Wholesale and Retail Seta - W&R Seta

Be versatile in your career - pursue new paths and enjoy the journey! Change your career every few years. Gear up for an exciting, dynamic, ever-changing career choice! Learn about the world of Retail, the skills you will develop, the different careers you can pursue, and the changes you can make to society. Our guest is Thembi Mazibuko, Chief People Officer at PnP. Join us as the Chair (Dr. Beate Stiehler-Mulder) unpacks Thembi’s career in Retail – from marketing, to buyer, to HR. Learn from her experience and consider making an exciting career choice – join a Retailer.

This podcast highlights the significant role of informal retailing in in sub-Saharan Africa’s retail landscape. Despite the growth of modern channels, informal retail channels continue to reflect the typical shopping habits of a large proportion of consumers across all income groups and are expected to continue to play a significant role in the future. This podcast improves our understanding of informal retailing channels, thereby helping businesses to better understand how they can access and tap into this important sector of retail.

How can we fortify the current framework, digitise for growth, and gear up for the ever-changing consumer preferences, behaviours, and technological advancements to make the SME market’s backbone status a reality? Learn more in this discussion with Keke Mabizela.

In this podcast, we connect with Dr. Kathrin Neumueller to discuss brick-and-mortar retailers who face an increasingly competitive market environment. She argues that frontline employee inspiration is a promising strategy to motivate frontline employees (i.e., employees with regular customer contact) to go beyond role requirements and to drive them to provide superior service quality. While a few retailers (e.g., IKEA, Nespresso, Apple) have recently come to harness the power of inspiration to drive employee performance, most other companies have yet to recognize this approach. Dr. Kathrin’s work provides the first systematic and empirically grounded research into employee inspiration with special consideration of frontline employees interacting with customers at the point of sale.

Omni-channel, online shopping, infrastructure challenges, Retail skills and employment, supplier involvement, the Retail career, Youth Unemployment, Entrepreneurship, 4IR, and the informal sector - we discuss it all with a focus on how to co-create and integrate to achieve meaningful customer offers, Retail employment, and sustainable shareholder value.

Fuel Retailing: We talk about all the trends, challenges and opportunities. Guests: Sizwe Sibeko (Fuel Retail Association | Project Manager) Prof Marius Wait (Department of Marketing Management, UJ | HoD) What is happening in the world of Fuel Retailing? The W&R Seta Gauteng Chair talks to Mr. Sizwe Sibeko (Project Manager at the Fuel Retail Association of South Africa) and Prof Marius Wait (UJ) about current and future trends in the Fuel Retail industry, training opportunities for Fuel Retail employees, the role and performance of convenience stores, illegal Fuel Retailing operations, as well as some very interesting insights about the implementation and effectiveness of loyalty programs in the Fuel Retail industry.

The new role of the Retail employee. The 4IR has taken the Retail sector by storm. In the eye of this storm are trends that could either make or break the sector. Along with the challenges, are a lot of opportunities that can positively impact the Retail sector in general, youth development, SME’s and the informal sector. In this discussion, we unpack these challenges and opportunities and discuss the undeniable need to upskill the unemployed and reskill the employed.

What Retail can mean for youth unemployment. Guests: link (Batho Pele - Managing Director) and Grant Jooste (Batho Pele - HR Director) As one of the largest contributors to the GDP, the Retail sector can play an important role in youth unemployment. Grant Jooste and Shawn Visser unpack the challenges of youth unemployment and enlighten us on initiatives that their organization (Batho Pele) has embarked on to empower the youth. We also discuss how rewarding a career in Retail may be, the importance of changing the deep-rooted perceptions about “working in Retail” amongst the youth, and the need to create better awareness about what the Retail sector has to offer – an exciting career with many levels for growth and the development of a broad business skill set.

Learn more about effectively using Digital Marketing in the Retail space. Guest: Dr. Ewoudt Cloete - Senior Manager Digital Operations - GAME Learn how Digital Marketing has transformed the Retail Marketing space! Dr. Ewoudt Cloete discusses the customer journey and how one should go about identifying and mapping the correct Digital channels to secure Digital Marketing success in Retail. He also talks about customers and online tracking, provides Digital Marketing tips for Small Retailers, gives insights on the use of WhatsApp and TikTok, talks about surviving consumer backlash on Digital platforms, provides tips and personal learnings from his experience as a Digital Marketer in the Retail space, he differentiates between Digital Marketing practices for Retail vs. a product and the importance of Content Marketing to build and secure customer relationships.

Retail can be a rewarding career choice. Guest: Mr. Manfree Maake (M&M Guesthouse - MD) Mr. Manfree Maake shares his inspiring story of how he started as a till packer and worked his way up to becoming a Regional Manager of a large FMCG, an MBA graduate, and, today - a business owner. Not many people understand the career and growth opportunities in the Retail sector. As one of the largest contributors to the country's GDP, the Retail sector provides ample opportunity for career growth and the development of a well-rounded business skillset. Many successful business owners (like Manfree) came from a Retail background and assign their success as entrepreneurs to their learnings from their years spent in Retail.

Hosted at the University of Johannesburg's Department of Marketing Management, we have conversations with wholesalers, retailers, and industry experts from South Africa and around the world. We also speak with renowned researchers so that we can provide you with information that promotes excellence and advances the retail industry.

In this episode, we delve into a groundbreaking study conducted by Drs. Ward and Pillay, focusing on the alignment of academic curricula with the evolving needs of the South African retail sector. Discover the two-phase research approach that included comprehensive desktop research and insightful interviews with industry professionals and academics. We explore the key findings that highlight the challenges of outdated curricula, lack of emerging technology integration, and the insufficient work-readiness of graduates. Join us as we unpack the proposed strategies for better alignment, such as enhancing industry-academia collaboration, modernising assessment methods, and establishing work-integrated learning mechanisms. Listen in to understand the importance of fostering mutual respect, open communication, and digital integration. Learn how these recommendations aim to prepare graduates for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, increase curriculum visibility, and ultimately enhance employability. This episode offers a detailed look at how collaborative efforts can lead to stronger industry-academia partnerships and broader economic and social benefits for South Africa. Don't miss this insightful discussion on transforming education to meet industry demands!

Celebrating the achievements of W&R SETA Youth Project participants. Join the W&R SETA Leadership Chair at the University of Johannesburg Dr. Semona Pillay in our inaugural episode of 'Empowering Retail for a Better Tomorrow' podcast series titled 'Youth Voices Amplified'. Today, we're spotlighting the incredible journey of young trailblazers who participated in a pilot Youth project, generously funded by W&R SETA. Hear firsthand from inspiring students as they share their experiences and triumphs alongside the invaluable insights of Mr. Sandile Maseko, the driving force behind their mentorship. Tune in as we celebrate the unstoppable spirit and potential of South Africa's future retail leaders!