COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Bridgestone may close SA outlets

The world's largest tyre maker Bridgestone is considering closing a large number of its retail outlets in South Africa.

The Japanese multinational's southern African business has 22 retail branches. It may close 14 of these stores in South Africa, eSwatini and Zambia. Eleven closures would be in South Africa and 290 employees could be retrenched.

Bridgestone said a challenging business environment, including decreasing tyre demand, cheaper imports and load shedding, has made business "unsustainable" in certain locations.

A spokesperson said that the local demand for truck and bus tyres has fallen by 10% so far this year compared to last year.

"Our Bridgestone Equity stores have struggled in the face of a shrinking economy; an influx of imported budget product; and significant challenges to our operating expenditure such as increases in fuel prices, erratic power supply and the rising cost of rubber."

The company also blamed a "trade infringement" in its franchise agreement with Supa Quick for the possible closures.

According to a spokesperson, the company is seeking to incorporate its commercial retail business with the Supa Quick franchise, the largest tyre retail franchise in southern Africa.-Fin24

Renergen runs damage control

Renergen CEO Stefano Marani could never have predicted that his curt response to a social media post would rapidly snowball into a public relations nightmare, causing the company share to crash 40% over the following two weeks and forcing it into damage control mode.

The post in question was from self-styled activist investment manager Albie Cilliers, who accused the company of misleading stakeholders about the progress in its helium production.

This comes as the company has suffered two setbacks at its Virginia gas project in the Free State - one in December last year and one in January this year.

In refuting the insinuation that something sinister might be afoot, Marani first told Cilliers his comments were "sailing close to the wind". In response to another post - which questioned the reported fault in the cold boxes, Marani warned: "The JSE has clear rules on misinformation."

Unfortunately for Renergen, it spurred Cilliers on to investigate further. "Normally, I just do it when I have a position. But in this case, I thought there are many people in this stock, and they have a right to know," he says.

What followed was a barrage of posts over almost three weeks in which Cilliers poked holes in Renergen's story and raised numerous concerns. These include key shareholders selling out of the stock when share prices peaked and why a significant funding deal with Ivanhoe Mines lapsed. He also questioned whether the extraction of helium is covered by the Virginia project's production right.-Fin24

Sanlam fintech to fast track financial access

The launch of Sanlam Fintech – a business cluster within the Sanlam Group – signals a strategic move to expand the Group’s existing fintech offering and ensure that all aspects of the US$8-billion (R143-billion) listed company's services are digitally-led. The overarching goal is to use tech to accelerate access to financial services for all Africans, delivering on the brand’s purpose: to help Africans live with financial confidence.

Gathered under the Sanlam Fintech cluster are a host of existing product houses that Sanlam - Africa's largest non-banking financial services group – believes will be key for its digital, direct growth ambitions. These include: Sanlam Rewards (Wealth Bonus, Sanlam Reality), SatrixNow, MiWay Blink, Santam Switch, Home , EasyEquities, Sanlam Credit Solutions and Sanlam Multi Data.

“At the heart of Sanlam Fintech is the convergence of a single ecosystem that incorporates financial guidance, rewards, non-intermediated product offerings and seamless payment capabilities to deliver the integrated digital experience that today’s client expects,” explains Riaan Van Dyk, Sanlam Fintech’s CEO. “We are building a single view of customer that will allow us to serve hyperpersonalised interactions at scale, ensuring that our clients get a holistic experience tailored to their needs, regardless of the Sanlam group product(s) they hold.

"The Fintech cluster will support Sanlam's key strategic priorities of financial inclusion and digital transformation. It is about enabling us to serve a segment of the market that has historically been underserved by Sanlam,” adds Van Dyk. “We are committed to building a digital-first business while ensuring our entire group is future-ready."-Fin24