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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.’
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.
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’.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.’
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.
With the 2010 World Cup finally here, genuine Bafana Bafana and branded soccer gear has become almost as rare as a ticket for the final on July 11, notes a report in The Star. So rare that one retail store sold R100 000 worth of branded 2010 T-shirts within an hour last week. Retailers and supermarkets capitalising on the surge in national pride and soccer fever have had to increase orders to keep pace with the huge demand for soccer clothing.
The unique resourcefulness of South Africans is what is likely to be remembered most about this World Cup. According to Business Report, in a country beset with high unemployment and where the majority of people are still living in poverty, it is hard for South Africans to pass up a good opportunity to make money, and in the process change other people’s lives for the better. Among those who have seized on the frenzy around the World Cup to give those less fortunate a livelihood and also make a fast buck is Paul Wygers. Wygers, who grew up in Durban, is one of the people behind the makarapa phenomenon, a craze that is set to intrigue those visiting South Africa for the soccer spectacle.
The SA Revenue Service (Sars) announced it would be giving tax exemptions of R750 on the purchase of FIFA-related products, notes Business Report. ’The exemption will only apply to 2010 World Cup related goods, such as t-shirts, jerseys and similar clothing, and match tickets,’ Sars said in a statement. The once-off exemption would be applicable to individuals for the 2010/11 year. The exemption would also benefit employers who had encouraged their employees to wear soccer gear.
The excitement is palpable as South Africans adorn cars, homes, offices and themselves ahead of the World Cup kick-off tomorrow. But business is pondering the impact on its bottom line as staff are all atwitter about teams, parties and matches. The evidence points to a rather heavy toll. During the 2010 World Cup firms in South Africa could lose R750 million and in Britain £1bn (R11bn) as productivity nosedives. But companies in the UK may do well to recall how they handled the event four years ago, a lesson for local firms.
For those who have always dreamed of having a cup of Starbucks coffee in South Africa, the dream can now become a reality, notes a Just Money report. The Starbucks coffee brand will be served in South Africa for the first time during the 2010 World Cup and it will only be available at selected Southern Sun Hotels and Tsogo Sun Casinos. The cities involved are Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.
The 2010 World Cup was set to become the biggest-ever betting event in Britain, bookmakers said, with online gambling expected to help turnover hit more than £1bn. Sport24 reports that Britons are expected to bet around £1bn, breaking all records, with the growth of online gambling seeing many more people becoming punters. But gamblers are seemingly not just backing England, bets are going on a whole variety of teams, matches and outcomes.
The South African Council of Shopping Centres (SACSC), representing over 1500 property companies and retailers across the country, anticipates that during the 2010 World Cup, an estimated 400.000 visitors to South Africa will watch one match every three to four days on average, notes a Bizcommuntiy.com report. When not at a stadium they will frequent the fan park zones, take tours or visit shopping centres.
Satellite dishes have been springing up on shacks in Cape Town squatter camps as shebeen owners install DStv to attract 2010 World Cup fans. Not content with just attracting a beer-swilling crowd, some shebeen owners are planning to cash in further by charging a R5 cover charge per game. This practice has been slammed by Fifa, with the Department of Trade and Industry indicating earlier this year that a R50 000 licence would be required if establishments wished to make money out of screening World Cup matches.
Western Cape authorities have confiscated bogus 2010 World Cup goods to the value of R70 million over the past two weeks, with the Western Cape Customs Border Control Unit saying it would intensify its campaign to clamp down on fake goods. South Africans have also been asked by the SA Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu) not to buy counterfeit goods. Picking up a copy-cat Bafana Bafana jersey on the street costs just R250, as compared with R600 in the shops.
A pre 2010 World Cup wave of positive public sentiment underscored May’s new vehicle sales totals, which are almost 10% higher than in March, and 35,3% higher than last year, notes a Car Mag report. The positive impact that the 2010 World Cup could well increase the propensity to buy new vehicles, McCarthy chief executive Brand Pretorius said in response to the Naamsa new vehicle sales report for last month and the prospects for the rest of the year.
South Africa’s Bidvest Group said the 2010 World Cup was likely to boost earnings by a modest 1-2% as the number of expected visitors undershot previous estimates. According to Business Report, Bidvest, whose activities cover auto retailing, freight services and food distribution, will provide catering and rental cars during the month-long soccer tournament, while its services unit is expected to cash in on extra demand for laundry and portable toilets.
