Customer Health and Safety

PR1

What are the life cycle stages in which health and safety impacts of products are assessed for improvement, and the percentage of significant product categories subject to such procedures.

A broad range of products sold by Massmart are subjected to a variety of voluntary and compulsory standard testing procedures to ensure that a high level of health and safety is maintained.  Regular testing of food products is conducted annually and sensitive categories are analyzed quarterly or monthly.

Massmart’s formal trading agreements detail that suppliers are expected to abide by the laws and regulations of the country, and that all products and services must comply with legal and safety standards.  

Store audits are also conducted by a 3rd party auditing body to identify non-conforming goods and practices to ensure that goods are certified and comply with compulsory specifications.  Numerous external organisations including; SABS (South African Bureau of Standards); NRCS (National Regulator of Compulsory Standards); and ICASA (Independent Communications Authority of South Africa) are consulted to assist with the procedures. Authentication certification procedures are also followed for products labelled Halaal or Kosher. 

Product and Service Labelling

PR3

List the type of product and service information required by procedures, and percentage of significant products subject to such information requirements.
The following voluntary labelling information standards are used on relevant products sold by the Group:

• SABS Mark Scheme
• ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation)
• Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC)
• Recyclability; Energy  Star
• ROSE (Recycling Oil Saves the Environment) Foundation
• ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation)
• Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC)
• Energy Star

In addition, all labelling must comply with all regulations relevant to the country in which it is sold. Applicable legislation in South Africa includes the following:

• The Medicine, Tobacco and Liquor Acts;
• the National RCS (Regulator of Compulsory Standards);
• Agricultural Product Standards Act;
• ICASA (The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa; and
• RICA (The Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act).

PR4

How many incidents of regulatory non-compliance to standards of labelling and information have been identified?

Less than 10 private label products were reported not to have met applicable category specific legal requirements. A new standard of merchandise labelling has been implemented to ensure future compliance. In addition, There were 31 product recalls during the reporting period. Of these, 8 were food related and 23 were for general merchandise products.

PR5

Practices related to customer satisfaction, including results of surveys measuring customer satisfaction.

Divisions continue to conduct regular customer surveys including focus groups to research elements of the traditional value proposition to customers.  Customer intercept research introduced in 2009 at Group level also focused on customer satisfaction levels and included attitudes to responsible consumerism.  Group research conducted in the fourth quarter of 2010 showed an overall customer satisfaction score of 88.0%.

Marketing Communications

PR6

What programs for adherence to laws, standards, and voluntary codes related to marketing communications, including advertising, promotion and sponsorship does Massmart subscribe to?

Massmart follows the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) Code of Conduct, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) codes of practice. 

In addition, steps are in place to comply with the Access to Personal Information Act, Protection of Personal Information Act and the Consumer Protection Act.

PR7

Were there incidents of non-compliance with regulations and voluntary codes?

Complaints were received by the Advertising Standards Authority regarding transgressions of the code around the inclusion of specified wording on advertising, none of which can be deemed significant and all of which have either been resolved or are pending resolution.  

Customer Privacy

PR8

Were any substantiated complaints regarding breaches of customer privacy and losses of customer data received?

No significant incidences were reported.

PR9

Did Massmart incur any significant fines for noncompliance with laws and regulations concerning the provision and use of products?

During the reporting period Massmart’s Massdiscounters division received 10 claims relating to defective products. Although not all claims have been finalized, to date R35,507.0 has been paid out in damages.