Sunday 5 November 2017

What Happened In Retail This Week - 5/11/2017


VCAT Rejects Complaint About Developer Plans To Reduce Car Parking At Preston Market –
    “Where the resident objectors, Council and/or Dr Stanley urged us to find that the reduction of 99 publicly accessible on-site car parking spaces would automatically detract from the operation of the existing market, we regard this as an overly speculative and simplistic assertion. In such an exceptionally public transport-rich location, we see real weight to the Applicant’s submission that patrons of the market should be capable of gradually transitioning to other more sustainable forms of public transport. Whilst agreeing that some patrons may buy large quantities of food or fruit which they wish to drive home, surely there must be a range of reasons why patrons visit the central market area and not all of these patrons necessarily wish to take a large load home.”

Woolworths Sets The Pace Against Coles – Woolworths have recorded a 4.7% sales rise in food sales in the 14 weeks leading up to 1st October while competitor Coles 1.5% increase in food and liquor sales. Big W showed a welcome return to sales growth with a 2.5% rise while Wesfarmers owned Target recorded a 6.4% sales decline.

David Jones Launches New Technology Category –  David Jones will open 8 new high-tech in-store departments featuring premium brands in audio visual and structuring their staffing for information intensive engagement with customers.

Myer Launches Marketplace –  Myer is to launch an online marketplace to compete with the likes of Amazon. It will be called Myer Market and key suppliers have already been called on board. The site will operate separately from Myer’s conventional website and will be part of a public publicity program in coming weeks. Vendors will be responsible for customer service although it is likely that Myer’s current store network could assist aspects like product returns. Myer says this is an interesting opportunity to move into complimentary areas of retail.

Catch Marketplace – The online market place says it is now recording sales of $1m per week.

Myer Reveals Sales Drop – Under intense pressure from major shareholder Solomon Lew, Myer has revealed the extent of its sales drop at this week’s company briefing and says sales in the 13 weeks leading up to 28th October were down an additional 2.8% from last year. Myer has failed to achieve the goals set in its turnaround plan 2 years ago. Myer announced that it will introduce more “pop-up” food outlets in stores, open barber shops in Sydney and Melbourne and introduce more hair and beauty services.

Topshop – revives itself online.

Sportswear Brand, Under Armour – report that their sales dropped 12.1% in North America.

Sears Continues To Battle – US retail icon is reporting to be drastically cutting prices as it attempts to generate cash. Sears hasn’t returned a profit since 2006 and continues to close stores. It’s substantial property holdings offer support for recent finance borrowings.

Walmart Turns Holiday Shopping Into A Party – what do you do when you want to generate a customer experience that will tantalise a large percentage of the population? – you hold a party of course. Walmart intends to launch 20,000 parties across its stores in an attempt to attract more shoppers. At the parties, Walmart will put on 165,000 in-store toy demos, guide customers through their shopping lists and, organise visits from Santa Claus. It all sound like instore promotions to me but calling it a party has merit.

Nordstrom – says that half its business could be online within 5 years.

Amazon Australia Progress – a couple of online players have said they will definitely be joining the Amazon Marketplace with names like Kogan, Beacon Lighting and the local licensee for Calvin Klein, Van Heusen and Tommy Hilfiger reported to be considering their involvement. It is unclear exactly when Amazon will launch in Australia.

Starbucks – sells its tea brand, Tazo, to Unilever.

No Retail Apocalypse – A story on Forbes analyses that more retail stores are actually opening than closing. The author says this is not retail apocalypse but simply retail evolution. Modern technology, and things like social media, have created a speed of change that we have not previously experienced. Consumers are so quick to react to new trends and new attitudes that the retail industry simply has trouble keeping up. Here is the link to the full article - https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregmaloney/2017/10/23/retail-apocalypse-yawn/#69f53c2fdf2e


No Rebound In September Sales – after a savage 0.7% fall in Australian Retail Sales in August, many commentators had expected statistical bounce in the following month. That didn’t happen. The full three months to September showed a 0.3% decline. That is the first quarterly decline since 2012, and only the fourth since the global financial crisis set in.