A solid foundation was laid during the year under review with the restructuring of the chain merchandise and marketing teams to harness the requisite resources and skill sets in order to move ahead as a focused retail organisation. Part of this process heralded development programmes for the merchandise and marketing employees in the business. These initiatives provided a framework of relevance and continuous improvement, focused on basic processes and policies that constitute key elements of the foundation. In addition, the Corporate Merchandise and Marketing team was staffed accordingly, to provide the necessary support for these improvements and the requisite insight into the rest of the business, aligned with Group strategic objectives post the decoupling of Traditional Retail and Financial Services.

Merchandise initiatives commenced with inventory and margin management, focusing on the improvement of efficiencies, streamlining any previous inconsistencies related to system architecture or traditional methodology and revenue management in order to unlock further value for the Group.

Marketing initiatives focused on continued provision of insight into market trends and consumer behaviour, customer acquisition and retention programmes, Group procurement efficiencies in media, print and paper, significantly improved Club membership benefits and driving value from all partnerships.

In the ensuing financial year, which will in all likelihood see the continuance of tough trading conditions, all initiatives will be developed and implemented within the identified strategic business goals for the department. This Merchandise and Marketing platform will provide the right framework for entrenching the fundamentals and continue the focused planning around improving efficiencies, unlocking value and managing inventory, whilst constantly ensuring differentiation across all chains. The corporate team will steer and implement strategy to ensure targeted and sustainable product offerings to the mass middle market South African consumers.