Subscribe to our Newsletter


click to dowload our latest edition

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

Banner

Woolies gets tough, BDS gets desperate

Published

on

ANT KATZ

This seems to have served to infuriate BDS from “raising awareness” into “intimidation of customers and employees, restricting access and preventing customers from shopping”.

Woolies logoThere seems to never be a dull moment in the battle of wills over the #BoycottWoolworths tussle between the retail giant and pro-Palestinian organisations. And the current battlefront seems to have moved from Johannesburg to Cape Town.

Ten days ago the Congress of SA Students (Cosas-WC) had their wings clipped by their elders from the ANC and the SA arm of US NGO Boycott Divesment and Sanctions (BDS-SA) – with the students agreeing to stop placing pigs’ heads in Woolworths stores, and to stop promoting themselves over the cause.

Woolies then made two strategic moves last week:

  • Firstly, they made good on an earlier promise, saying that “while we respect the right to protest peacefully and lawfully, the safety of our employees and customers come first.” Paula Disberry, Group Director: Retail Operations announced that Woolies had “filed a court application (for an interdict) to protect our employees and customers from the increasing unlawful protests inside our stores”.
  • Their second move was to announce mid-week that they only had two Israeli products in their stores, pretzels and figs. And, by Friday, pomegranates were added to the list. This, they said, was simply a normal seasonal situation and they were at pains to point out that the small “Israeli tomatoes” are, in fact locally grown. (Israel developed the baby round tomatoes and small namesake “Israeli cucumbers”).

BDS-SA had a few tricks up their sleeves themselves. They shifted their #BoycottWoolworths focus from customers to shareholders ahead of the retailers’ AGM on November 26. BDS’ tactics of using smoke and mirrors to make the #BoycottWoolworths seem bigger than it is, like their rent-a-crowd protests at 40 Woolies stores every month-end Saturday, are evident in their new tactics:

  • BDS has begun operating under a newly-formed umbrella body known as the National Coalition 4 Palestine (NC4P);
  • Woolies AGM Protest poster HOMEThey are planning to hold a protest outside Woolworths’ Cape Town head office during the AGM, together with Cosatu and Cosas;


    RIGHT: BDS head-honcho Muhammed Desai filling a trolley with groceries which he intends to abandon at the tillpoint, along with others creating havoc in a store 



  • They invited sympathisers to participate in a survey which allowed BDS’ Muhammed Desai to brag to gullible reporters about the effect of its campaign. “About 96 per cent are in support of the campaign,” Desai said adding that about 89 per cent said they would support the campaign for as long as it lasted, and 88 per cent expressed confidence that the campaign would be successful;
  • This Tuesday the media were invited to a media briefing of shareholders. Little did the few reporters – and fewer shareholders – who turned up realise that it was an anti-Israel affair;
  • This was followed shortly thereafter by shareholder statements, clearly written before the event, like one by Marthie Momberg: “for the Woolworths AGM. As an investor in Woolworths I am compelled to reveal my concern about the image and the ethics of the company in which I invested a considerable amount of my savings. The Woolworths brand is increasingly questioned. The real issue is not the number of Israeli products on the shelves of Woolworths, but rather the existence of contracts between Woolworths and Israeli businesses.”

Woolworths say they are ready for them

Woolies AGM Protest posterBut Woolies seems not to be taking the bait. “We have additional security in place to ensure only authorised visitors and shareholders have access to Woolworths head office. We have engaged local authorities in addition to our in-house security measures (for the AGM),” says Disberry.



RIGHT: BDS is hoping that their poster campaign will attract a large crowd



The retailer is fed-up. Paula Disberry told the media: “The unlawful protest actions in our stores have had a profound effect on many of our employees and customers.

“We respect the right of BDS to protest, but we https://www.sajr.co.za/images/default-source/default-album/woolies-agm-protest-poster-home68adfd3c47cf6007affdff0000014754.jpg” class=”sfImageWrapper”>Woolies AGM Protest poster HOMEAfter all, just look at the SAJR graphic AT LEFT and see what the Woolies share price has done in the past month.

That says it all. Anti-Israel protests – rent-a-crowds, pigs’ heads et al – seem to have bolstered shareholder expectations. Institutional investors tend to see through the smoke, behind the mirrors and right through the boycotters’ scheming.

In fact, they seem to like the new get-tough attitude of management. Woolies management and their landlords, the shopping centre owners, initially did not react to any great extent. This seems to have served to infuriate BDS. The group, says Disberry, went “beyond raising awareness” and into “actions such as intimidation of customers and employees, restricting access and preventing customers from shopping. Products have also been damaged.”

The recent statements by BDS to ramp up their protest action, says Disberry, has left Woolworths with no other choice but to take legal steps. “It is our responsibility to ensure that our customers and employees feel safe in our stores, free of disruption, abuse and intimidation.”

Woolworths said it had applied for the interdict because “the business has a right to trade unhindered; and we have a duty to protect employees and customers”. These rights, they point out, are underpinned in the SA Constitution. 

Follow the back-story on SAJR.CO.ZA

ALL CONTENT RELATED TO WOOLWORTHS ON SAJR.CO.ZA

Continue Reading
8 Comments

8 Comments

  1. abu mamzer

    Nov 19, 2014 at 6:07 am

    ‘Mr Peter BACON,a non-executive director of woollies!

    and COSAS putting pigs’heads in the woollies food counter.?

    BDS…I’m very confused.

    Israeli strawberries are the best,and a joyful Seasons’Greetings

  2. Gary Selikow

    Nov 19, 2014 at 11:10 am

    ‘The Nazis also started out by boycotting Jewish services and products’

  3. adam levy

    Nov 19, 2014 at 5:35 pm

    ‘you missed BDS’s first victory: Woolies confirmed that they will NOT stock products from the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including settlements. 
    \n


    \n


    \n

    “Adam Levy” has consistently evaded attempts by the management of this website to make his identity known to us. We consider him “anonymous” and, while posting under a very Jewish name, is wont to be extremely anti-Israel  -ED
    \n


    \n


    \n
    \n

  4. NOT Adam Levy

    Nov 20, 2014 at 4:41 am

    ‘I seem to remember reading that Woolworths said they \”don’t\” carry products from the disputed territories, Mr Levy-or-whoever. Not that they will no longer do so as you suggest.
    \nI am not 100% sure, as you seem to be. So, please, prove me wrong and I will apologise on this page.
    \nSay nothing, and I will assume you are a BDS man as suggested above by the editor, that this is more BDS bull, and move on.’

  5. Shmuel

    Nov 21, 2014 at 1:02 pm

    ‘Let the anti-Woolworths/Israeli hypocrite  looneys sell their shares in Woolworths and been done with the political correctness nonsense already as they’ll being making a financial \”killing ‘ when they sell,the sooner the better .’

  6. David Kaliski

    Nov 21, 2014 at 2:30 pm

    ‘I’m prepared to buy as many Woolies shares as I can from those BDS shareholders at the price they paid for them; after all, surely they don’t want to have profited from this ”immoral” company.  I’m sure there will be plenty people prepared to buy up those left I can’t afford.’

  7. Coco Jo

    Nov 25, 2014 at 11:55 am

    ‘here’s the thing
    \n
    \nWoolorths is gaint retail monster
    \n
    \ndo you think a monster will run away from something smaller than an ant?
    \n
    \nin my opinion
    \nthese protests are pointless
    \nand people are seeking attention for fame..’

  8. nat cheiman

    Nov 27, 2014 at 12:10 pm

    ‘Islam is at war in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, Iran, Somalia, sudan, They like to make each country a sewerage farm.

    Whatever works, they want to break. Pretty soon, they will be at war with the world. The tomatoes and figs are a distraction . The Muslims do not want peace. Certainly not with the Jews. Maybe, just maybe, they will get what they want.

     ‘

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *