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The Star
23-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
South Africa's Takealot grows revenue to fend off Amazon rivalry
FILE PHOTO: The Takealot logo is pictured on a building in Cape Town, South Africa, November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa's biggest online retail group Takealot grew its full-year revenue by 15%, with growth supported by investments in logistics, enhanced customer offerings and its subscription service as it faces competition from new market entrant Amazon. Technology investor Naspers said on Monday that Takealot Group's revenue rose by 15% in local currency to $872 million for the fiscal year ending March 31. Despite this growth, the group posted an adjusted EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) loss of $13 million. the group's general merchandise e-commerce platform and Amazon's direct competitor, saw its gross merchandise value (GMV) increase by 13%, with revenue climbing 17% and order volumes up by 15%. Takealot also owns on-demand platform Mr D, which offers restaurants, groceries and other shops. "I think their (Takealot) performance in the last year was ahead of our expectations, actually," Prosus and Naspers Group Chief Financial Officer, Nico Marais told Reuters. "We did invest in our marketplace elements to improve the business, and we actually saw Amazon moving, probably not at the speed that we originally expected, which was to our benefit. So we are ready to fight off competition." The battle for online consumer spending intensified throughout 2024, with both global and local players investing heavily to capture market share. Amazon has since expanded its South African service to include non-perishable groceries. The U.S. online retail giant launched in South Africa in May 2024. To defend its leading market share, Takealot said it will strengthen its market presence by enhancing itsloyalty programme, TakealotMore, which it hopes will attract and keep existing customers. "The business will also focus on growth through range extension and key categories while improving unit economics through cost optimisation, particularly delivery costs and stock efficiencies," it added. The retailer is also investing in artificial intelligence to gain better understanding of its customers, identify trends, personalise marketing campaigns and automate customer experiences. (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Joe Bavier and Louise Heavens)
Straits Times
10-06-2025
- Climate
- Straits Times
Severe cold front bringing snow in South Africa causes fatal accident, power outages
FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Motorists queue after a snowfall during a cold front near Ceres, South Africa, July 8, 2024. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo JOHANNESBURG - A severe cold front sweeping across South Africa since the weekend brought heavy snowfall which has led to road closures, power outages and a fatal road accident, officials said. Five people were killed in a road accident along the N2 highway due to the adverse weather, Eastern Cape transport department spokesperson Unathi Binqose told local broadcaster Newzroom Afrika on Tuesday. The South African Weather Service warned citizens late last week there would be a big drop in temperatures this week across the country, accompanied by disruptive rain, damaging winds, and snow over eastern areas. South Africa regularly receives snowfall during its winter months from June through August, with temperatures diving below zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit). Snow has been reported since Monday across provinces including Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Free State, prompting closures along sections of the N2 highway that connects the provinces, according to the KwaZulu-Natal transport department. Power utility Eskom said in a post on X that it was "experiencing a high number of customer calls nationally, due to widespread power outages caused by inclement weather." More resources were being secured to ensure prompt resolution to the power outages, Eskom said. The weather service forecast that the cold front would persist through midweek. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Wall Street Journal
03-06-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Bostic: Why the Fed Can't Assume Tariff Inflation Will Be One-Off
Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic says the choppy rollout of tariffs is making it harder to judge the inflationary impact. (Esa Alexander/Reuters)
The Star
02-06-2025
- Science
- The Star
Astronomers fear impact of Musk's Starlink on South Africa mega-telescope observations
FILE PHOTO: People look at Meerkat telescope array at the launch of the construction of Square Kilometre Array-Mid telescope outside the town of Carnarvon, with a similar ceremony taking place in SKA co-host Australia on the same day, in Northern Cape, South Africa, December 05, 2022. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo CAPE TOWN (Reuters) -Astronomers working with South Africa's SKA telescope are pushing authorities to ensure that any licensing agreement with Elon Musk's Starlink will protect their groundbreaking observations, a senior scientist said. Discussions to bring Musk's internet service Starlink in South Africa have already been contentious, with parent company SpaceX criticising local shareholding laws while backing equity equivalent programmes. Attaching astronomy-linked licensing conditions may further complicate attempts to introduce Starlink to the country of Musk's birth, where he has already said he is deterred by government Black empowerment policies. South Africa said it will review its Information and Communication Technology sector rules but will not back down on government policies to transform the economy three decades after white-minority rule ended. Scientists fear South Africa's Square Kilometre Array (SKA-Mid), the world's most powerful radio telescope together with another array co-hosted in Australia, will have their sensitive space observations distorted by Starlink's low-orbiting satellites. "It will be like shining a spotlight into someone's eyes, blinding us to the faint radio signals from celestial bodies," Federico Di Vruno, co-chair of International Astronomical Union Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky, told Reuters in a telephone interview. Di Vruno said the SKA Observatory, where he is spectrum manager, and the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) were lobbying for license requirements to reduce the impact on observations in certain frequency ranges, including some that SKA-Mid uses. That could direct Starlink to steer satellite beams away from SKA receivers or stop transmission for a few seconds to minimise interference, he said. South Africa's current SKA antennae, in the remote Northern Cape town of Carnarvon, use the 350 megahertz to 15.4 gigahertz bandwidth, a range also used by most satellite operators for downlinks. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa regulator and Starlink did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters about the scientists' concerns. MAJOR OBSERVATIONS South Africa's MeerKAT radio telescope, a precursor to SKA-Mid which will be incorporated into the larger instrument, has already discovered a rare giant radio galaxy that is 32 times the size of the Milky Way. Last year, it found 49 new galaxies in under three hours, according to SARAO. SKA Observatory, an international body, also campaigns for conditions on licensing agreements with other major satellite operators such as Amazon and Eutelsat's OneWeb to ensure quiet skies amid a boom in new satellite launches. "We are trying to follow different technical and regulatory avenues to mitigate this issue on the global stage," Di Vruno said. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf and Nqobile Dludla in Johannesburg; editing by Tim Cocks and Rachna Uppal)
The Star
12-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Cricket-Reaction to Kohli's retirement from test cricket
FILE PHOTO: Cricket - Second Test - South Africa v India - Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town, South Africa - January 3, 2024 India's Virat Kohli in action REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo (Reuters) -Following are quotes and reaction after India batsman Virat Kohli announced his retirement from test cricket on Monday, bringing down the curtain on a sparkling career in the longest format. THE BOARD OF CONTROL FOR CRICKET IN INDIA "An era ends in Test cricket but the legacy will continue forever. His contributions to Team India will forever be cherished." IRFAN PATHAN, FORMER INDIA ALL-ROUNDER "As captain you didn't just win matches — you changed mindsets. You made fitness, aggression, and pride in whites the new standard. A true torchbearer of modern Indian Test cricket." HARSHA BHOGLE, CRICKET COMMENTATOR "I would have liked to see Virat Kohli go out of test cricket before a packed stadium. But since that is not to be let us applaud him wherever we are. He told a generation weaned on T20 cricket that test cricket is cool and aspirational. And for that, the game owes him big time." SANATH JAYASURIYA, FORMER SRI LANKA CAPTAIN "While the world celebrates your cricketing brilliance and records, what I admire most is your unwavering commitment to fitness and the sacrifices you've made behind the scenes." ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU, INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM "Thank you, Virat Kohli, for the fire, the bravery, and the unmatched passion. You didn't just play this format, you elevated it." WASIM JAFFER, FORMER INDIA BATTER "I feel he at least had three more years in him, but his decision should be respected. Test cricket was never boring with Virat in. His presence alone brought millions of eyeballs. Once in a generation player. You will be missed Virat Kohli." (Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
