This is according to Greg Azzopardi, President, South African Council of Shopping Centres.
 
“We have weathered many storms in our diverse country and those caused by overseas markets. Nevertheless South African retailers are flexible and have adapted to the ever changing social, economic and political conditions here and abroad,” says Azzopardi.
 
'Shift - Adapt, Adjust, Advance', is the theme of the 15th Annual Congress of the South African Council of Shopping Centres, hosted by The SA Council of Shopping Centres (SACSC) endorsed by the International Council of Shopping Centres (ICSC) and main sponsor Nedbank Corporate Property Finance.
 
To Azzopardi it aptly reflects the resolve and persistence of many South African retailers.
 
“The current economic turbulence, from all reports, is seemingly far from over and fallout from the rest of the world must still affect us and will be testing,” says Azzopardi. Despite this, he remains upbeat that South African retailers have what it takes to continue to grow across the board.
 
His positive sentiment about retail in South Africa, and indeed Africa, is shared by global retail icons including Wal-Mart, Zara and a number of Australian operators – all of which have identified South Africa as a retail location brimming with growth opportunities.
 
The key for new retail development is echoed in the seasoned property professional’s mantra: ‘location, location, location’, stresses Vimbai Kadenhe of Integra Africa and speaker at the upcoming congress. “There’s a basket of factors to consider, like economic conditions, property market conditions, access to and cost of finance, construction and development capacity. But location is still the single most important one.”
 
Caswell Rampheri, Chief Executive, Buna Group believes that the greatest retail potential in Southern Africa exists with new opportunities waiting to be unlocked in Mozambique, Angola and Zambia while South Africa holds a host of possibilities in terms of redevelopments and accessing under-serviced markets.
 
Rampheri, who will be sharing his insights as part of a panel discussion at the convention, notes that Buna Group has identified East Africa as bursting with retail potential, especially Kenya and new addition South Sudan. Ghana and Nigeria present good prospects in West Africa.
 
“Both micro and macroeconomic fundamentals are showing tremendous improvement. There is also better cohesion within countries and an improved investment climate,” says Rampheri of the potential for South African retailers to continue the drive up Africa. “There’s much more competition amongst most African countries to lure investors and create jobs.”
 
However Rampheri cautions that retail in Africa is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ affair. “A single strategy isn’t going to cut it across different countries, as it does within South Africa’s boundaries,” says Rampheri. He warns against a rigid approach in markets that are dynamic and require a higher degree of flexibility.
 
“Multi strategies based on the needs and opportunities in each market are essential,” says Rampheri. “South African retailers are learning this, and learning it quickly.”
 
Economic, political, demographic and social capital analyst JP Landman notes that in the last 15 years the SA economy has only tripped twice and in both cases this was caused by global developments. A repeat of this scenario is a real economic risk, over which SA retailers have no control. However Landman, a guest speaker at the popular retail event, notes that an instrument which is within their control is their social capital.
 
“Social capital enhances the ‘feel good factor’ of a company or brand. And any boost to the ‘feed good factor’ must be good for retail spending,” enthuses Landman.
The retail sector's annual flagship event is set to take place at the Sandton Convention Centre from 14 to 16 September 2011.

Now in its 15th year, the conference has grown significantly over the years, attracting a wide range of industry stakeholders, from retailers, investors and leasing agents, to marketers and developers from Southern Africa as well as further afield.