) in the Youth Employment Service (YES) programme. All of these initiatives are aimed at training and upskilling people not previously employed by the Group and are focused on helping unemployed youth gain the skills they need to secure jobs in the retail industry. The Group follows a “from school to Shoprite” approach for young people, who may either study on a Shoprite bursary and then join the business or join the Retail Readiness or YES programmes straight out of school. Absorption rates are 53% from the Retail Readiness Programme and 32% from the YES programme, excluding current participants.
QUOTE of the week:
“One of the major trends shaping the global retail industry is the omnichannel transition. Driven by the rise of ecommerce and consumers’ evolving expectations, this trend compels retailers to embrace digitalisation to offer their customers a mix of digital and in-store shopping experiences,” said Mark Thomson, director of retail and hospitality solutions EMEA, Zebra Technologies, on Retailing Africa this past week.
Main image credit: Luxity.
Stocktake is a weekly roundup of current FMCG retailing and brand news, curated and edited by Retailing Africa Publisher & Editor, Louise Burgers. Keep the industry updated and send your announcements and news to: news@retailingafrica.com.
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