Mica injects a fresh breeze into the group

On Monday, 5 August Mica retailers, suppliers and other Mica guests gathered together in Cape Town for a three day Mica event. Traditionally this event used to be hosted at the Wild Coast Casino and Hotel. The change of scenery was a fresh breeze to most retailers who agreed that a change was necessary and it added much excitement to the event.

Delegates were accommodated at the Cullinan and Waterfront Hotel, both Sun International hotels.They are located next to each other, with the venue, the famous CTICC just a short walk away.

The first night was a meet and greet, with old friends and colleagues getting together at theGrand Africa Café & Beach and a Mont Blanc dress-up evening sponsored by Prodist. Although the weather was cool and windy, the venue was cosy and guests warmed up quickly once they started moving to the tunes of the proudlySouth African Band, Prime Circle.

On Tuesday morning, retailers had an opportunity to meet their suppliers at their respective product stands. This afforded them an opportunity to first examine and try out some of the latest – and old faithful products available to the market. These trade days after the perfect opportunity to source product at the best possible prices.

The night held more surprises as guest were shuttled to Gold Restaurant, an authentic African food and entertainment affair of note – all sponsored by Plascon. It is hard to describe this experience, but it was well worth it. While honouring African culinary traditions, the restaurant combines modern flavours and techniques to serve up a sophisticated African feast. It serves a 14-dish tasting menu in generous individual and shared portions. Each dish is brought to the table with country of origin, cooking techniques and spicing explained.

The entertainment is an array of storytelling through music, singing and dancing. Guests at Gold Restaurant cannot help but be swept up in the excitement of archetypal African stories told through live entertainment. This includes Mali puppetry, and dancing to the rhythms of the marimba and djembe drums. A nice surprise to finish off the night was a performance from authentically African entertainer, Freshly Ground.

On the Wednesday morning Mica introduced the guests to two speakers sponsored by Matus and Academy Brushware. First up was Stef du Plessis with a remarkable story to tell. Stef is a leading authority with years of experience on employee engagement and workplace culture. He also helps companies to improve their bottom-line results by growing its people and creating winning workplace cultures.

Second to take the stand was Gavin Sharples. Gavin is no stranger to Mica. He has entertained and motivated Mica retailers in the past with his thought provoking talks. This one again was a remarkable insight too.

Gavin delivers ideas and strategies in a no-nonsense manner and cuts to the chase in a fun way. He speaks on matters that relate to the individual and how the individual can and does affect the success of a company. He speaks on change, action and truth. If we don’t continuously change and innovate and do things differently we will die. He is a massive disciple of action and that the actions we take or do not take will determine our success or our failure.

Members enjoyed an afternoon at leisure. Some went exploring, others caught up with work or meetings, and a few headed to the privacy of their hotel rooms, resting before the nights award ceremony sponsored by Duram, and the beautiful celebrity master of ceremonies, Jo-Ann Strauss.