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IOL News
a day ago
- Business
- IOL News
SPAR Group's growth plans in Southern Africa amid divestment plans in Europe
Spar Group achieved three key milestones in the 26 weeks: the disposal of SPAR Poland was concluded in January 2025, the group's debt restructure was completed in March 2025, and in May 2025 the group announced its intention to dispose of its operations in Switzerland as well as AWG in the UK. Image: Independent Newspapers The SPAR Group, which is divesting of some of its businesses in Europe, plans to grow in Southern Africa by enhancing its retail segments, leveraging partnerships with Uber Eats and Vida e Caffè, and increasing private label product penetration. The retailer outlined its strategy for Southern Africa at the release on Wednesday of its interim results for the 26 weeks to March 28, which showed headline earnings a share falling by 0.4% to 450.1 cents. Revenue was flat at R66.1 billion (R66.2bn). Operating profit before extraordinary items grew by 1.6% to R1.46bn. South African operating profit increased by 5.5%, with the operating margin improving to 2%, up from 1.9%. The interim dividend was passed due to the ongoing restructuring and in line with capital allocation priorities, directors said. Following a board decision to realise value from operations in Switzerland and the UK, these were now classified as discontinued assets in the results. In Southern Africa, investment in customer convenience was being stepped up with the continuing rollout of its on-demand digital platforms, SPAR2U and Build it 2U. The partnership with Uber Eats, launched in the first quarter, was live in 130 stores, and SPAR Group CEO Angelo Swartz said this has enabled SPAR to reach new customers and enhance customer experience. Investment in pharmacist training facilities is underway to support the growth of SPAR Health, with the aim of doubling the pharmacy network by 2028. 'Over the period, we made deliberate progress against the milestones we set to simplify and optimise our portfolio and strengthen our balance sheet,' said Swartz. He said the results showed continued margin recovery, strong cost discipline, and further progress on portfolio optimisation. 'This positions us well to harness future opportunities. Looking ahead, our focus is on further margin improvement, executing effectively in our core markets, and delivering on the remaining elements of our strategic reset,' he added. Revenue growth in South Africa was 1.7%, while in Ireland it was -0.6% in local currency, reflecting the pressure on consumer spending, compounded by low food inflation and the timing of Easter, which fell in the second half of the financial year. The growth that there was, was underpinned by strong momentum in the lower-income customer segment. The Build it and SPAR Health businesses gained traction. Build it, one of South Africa's largest building materials retail brands, increased sales by 4.1% and retail like-for-like growth of 5.4%, despite the tough economic conditions and unseasonal rainfall. SPAR Health grew revenue by 13.7%, driven by strong gains in Wholesale and Scriptwise. Loyalty improved to 58%, up from 53.2% in the year to September 30, 2023. Swartz said they drove profitability through category mix optimisation and private label growth, with improved efficiencies. He expected continued margin improvement in the second half as efficiency initiatives gain further traction. In Ireland, BWG Group was expanding its own-brand offering, sharpening everyday value, and growing its food services business. This was supported by range and pricing optimisation in high-margin categories, increased logistics capacity, modern store formats, and targeted acquisition opportunities.
American Military News
26-05-2025
- General
- American Military News
Memorial Day was created because Civil War veterans fought for it
May 26—This story was originally published in May 2021. There are nearly 150 Civil War memorials in more than 130 cities and towns across Maine, honoring the approximately 9,400 Mainers who died in the war and the veterans who survived, as well as the more than 360,000 other Union soldiers who died nationwide. These memorials can fade into the background as people go about their lives. Even fewer people may notice the five-pointed star that adorns the majority of Maine's Civil War memorials. The star isn't a simple decoration — it's the emblem of the Grand Army of the Republic, the fraternal and advocacy organization composed of Civil War veterans, founded just a few years after the war ended. In many ways, it was the precursor to organizations like the American Legion and the VFW. And as a national organization with considerable political clout, it was largely responsible for making Memorial Day a federal holiday and for the creation of the vast majority of Maine's Civil War memorials. 'You can honestly say that if there was not a Grand Army of the Republic, we would not have had Memorial Day as a federal holiday as early as it happened,' said Brian Swartz, a Bangor author and Civil War historian. 'There might have been some local efforts, but [it was] really the first veterans organization to really flex its political muscle.' The Grand Army of the Republic was founded in 1866, largely in response to the poor treatment by the government of Civil War veterans, most of whom did not receive a pension nor medical care once the Department of War demobilized the military in 1865. 'These were like veterans coming back from Vietnam. Their families didn't understand the experiences they'd been through and endured,' Swartz said. 'These men were brothers to each other. They'd watched people they had very close friendships with die in battle. And they were receiving no help at all.' Aside from their work to ensure proper care and compensation for war veterans, among the first efforts the organization put its muscle behind was the creation of Memorial Day. In 1868, the organization's commander-in-chief John Logan proclaimed May 30 as the day Americans would pay tribute to war casualties, missing-in-action and deceased veterans. Though there was a long tradition of decorating the graves of war dead, the 1868 proclamation was the first national recognition of a specific day as a day to remember the dead. From 1868 until 1970, it was celebrated on May 30. That year, the date was changed to the last Monday in May to allow for a three-day weekend, a move that some veterans thought cheapened the solemnity of the occasion. In Maine, one of the major projects of the state and local Grand Army of the Republic posts and their associated women's auxiliaries was to raise money for and build Civil War memorials. The majority of these monuments were erected between 1870 and 1920, and vary widely in size and style. Some are simple granite obelisks, like the town of Hermon's memorial now located near Hermon Elementary School, or the Hallowell monument. Some show a soldier standing proudly, as in the towns of Bath, Blue Hill, Caribou and Corinna. And some are unlike any others, like the memorial at the Grand Army of the Republic lot at Mount Hope Cemetery in Bangor, which features a reconstruction of a Civil War-era fort and several cannons. 'These memorials also served as a way for Civil War veterans to remember the friends they lost that are still down there,' Swartz said. 'There are many, many Mainers who went into unmarked graves down south. We'll never find them.' Among the organization's other major projects was advocacy for the creation of a medical facility for veterans in Maine. In part through their work, the country's first veterans facility, Togus, was developed in the town of Chelsea. By the 1940s, membership had dwindled. Maine's last surviving Civil War veterans were Melvin Jellison of Clifton and Zachary McLaughlin of Phillips, both of whom were Grand Army of the Republic members and who died within a few months of each other in 1947. With the death of the country's last surviving Civil War veteran in 1956, the Grand Army of the Republic was dissolved. The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War was its heir, and that organization still has around 6,400 members in 2021. Though it's been 65 years since the last Civil War veteran was alive, the work of the Grand Army of the Republic is still visible in every corner of the nation — from the countless organizations that seek to serve veterans that it inspired, to the war monuments that dot the landscape, to the fact that we observe Memorial Day in the first place. 'Someone might see that five-pointed star, and they won't know what that means,' Swartz said. 'But it symbolizes the brotherhood the boys felt, and the work they did to ensure their legacy was never forgotten.' © 2025 the Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine). Visit Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Michigan WWII soldier buried 83 years after death
ALTO, Mich. (WOOD) — This Memorial Day weekend takes on a whole new meaning for one West Michigan veteran, as he is remembering a fallen hero much closer to home. After more than 80 years of unanswered questions, Bob Buys' family finally got the closure they've been waiting for. Buys grew up hearing stories about his great uncle, U.S. Army Air Forces Sgt. James W. Swartz of Webberville. Swartz served during World War II. He was captured in the Philippines and survived the brutal Bataan Death March, only to later die at the Cabanatuan POW camp in 1942 at just 21 years old. 'His mother searched frantically through the government to try to get his remains returned, but of course they didn't know where he was buried, they just knew that he had died,' said Buys. Years ago, Buys said the U.S. Army reached out, asking for a DNA sample to identify Swartz's remains. 'I gave my DNA and then it became personal to me,' Buys said. 'Maybe my DNA can help identify him and bring him home, something the family has wanted for over 80 years.' Buys, a Navy veteran himself, submitted the sample, but never heard back. It wasn't until last week, while searching online, that he learned his uncle had been officially identified in late 2024. His remains were laid to rest earlier this month at Summit Cemetery in Williamstown Township. 'Personally, I wish I could've been notified,' Buys said. 'I would've loved to have been at the funeral. But that wasn't to be the case. I'm just glad he's home.' Swartz's return marks the end of a long chapter for a family that spent generations searching for answers. In the 1950s, Swartz's mother had written letters to the Army, pleading to know where her son might be buried. 'Dear sirs,' she wrote. 'Would you please let me know if there's any kind of cemetery or burial grounds for the boys who died in World War II in the Japanese prison camp?' That question went unanswered for more than 80 years. Through a combination of DNA, dental records, and historical evidence, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency was able to confirm Swartz's identity. 'Knowing that I supplied my DNA…that small act on my part helped identify his remains,' Buys said. 'And now that he's back, his remains are back on American soil. I feel like this story comes to a happy ending in a way.' Now, Buys is looking forward to visiting the grave, finally connecting with his family's history in person. As we mark Memorial Day, he hopes we don't forget the meaning behind it. 'He's one of thousands of men and women that paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms,' Buys said. 'And Memorial Day, as much as we want to celebrate with cookouts and family get-togethers, in the back of our minds as Americans, we should remember that somebody paid a price for our freedom.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Bataan Death March, POW camp claimed Williamston man. His remains finally rest in US soil
WILLIAMSTON TWP. — Family members and others gathered Saturday, May 3, to inter the remains of a Webberville man who survived the infamous Bataan Death March during World War II, only to die in a Japanese prisoner of war camp months later. U.S. Army Air Corps Sgt. James Swartz's remains were identified 80 years after the war, in August 2024, and returned to Michigan for burial in Williamston Township. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency made the announcement of Swartz's identification in November 2024. Swartz was laid to rest at Summit Cemetery, with about 40 people representing five generations of his family, according to Lori Byrnes. The service include a honor guard. Swartz was a member of 17th Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands during World War II. The unit, activated in the Philippines on Oct. 1, 1941, with two attached squadrons equipped with P-35 and P-40 aircraft. By late in December the ground personnel were absorbed by infantry units and some pilots were evacuated to Australia. The remaining pilots continued operations in the Philippines with the few planes that were left, according to the Army Air Corps Museum. Intense fighting led to Allied troops' surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said. He was reported captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese. The captured service members were subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March, and then held at the Cabanatuan POW Camp No. 1, where more than 2,500 POWs perished during the war, Swartz among them, the accounting agency said. According to prison camp and other records, Swartz died Sept. 23, 1942, and was buried in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 434. He was 21. "Though interred as an Unknown in (Manilla American Cemetery and Memorial), Swartz's grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission," the accounting agency said in a news release. "Today, Sgt. Swartz is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for." In April 2019, as part of the Cabanatuan Project, DPAA exhumed the remains associated with Common Grave 434 and sent them to the DPAA laboratory for analysis. "Systematically working through the records of Unknowns that had originally been buried in over 300 common graves, the project proposes disinterring groups of Unknowns based on the evidence surrounding their original common grave associations. Because of extensive commingling, the Department of Defense is collecting DNA Family Reference Samples for over 2,700 casualties from the camp, both resolved and unresolved," the accounting agency said. Scientists used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence, to identify Swartz's remains. The Armed Forced Medical Examiner System also used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis. This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: James Swartz died in the Philippines during WWII. Now he rests in Summit Cemetery
Vancouver Sun
03-05-2025
- Vancouver Sun
Accused in Lapu Lapu Day tragedy makes first court appearance
Article content The man charged with eight counts of murder after 11 people were killed and several more injured at an outdoor Filipino community festival last Saturday has been sent for a psychiatric assessment. Article content Article content Adam Kai-Ji Lo, 30, appeared by video in a courtroom at Vancouver provincial court on Friday afternoon, on a split screen with his lawyer, Mark Swartz, who also appeared via video from a different location. Article content Article content Lo was wearing a red T-shirt and matching red bottoms and sat on a light blue bench in a brightly lit room at the jail where he is being held in. Article content Article content Before the hearing started, Lo, who apparently could see the people sitting in courtroom 514 at the court at 222 Main St., was captured on an open mic saying 'hello' and 'who are all the people.' Article content And he also said 'what's 222 Main' and walked up closer to the screen or the camera and seemed to be examining it briefly before sitting down again. Article content Judge Reg Harris at the start of the hearing to hear an application from Swartz imposed a publication ban on any submissions by Swartz or prosecutor Michaela Donnelly, but specifically allowed reporting of the order for a psychiatric assessment. Article content Such publications bans are common in pretrial hearings to protect the trial process, especially if the accused chooses to be tried by jury and judge. Article content The psychiatric assessment will take place in a setting by qualified medical professionals while Lo remains in custody, court heard. Article content Article content Article content Lo was arrested on April 26 and charged with eight counts of second-degree murder after someone drove a black SUV through a crowd of people 15 minutes after the end of a daylong festival held by Vancouver's Filipino community to celebrate Lapu Lapu Day near 41st Avenue and Fraser Street in east Vancouver. Article content
