A very complicated Patent Court battle this week between Bayer South Africa and Clicks, about the latter’s ability to sell a mere 2,963 packs of blood-thinning pills from Bayer rival Dr Reddy. One of the issues for Bayer is that various pharmacies – including Clicks and Dis-Chem – had continued dispensing Dr Reddy’s Rivaxored generic pills at 40% below the price of Bayer’s Xarelto pills. Bayer obtained an interdict earlier to prevent the distribution of this and other generics. For Bayer, the continued sale of generics is a major threat to the single-dose medication they had invested heavily in developing. At stake for Clicks is its agenda “to make healthcare services more affordable – and thus accessible – to all people in South Africa […] by driving generic substitution of medicines, wherever possible.” Because of the glacial pace of such proceedings, whether Bayer wins or loses it will succeed in keeping generic competitors out of a major market for the next four-odd years.

Comment: This brief account is really just scratching the surface of a highly complex and potentially far-reaching fight over how the pharmaceutical industry is allowed to charge for its lifesaving and highly lucrative products.

After last week’s catastrophic flooding in KZN, Shoprite acted with characteristic haste to dispatch four of its Mobile Soup Kitchens to provide immediate hunger relief – and some warmth and comfort – to affected communities. It has also redirected its #ActForChange Fund till point donation facility to support local organisations assisting with flood relief, and is donating essential foods and other items to these NGOs. In further Clicks news (see above), the first Clicks Beauty Playground was launched at Century City this week, with a variety of beauty activities, including masterclasses on how to do different make-up looks, guest speakers and more than 33 exhibitors showcasing their latest health, beauty and wellness product offerings. Finally, a new study by Genesis Analytics and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) shows that retailers like Pick n Pay have become increasingly popular as a business channel for banks, as they have a larger footprint that allows financial institutions to reach communities where it may not be viable to operate a full branch.

Comment: The extension of banking to poor or underserved South Africans is one of the most significant retail achievements of the last half-decade or so.

The Western Cape High Court has dismissed an application by Cayman Islands-registered Sand Grove Capital Management in its efforts to have the shareholder meeting that approved Heineken’s acquisition of Distell reviewed as improperly constituted. Unrelated, Aspen Pharmacare may be forced to shut down its production of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccines if African countries do not place orders, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. And finally, RCL FOODS acquisition Empty Trips, a business which connects customers, shippers and carriers through a central digital platform, is going great guns to remove both inefficiencies and costs from our grossly inefficient management of grocery supply chains.

Comment: The leadership of RCL FOODS has long taken a visionary stance on improving supply chain collaboration and efficiency. Now that these have become essential to ongoing profitability, it’s good to see these efforts paying off.

According to Nielsen, the advent of the COVID-19 relief grant has catalysed a fundamental shift in the way our poorer households shops. “When consumers came under severe pressure during COVID lockdowns,” says NielsenIQ South Africa MD Ged Nooy, “the implementation of the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant of R350 a month from May 2020 saw an almost immediate uplift in the spend of the most vulnerable households in South Africa that increased their monthly spend from R1,002 per month in April 2020 to R1,225 per month by December 2020 – an average increase of 22% for these households”. Payday week used to see sales +11.6% higher than any other week of the month, followed by the first week of the month that was +7.6% higher than other weeks. Now payday week sales are only +10.4% higher, and the first week of the month (when social grants are paid), +12.4%.

Comment: COVID-19 has changed our lives and our industry in ways we’re only beginning to reckon with.