Sunday 27 November 2016

Retail News Briefs - Zara, Uniqlo, Aldi, Kogan.....


Naughty and Nice Retailers - Zara, Uniqlo, and Topshop are being urged to reveal more about their sources of supply. Advocacy group Oxfam has listed those companies along with the Just Group, Best and Less, and ASOS of the U.K. on their "naughty" list. Oxfam want all major players in clothing retail to reveal where and how their goods are made so that mistreatment of employees in developing countries can be exposed.
The good news is that Oxfam's list of "nice" companies continues to expand with Coles, Target, and K-Mart identified as "world leaders" when it comes to sourcing transparency. Others on the "nice" list include Cotton On Group, Pacific Brands (the owner of Berlei bras and Bonds underwear), Specialty Fashion Group, Jeanswest, and Forever New.

Australian Suppliers to Feature In Aldi's China Push. - Australian goods have a favourable reputation in China which might help explain why Australia achieved a top rating in the huge multi-billion dollar Singles Day event conducted by Alibaba recently.
That connection hasn't been list on Aldi who will feature Australian suppliers as they launch a push into China next year.

Ruslan Kogan Welcomes Amazon Arrival - the pending arrival of online giant, Amazon, in the Australian market  concerns many retailers but not the CEO of kogan.com. Ruslan said this week that "a rising tide lifts all boats". He expects that the arrival of Amazon will influence more profile brands to expand their online availability, something that online players like Kogan could take advantage of.


K-Mart Continues to Impress - in 2012 K-Mart's profit was $268m, by 2016 it had reached $470m and the first quarter of 2017 has seen 8% store growth. K-Mart continues to defy the experience of its competitors with key players like Big W and Target showing losses in 2016.