# SPAR’s comeback story. Plus: High oil prices linger longer

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/bruce-whitfield-s-business-week-7413177/spar-s-comeback-story-plus-high-oil-prices-linger-longer
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/bruce-whitfield-s-business-week-7413177/spar-s-comeback-story-plus-high-oil-prices-linger-longer.md
Podcast: [Bruce Whitfield’s Business Week](https://stenobird.com/podcast/bruce-whitfield-s-business-week-7413177)
Published: 2026-06-11T14:35:08+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/news248/episodes/SPARs-comeback-story--Plus-High-oil-prices-linger-longer-e3klepd
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/107370458/podcast/play/121338093/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-5-11%2Fd38d1d29-2eb5-8e59-15d0-8643e039874b.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/bruce-whitfield-s-business-week-7413177/episodes/spar-s-comeback-story-plus-high-oil-prices-linger-longer
Duration seconds: 2306

## Resource

In this episode, Bruce puts SPAR CEO Reeza Isaacs in the hot seat. Isaacs, the retailer’s third CEO in three years, takes questions on why profits have more than halved, what’s gone wrong with the independent retail model, and how to roll out a turnaround plan that is more than just talk. We also get a glimpse into Handwritten, YuppieChef co-founder Andrew Smith’s new book on building one of South Africa’s most beloved online retailers from the ground up. Old Mutual’s Meryl Pick makes sense of a surprisingly well-behaved oil price, a dovish new Fed chair, and MTN’s long-awaited continental comeback. Lastly, News24 Business editor Helena Wasserman explores the mining sector’s anger over a new industrialisation policy, SA’s better-than-expected GDP number, and a court ruling that could quietly take the shine off crypto in South Africa. This podcast is sponsored by Capitec. To catch every episode, click the follow and subscribe buttons on News24's Spotify, Apple, and YouTube podcast channels. Editions drop on Thursdays at 17:00.

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## Transcript

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