Fashion retailer Edcon Holdings suffered a first-quarter loss of R643 million to June, compared with a R1,13 billion profit for the corresponding period a year ago. 29 Aug 2008

Vincent Park could become the first casualty in East London's battle of the malls with a major tenant considering cutting its store in half in favour of another outlet in the new Hemingways Mall. 29 Aug 2008

Woolworths has a steady supplier base. It has teams of scientists developing new products. Woolworths's reputation as a tough and demanding buyer of products and services precedes it. Suppliers confirm this and CEO Simon Susman concedes that working with his company “can be challenging”. 29 Aug 2008

USA: More than a third of mainstream consumers over the age of 30 experience deep frustration associated with their cell phone's interface according to a study revealed yesterday by Bowen Research, a firm that researches and evaluates consumer attitudes and behavior about high tech products, software and electronics. 29 Aug 2008

UNITED KINGDOM: As a result of increasing demand from industry franchisees, today marks the official launch of a new franchise association and dedicated web portal: www.franchiseeassociation.org.uk. 29 Aug 2008

Why sell somebody else's product line when you can do a better job offering your own? That was the question that ultimately pushed Jan Hichert, CEO of Astaro, and two other cofounders to develop their own Internet security solutions for a market they viewed as needy of attention - the small- to medium-sized business (SMB) segment. 29 Aug 2008

South Africa's Production Price Index (PPI) has increased by 18.9% year-on-year in July from 16.8% year-on-year in June. 28 Aug 2008