6 March 2012, Johannesburg. JSE-listed Skinwell Holdings Limited has announced its acquisition of the Perfect 10 franchise. The announcement was made simultaneous to Skinwell launching its new name and brand, notably that of “Imbalie Beauty”. Speaking at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), CEO of the newly named Imbalie Beauty Esna Colyn explained how the group’s new name would better reflect its status as a multiple-branded beauty franchisor. “The word ‘Imbalie’ is derived from the Zulu word for flower. As such, it is appropriately symbolic of our group’s holistic and comprehensive beauty offering which encompasses skincare, nail care, hair care and various other beauty products and services.” She added that the new name and brand also spoke of the potential inherent to the group, “While we’ve been able to announce very positive developments today, we remain extremely cognisant of the fact that our journey towards sustainable and profitable success is still in its early stages. O...

(Part 4 of a 4 part series) Advice on franchising by Pieter Scholtz, Master Licensee for ActionCOACH SA. ActionCOACH is one of the fastest growing and most successful business coaching franchises in the world today. In the first three segments of this four part series on customer relationships we discussed external relationships, ideal customers, satisfying customers, the concept of winning customer service, a customer plan and the ladder of loyalty.   In this last segment we turn our attention to internal relationships. Many business people hold the misguided view that because what goes on inside their business is not visible to the public, it has no impact or relevance on their customers or clients. This is where they go wrong. Like having a healthy heart, just because it is inside your body and can’t be seen, does not mean it can be ignored. The way you interact with your staff is vitally important to the well-being of your business. Let us look at some of the important fact...

1 March 2012 bridge Wealth , a division of the bridge group founded in 1994, was established to take advantage of the lucrative profits generated in the R43 billion per annum South African short term loans market. The bridge group consists of 11 companies, including the 175+ SA MultiLoans branches. The bridge group head office is situated in Lynnwood Glen, Pretoria, from where they run their R150million-per-month-turnover companies. Due to major success in 2011 and tremendous expansion plans for this year, the group has undergone a complete revamp on 1 March 2012.The loans division consolidated into one and rebranded under the name of bridge . Therefore, Oneserv rebranded to bridge Wealth , and the well-known Money Masters business opportunity rebranded to Maister. This rebranding allows the companies to streamline their marketing campaigns and operate the loans divisions uniformly. With the Maister business opportunity, bridge Wealth invites entrepreneurs to become credit pro...

The Townships Project was created in late 1998 as the brainchild of Martha Deacon, a Canadian national, in response to then President Nelson Mandela’s call to action to do something about the poverty in his country. Since its inception The Townships Project has been tireless in its fight against poverty, working to extend small loans to start or expand small businesses, while also exploring how to make these loans more effective. In this light T he Townships Project is exploring evidence that microloans are more effective when combined with Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), Corporate Social Investment, Enterprise Development and Micro Franchising. During 2009 steps were taken to develop informal partnerships in these areas of interest and as South Africa searches for ways to rapidly scale business ownership amongst the 40% of its population subsisting on $2 a day, these partnerships have grown in strength. It has long been known that people at the base of the pyramid have th...

1 March 2012 Ferndale will once again have hot, tasty and fast pizza served to them, as Scooters Pizza Ferndale has reopened under the new ownership of Sizwe Dhlomo. The stores oven doors reopened on 27 February at the Tokai Shopping Centre on Malibongwe Drive, Ferndale. Taste Holdings Food Division CEO, Christo Calitz asserts that Scooters Pizza Ferndale is ready and excited to be serving local residents again. “We are excited to be operating in Ferndale once again, and as customers have come to expect, we will continue to offer them supreme meal offerings and quality service which patrons have become accustomed to. “Further, the stores location in the bustling shopping centre provides consumers with a convenient and quality option to curb their appetites after a long day.“ Calitz adds that Dhlomo’s new approach and management style will help the store flourish. “I have full confidence that Sizwe’s fresh, innovative and unique approach to management will ensure that Scooters Piz...