Cheryl Hunter (shelflife at marklives.com)’s weekly pick of all things new — product, packaging, design, insight, food, décor and more!

• Newmark’s new focus on Africa
• Loads of Living launches concept store
• Johnnie brings back Green Label

Newmark looks north

Hotel management company, Newmark Hotels, Reserves & Lodges, is embarking on an aggressive growth plan on the African continent, beginning with the launch of the Kaufela Collection in Zambia and the company’s first office outside of South Africa.

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According to Newmark’s director for Africa, Dr Hans Heuer, the Kaufela Collection of lodges — which will comprise 500 rooms by year-end — meets a critical need in Zambia: “There are literally hundreds of independently owned lodges in Zambia that do not have the resource to market and sell their properties effectively. Kaufela is a solution that allows these lodges to retain their independence and individuality while benefiting not only from Newmark’s management, sales, marketing and reservations infrastructure but also its two representation offices in London and New York.”

With competitive pricing for tourism and business groups, Heuer says the Newmark name and reputation will promote confidence, assurance and awareness: “This is a major intervention for Zambian tourism. It meets a business need for the lodge owners while helping visitors who often do not know what to expect when they make bookings.”

Newmark CEO, Neil Markovitz, says: “We allow iconic products to flourish and we do not dilute the offering. We are not swamped or cramped by a global brand mindset. The hotels are their own brands and this is why our properties constantly outperform the market.”

On the expansion plans, Markovitz is quick to emphasise that Newmark’s offering will not be compromised: “We turn down more properties than we take on — we’re very specific about the product portfolio.”

The Newmark portfolio includes, among others, the Victoria & Alfred Hotel at the Waterfront in Cape Town; La Splendida Hotel in Mouille Point, Motswari Private Game Reserve and Geiger’s Camp in the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, Limpopo; Coral Lodge 15.41 in Northern Mozambique; Nyungwe Forest Lodge in the Rainforest National Park in Rwanda; and Hallmark House in the Maboneng precinct in Johannesburg (opening September 2016).

www.newmarkhotels.com • Facebook • Twitter

Loads of luxury

Luxury homeware and décor retailer, Loads of Living, has opened a new concept store at the recently launched Mall of Africa in Midrand, joining the retail push to create environments that represent the brand’s passion and commitment to its consumers.

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Loads of Living stocks superior-quality, Egyptian cotton bedding and linen, as well as a vast selection of décor items catering to a variety of tastes, including classic and contemporary designs.

Says Jason Picken, managing director for Loads of Living, “The concept store turns shopping into an experiential adventure and offers a more glamorous experience in the form of inventive product displays, vivid imagery and interactivity — all combined to create an enhanced shopping experience. It has a lifestyle theme with products and services that cater specifically to the needs of the customer.”

As retail continues to evolve and consumers demand more from the environment, product and experience improvements come to the fore: “The concept stores allow brands to push the boundaries of conventional store layouts, while also teaching brands about what does, and does not, work for their target demographic. In short, the concept store rolls out a theme, with selected stock that suits current trends and yet it is not a static shop front — instead the consistently changing design and stock constantly surprises customers.”

Loads of Living has seen positive growth in the country, particularly in Johannesburg, and so launching a new concept store at the Mall of Africa was a natural progression for it. Picken says that the store will be positioned as one of the top five in SA: “This new store has an extremely large catchment area, with the residential expansion within the area making it a great location to drive Loads of Living’s future market share.”

The new store boasts that it is the first design of its kind, showcasing a curated ambiance for the homeowner and features exclusive products that aren’t available at other locations.

www.loadsofliving.co.za • Facebook • Twitter

Walking back into SA

Scotch whisky brand, Johnnie Walker, is reintroducing its famous blended malt Green Label due to global consumer demand.

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Johnnie Walker Green Label was introduced in 2005. The brand revised its range in 2012 with the introduction of Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve and Johnnie Walker Platinum Label, after which Green Label was discontinued across global markets, with the exception of Taiwan.

Marketing manager for the reserve portfolio at Diageo, Vongani Chinkanda, says, “We widened our range around the time the Green Label was taken off shelf to meet different consumer preferences and drinking occasions. For instance, Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve is a blend suitable for many different occasions and which can be enjoyed in a variety of serves and particularly in classic Scotch cocktails.

“Widening the range with new variants has been successful, with Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve selling more than Johnnie Walker Green Label at its peak; however, consumers and customers continued to ask for Johnnie Walker Green Label. When we released limited volumes of it in the US and Australia this year, the fantastic reaction we received convinced us to reintroduce it on a broader scale.”

Johnnie Walker Green Label is crafted from malt whiskies that have been matured for a minimum of 15 years in distilleries across Scotland. It will be available in store from mid-May 2016, with a recommended retail price of R649.95 for a bottle.

www.johnniewalker.com/en-za/the-discerning-blend/ • Facebook • Twitter

Shelf Life is MarkLives.com’s weekly column covering all things new. Notify us of yours at shelflife at marklives dot com. Want to sponsor Shelf Life? Contact us here.

Cheryl Hunter (@cherylhunter) has written for the South African media, marketing and advertising industries for more than 15 years. A former editor of M&M in Independent Newspapers and contributor to Bizcommunity, AdFocus, AdReview and the Ad Annual, she has also produced for various television networks and currently consults on communication strategy and media liaison.

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