Read the following case study and answer the questions that follow: Checkers just opened first high-end store in Eastern Cape as it aims at Woolies shoppers Shoprite just announced the launch of its first high-end Checkers FreshX supermarket in the Eastern Cape to gain market share with affluent South Africans. The newly revamped retail store, located In Boardwalk Mall, Gqeberha, has created new jobs for 138 employees and currently has 202 workers. The new premium retail store is housed in the same mall that's home to Shoprite Group's standalone baby store, Little Me, and the retailer's standalone pet store, Petshop Science. According to the group, customers can access exclusive private label brands such as Forage & Feast and Simple Truth, a meat market with free-range chicken and restaurant-quality steak. In 2017, Checkers launched its first FreshX store to win over more affluent customers, in its efforts to compete with Woolworths, the leader in the upmarket grocery sector. It has since then launched over 68 FreshX retailer supermarkets around the country, and plans to open more in the next few years. Checkers further cemented its way into the premium food retail segment through its partnership with US coffee chain Starbucks in November last year, which now has outlets in some of the retailer's supermarkets. Some FreshX stores also host upmarket, healthy food outlets such as Kauai.

QUESTION THREE [25] 3.1. The environment within which the business finds itself changes rapidly and this (5) necessitates a thorough environmental awareness on the part of management, as well as adaptability with regard its approach to management. Explain the international environment within which a business operates. 3.2. Economic factors such as the business cycle, inflation, and recession, influence the (20) demand for goods and services by compelling consumers to reassess their priorities in terms of consumer products. Discuss the following economic factors to be considered by managers. Provide one example of how each factor relates to Checkers. 3.2.1. Inflation (5) 3.2.2. The business cycle (5) 3.3.3. Interest rates (5) 3.3.4. Provision of employment (5)