PROJECT 2010 - Preparing South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™

Project 2010 - A Twenty Ten Media and Marketing Initiative

PREPARING SOUTH AFRICA FOR THE WORLD

Business

Top 5 continuity lessons learnt from WC – 04/11/2010

The 2010 World Cup was a resounding success and all South Africans were able to bask in six weeks of enjoyable madness, notes a Continuity Central report. As much as the event was a success, there were months and years of preparation beforehand that ensured it all ran smoothly. ’We should all take pride in the success of the World Cup, this was the first event of this size the country has hosted and there were many lessons learned,’ says Louise Theunissen, GM Consulting Services at ContinuitySA. ’More than simply enjoying the success, it’s important to document the lessons learned in order to be better prepared for similar events in the future, such as the Olympic Games.’

Full Continuity Central report

Retail sale growth slows – 14/10/2010

South African retail sales growth slowed to an annual 4.6 percent in August, almost half the pace in the previous month, undermining the recovery of Africa’s biggest economy, notes a Bloomberg report. Sales growth eased from a revised 8 percent in July, Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said on its website today. The median estimate of eight economists surveyed by Bloomberg was 8.5 percent for August. Sales fell a seasonally adjusted 1.4 percent in the month.

Full Bloomberg report

Major boost for growth in government– 04/10/2010

Following the end of the 2010 World Cup in July, growth in government revenue declined significantly in August to 19.3% year-on-year from 23.4% in the previous month. The Times notes that government revenue had been boosted by stronger domestic consumption during June and July, which contributed to a significant rise in taxes on goods and services. Subsequently, taxes on goods and services declined from R22.1-billion in July to a more sustainable R19.6-billion in August. Despite this decline, analysts are encouraged by the significant double-digit growth in government revenues, pointing to a considerable recovery in domestic economic activity.

Full report in The Times report

Africa Makes investment push – 28/09/2010Makes

African governments and business communities hope that South Africa’s success in hosting the 2010 World Cup will spur a massive increase in investment and private sector development for all of Africa, notes a Global Post report. ’It is exciting to see that business leaders around the world do wish to leverage off the tournament,’ said Danny Jordaan, chief executive officer of the South Africa’s World Cup Organizing Committee. ’This is one of the fundamental reasons why we pursued the idea of hosting the World Cup.’

Full Global Post reportGlobal

Consumer confidence remains unchanged – 14/09/2010

Consumer confidence remained virtually unchanged in the third quarter of 2010, according to the latest FNB/BER (Bureau for Economic Research) Consumer Confidence Index released this week. Fin24.com reports that the Index (CCI) added one index point from 14 to 15 in the third quarter after posting a strong gain from 6 in the fourth quarter of 2009 to 15 in the first quarter of this year. The level of consumer confidence stuck to the same relatively high level reached shortly before the sharp fall in 2008, FNB said. The index reacted in a major way by surging a hefty 27 index points in the fourth quarter of 2004 when South Africa won the bid to host the World Cup Soccer spectacle.

Full Fin24.com report

WC had no impact on BIDVEST – 31/08/2010

BIDVEST, the diversified group, has revealed that the 2010 World Cup had made ’no material impact’ on its latest full-year results. The Daily Dispatch reports that for the period under review, net debt declined to R3.8 billion from R4.1bn, assisted by a R0.7bn reduction in working capital and despite additional debt funding of R1.7bn for the Nowaco group acquisition. Net debt to equity fell to 23.1% from 29.2%, while net finance charges dropped 26.3% to R758.5 million.

Full Daily Dispatch report

WC boosts retail sales – 20/08/2010

Retail sales in June rose the most in three years as the 2010 World Cup boosted consumer demand. Business Day reports that Statistics SA said that retail sales had risen 7,4% compared to June last year. In May, they rose 4,5%. However, the growth was slightly lower than forecast and analysts have warned of a slowdown in the coming months as there would not be a big event like the World Cup to boost demand. Consumers remain highly indebted, putting pressure on demand.

Full Business Day report

Retail sales climb as WC fans fuel spending – 18/08/2010

South African retail sales rose at the fastest pace in three years in June as tourists flocked to the 2010 World Cup, fueling spending on clothes, food and sports goods. Sales increased an annual 7.4 percent after gaining a revised 4.5 percent in May, Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said on its website today. The median estimate of 12 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for an increase of 7.2 percent. Sales rose a seasonally adjusted 1.8 percent in the month.

Full Bloomberg report

2010 WC boosts sales - 13/08/2010

Brewing giant AB InBev toasted a 2010 World Cup boost from thirsty football fans. The maker of Stella Artois and Budweiser said the volume of beer sold rose almost a fifth between April and June. The Daily Record reports that the world’s biggest brewers said they sold two per cent more beer during the period globally while soft drinks sales were up 5.5%. Budweiser was the star of the show. It was the official beer of the South African tournament and UK volumes were 70% up on the first half of 2009.

Full report in The Daily Record

Adidas profits soar thanks to WC – 05/08/2010soar

Adidas, the world’s No 2 sporting goods maker after Nike, raised its outlook after the 2010 World Cup helped boost retail sales by 20% in the first half of the year. The Weekend Post reports that the company said it now saw expected earnings per share to increase to between R23.80 and R25, corresponding with full-year net profit of R4.97- to R5.25-trillion. In May, Adidas had already raised its outlook, saying it saw 2010 profits rising to between R4.1- to R4.6-trillion after posting weak results for 2009.

Full Weekend Post reportWeekend

No WC benefit for luxury home owners - 03/08/2010

Luxury home owners did not benefit from increased demand during the 2010World Cup, an auctioneer said. ’When it was announced that South Africa was getting the Fifa World Cup, many people thought that the one sector of the property market which would most benefit from an influx of foreign tourists and global exposure, would be the luxury end of the residential market,’ Auction Alliance CEO Rael Levitt said in a statement. However, the auction group’s third quarter results had shown weak buyer demand in the luxury sector as well as a decline in prices from the first quarter of 2010, notes a story in Business Report.

Full story in Business Report

Three-month grace period for permits – 29/07/2010month

The North Gauteng High Court has granted truck drivers three months to adjust to a new system that requires foreign drivers operating SA trucks to obtain work permits rather than use visitor permits. A Business Day report says the move was in line with the Department of Home Affairs’ continued tightening of entry requirements into SA that started before the 2010 World Cup.

Full Business Day reportFull

WC boosts shop sales – 23/07/2010

The World Cup helped push retail sales unexpectedly higher during June, the Office for National Statistics said. The ONS reported that shop sales volumes increased by 0.7 per cent in June from May, with values up 0.6 per cent. Television sales, in particular, were boosted by the football coverage and the household goods sector saw the highest growth on the month. The higher-than-expected figure was down slightly from a 0.8 per cent increase in May from April.

Full report in The Independent

Sales surge during the WC – 23/07/2010

Adidas AG, the world’s second- largest sporting-goods maker, jumped in Frankfurt trading after reporting a surge in profit on soccer’s World Cup. The shares rose as much as 2.28 euros, or 5.5 percent, to 43.93 euros, the steepest intraday gain since Sept. 16. Second-quarter net income increased to 126 million euros ($162 million) from 9 million euros a year earlier, Herzogenaurach, Germany-based Adidas said after markets closed.

Full Bloomberg report

Famous Brands WC campaign pays off – 19/07/2010

Quick service restaurant group Famous Brands said its World Cup campaign paid off handsomely, as sales across the group’s South African network grew 24% in June compared with the prior year. According to a Fin24.com report, this increase equates to 83% of turnover delivered in December 2009 - with December typically regarded as the group’s peak trading month. Famous Brands’ CEO Kevin Hedderwick said at the outset of this process the group identified its ’non-negotiable’ World Cup strategy as being continuity of supply and consistency of product quality.

Full Fin24.com report

Afro-pessimism misplaced - 18/07/2010pessimism

While it is too early for hard data proving the 2010 FIFA World Cup was an economic success, business leaders agree that South Africa scored on several points, notes a Fin24.com report. ’This event demonstrated that Afro-pessimism had been misplaced,’ said Adrian Saville of Cannon Asset Managers while addressing a meeting at the Gordon Institute of Business Science. Gillian Saunders, a director of Grant Thornton Strategic Solutions, estimated that the World Cup had brought in as much as R8bn in foreign revenue. ’It is still too early and there is not yet any hard data,’ she said.

Full Fin24.com report

Vuvuzela maker gearing up for 2014 – 05/07/2010

Loathed by some and loved by others, the vuvuzela has become one of the 2010 World Cup’s most prominent icons. According to Business Report, Neil van Schalkwyk, the first person to start producing plastic trumpets, is pleased - and is gearing up for the next World Cup in four years time. ’We hope that we can get the Vuvuzela to the 2014 World Cup,’ the 37-year-old Capetonian says. ’Companies in and outside Brazil have already shown interest, so we will see.’

Full story Business Report

Eskom moves to avoid strike - 05/07/2010

South African unions have dropped a threat to strike at power utility Eskom this week after receiving a higher wage offer, ending concerns about electricity supplies during the 2010 World Cup. Widespread power cuts could also have dented manufacturing and mining companies’ output in Africa’s biggest economy, the world’s top platinum and fourth-largest gold producer.

Full report on the Mail and Guardian site

Airline industry recovers - 01/07/2010

After about two years of losses the global airline industry has recovered to prerecession levels, with African airlines reporting a strong rise of 16.9% in passenger demand in May, likely to be boosted last month and this month by soccer fans flying to this country for the 2010 World Cup. International Air Transport Association (Iata) economists pointed out in their monthly analysis of international travel that African airlines were benefiting from ’more success in maintaining market share’.

Full story in Business Report

Wage offer is reasonable, says Eskom - 30/06/2010

Eskom says it cannot afford union demands, adding to fears that strike action could disrupt power supply during the 2010World Cup. According to Business Report, the company’s biggest union said it had issued a strike notice, and a second union said it would join the strike after its members rejected a new pay offer from the utility. ’We cannot afford that as a company,’ CEO Brian Dames said of the union demands.

Full story in Business Reportin

WC sidelines sardine run - 30/06/2010sidelines

The ’greatest shoal on earth’ was being sidelined as the 2010 World Cup entered the quarter finals, fishermen and netters said. ’There have been absolutely no tourists of any sort this year. This World Cup has definitely dampened things,’ said fisherman and netter Morgan Vadivelu. He said the tourists and documentarians, who usually visited the province to get a glimpse of the slippery catch, were not there this year. ’Everyone is so excited for the soccer that they are forgetting about everything else,’ he said.

Full report on the News 24 site

WC sidelines sardine run - 30/06/2010

Full report on the News 24 site

WC investors lose out – 30/06/2010

Several investors and schools in the Cape Peninsula have received only disappointment and debt instead of soccer tourists and fat cheques as payback for their expensive contribution to a national tourism scheme. Sport24 reports that at least 30 entrepreneurs from Mitchells Plain, Eerste River, Grassy Park and Khayelitsha, who hoped to coin it big during the 2010 World Cup, have lost at least R90 000 each. The mastermind behind the national tourism project, Channon Merrick from Merricks Empowerment Consultants, reportedly had to flee from a meeting that was held earlier this month with furious investors from Soweto who had invested heavily in the same scheme and wanted their money back.

Full Sport24 report Sport24

FIFA castigated for rights abuses - 29/06/2010

FIFA should be held to account about its treatment of street vendors, many of whom have suffered loss of income during the World Cup, a leading global human rights campaigner said. Mary Robinson, a former president of Ireland and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said the move by Fifa to set up exclusion zones near the World Cup stadiums was a human rights issue that needed to be addressed. Speaking to Business Report on the sidelines of the Fortune Global Forum in Cape Town, Robinson said it was critical to devise a way to protect the rights of the street vendors and informal traders, particularly in the developing world, so they can continue to eke out a living, unhindered by the staging of such major events as the World Cup.

Full story in Business Report

’Orange dress’ campaign successful - 29/06/2010

Dutch brewery Bavaria scored at least R750 000 in free publicity in South Africa with its ’orange dress’ campaign, which was branded by FIFA as ambush marketing, notes a report in The Times. Brand and reputation analysis company Ornico said it tracked the editorial coverage Bavaria received in print and broadcast media in South Africa. ’The value of the South African newspaper and broadcast news coverage is R756 728 but this excludes magazine coverage and online coverage,’ Ornico CEO Oresti Patricios said in a statement.

Full report in The Times

Big names bring windfall - 29/06/2010

Halfway through the World Cup, tourism officials say football fans have already brought an economic windfall that looks set to keep rolling as a raft of big countries play in the second round, notes a report on the iafrica.com site. Business is booming with foreign fans at bars and restaurants, which are also boosted by plenty of local support for big guns like England, Portugal and Brazil after hosts South Africa bowed out.

Full report on the iafrica.com site

Canadians spending big at WC – 25/06/2010

Canadian soccer fans are spending up a storm at the 2010 World Cup. Canadians are not spending as much as other countries, notes a News1130 report. But, considering Canada does not even have a team on the field, Canadians still made the top 10 list of counties shelling out the dough, coming in ninth behind Mexico. US, Australia, France and Brazil are the strongest spenders so far. Visa card carriers have already contributed $3.4m during the first week of the tournament.

Full News1130 report

Jordaan’s brother cashes in on 2010 – 25/06/2010

World Cup chief organiser Danny Jordaan is not the only member of his family to benefit from the tournament. The Mail & Guardian has established that a company belonging to Jordaan’s younger brother, Andrew, was appointed by Match Event Services, the tournament’s exclusive provider of hospitality packages, to act as its liaison in Port Elizabeth for R200 000 a month. Jordaan denied being involved in his brother’s appointment, saying that any such suggestion would be malicious.

Full Mail & Guardian report Mail

WC eases beer blues - 20/06/2010

Millions of extra pints in England, stores emptied in South Korea and sales up in Japan, beer consumption has soared during the 2010 World Cup after falling globally in recent years, notes a report on the Fin24 site. ’We hope that Kirin’s sales will increase more than four percent during this World Cup,’ said Shinya Izumi, a spokesperson for the Japanese brewery which makes the beer of the same name. ’We became even more hopeful after Japan beat Cameroon on Monday. Orders from retailers have been boosted thanks to the victory.’

Full report on the Fin24 site

WC investors lose R100 000 – 17/06/2010

Channon Merrick had to leave a meeting with his investors hastily after they bayed for his blood in Soweto. Merrick, the owner of Soweto Focus Point, a hospitality company meant to cater for soccer tourists, had to face his 250 investors who had paid a minimum R100 000 for a slice of the anticipated 2010 World Cup bonanza. The company joined forces with local businesses in each province to provide cleaning, security, transport, tours, laundry and catering services for 2010.

Full report in The Sowetan