Yesterday afternoon, I was given a 10-minute slot with Woolworths CEO Roy Bagattini to ask whatever I wanted about the latest results. Of course, I used the opportunity to focus on unusual topics, including spending two of those minutes lambasting the terrible service by Woolies Dash.

To be honest, the conversation was as refreshing as an organic juice from the expensive fridge at Woolies. Well, the entire store is one big expensive fridge, let's face it. Anecdotally, I still see the Woolworths Food quality as being well ahead of Checkers. If they can just get the logistics right with Dash, I can see a significant portion of our household spending swinging back towards Woolworths.

Here are some key takeouts from my brief and interesting conversation:

• The Woolworths boardroom is just as beautiful as you would expect, with a perfectly placed selection of pots and o ther decorative items.

• With online participation in Fashion, Beauty and Home (FBH) at 4.4% in South Africa, I asked what the house view is on eventual online participation. Roy noted that the global ceiling on online participation in clothing is 25% - 30%. He sees mid-teens as a possibility in South Africa in the next 3 - 5 years, although this will vary by category. Beauty and homeware work better than fashion. Overall, he believes online vs. in-store shouldn't be seen as different channels, but rather as a combined strategy to service customers.

• I asked about trading space, which has been deliberately reduced. Roy noted that he made the call to reduce trading space within the first month of his tenure as CEO. 13% of space has been taken out in the past two years on the fashion side and this will slow down going forward.

• Perhaps most importantly, he acknowledged that Woolworths was built based on essential clothing and lost its way, leaving space in the market for the likes of Pick n Pay Clothing to come in. They are now focusing on clearly defined categories and returning to being an essentials business. A natural outcome of this strategy is smaller and more profitable end of season sales. By pricing the product right the first time, full price sales are higher.

• In online food, Woolworths is doubling down on investment. The conventional model is working ok but the on-demand offering needs to get better. This may include the use of dark stores to increase capacity, as Dash is growing quickly.

In Ghost Bites this morning, I covered a huge amount of news from the JSE. There's a solid deal from Huge Group ( yes, I was just as surprised as you are) and numerous financial updates from Woolworths, Discovery, Murray & Roberts, Trellidor, Motus, Cashbuild, Mustek and more. It took me many hours to get through all the news on SENS yesterday, so take advantage and get up to speed in a fraction of the time.

Daily Market Wrap with TreasuryONE

The rand broke above the R17 level against the US dollar in afternoon trade, as it joined other emerging market currencies in coming under pressure. In the Eurozone, inflation is rife and the calls for hikes from the ECB will only get louder. The energy crisis is starting to impact economic indicators, driving a further deterioration of the euro's outlook.

Ahead of the non-farm payrolls release due on Friday, the team from TreasuryONE decided to give us context to the macroeconomic environment and the key drivers of the currencies. Make sure you read this helpful article.

Podcasts

• Episode 90 of Magic Markets was a fun discussion with Petri Redelinghuys of Herenya Capital Advisors about some of the stocks in the offshore and local portfolios that they manage on behalf of clients.

• On The Family Finance Show h osted by Diana Granoux, I was invited to speak to her about the realities of life as an entrepreneur. This is a raw, authentic account of my journey as a ghost and the financial impact of my decision to leave formal corporate employment. I highly recommend making time for this great podcast.

• Episode 3 of Ghost Stories was an insightful chat with Carel Nolte of EasyEquities about the insights from the data they have on investor behaviour, including things like popular stocks and the way investors use offshore accounts

There's plenty of content for you to digest today - enjoy it!

PS: if you are interested in the Money Summit being held on 15th September at the Sandto n Convention Centre, you can use the code "Ghost" for free entry. You just need to register here. I'm not involved in the summit but I'm happy that Ghost Mail readers are offered free entry!