Industry News

Chris Zappone July 4, 2012 The Age Retail sales rose more than expected in May as rate cuts and government assistance for students and the carbon tax began flowing into households. Sales for the month rose 0.5 per cent from April, beating the 0.2 per cent increase expected by economists. Retail trade rose in the month to a seasonally adjusted $21.307 billion, compared with a revised $21.199 billion in April, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. The ABS revised the April figure to show a 0.1 per cent increase – making it five consecutive monthly increases and the longest string of rises for the gauge since September 2010. The Reserve Bank slashed interest rates by half a percentage in May, a move it followed up with a further quarter-point cut in June. Both cuts would have helped those repaying variable interest-rate loans. The central bank opted to leave its key…

July 4, 2012 The Age A week at the Gold Coast during school holidays feels like a never-ending series of queues. Long lines to enter theme parks were followed by even longer lines for rides. There were big queues at airports, restaurants, hotel check-ins and check-outs, and taxis after the football. Don’t think this is another rant about woeful customer service. Long queues at tourism attractions are unavoidable when you and thousands of other families go on holiday at the same time and place. But surely one of the great opportunities in Australian business is to kill the queue. Think of it this way: every minute wasted in a queue is a minute of dead time for a service business, and a lost opportunity to get more money out of a customer’s wallet before they leave the store. The 30 minutes spent waiting for a theme-park ride is 30 minutes…

Jeff Rogut July 4th 2012 The article below was featured in The Age newspaper. It is a stark reminder to all that no matter what initiatives or, as in this case, taxes the government introduces, we need to be responsible in our actions. There is a focus now on the carbon tax, which may impact your businesses [both suppliers and retailers alike] and there will no doubt be a focus on the plain packaging of tobacco planned for introduction later this year. By treating these matters lightly you do potentially run the risk of financial as well as reputational damage and it is therefore wise to seek specialist advice if you are uncertain about any aspects of the measures, or if you fail to comply with their requirements. Our industry takes our retail responsibility seriously, so it is worthwhile ensuring that your teams are aware of their actions during times…

July 4, 2012 The Age The parent company of Brumby’s has apologised over carbon tax advice given to the bakery franchisees, saying it was foolish and ill-considered. The advice from Brumby’s managing director, Deane Priest says stores can make more money by raising prices now, because people will blame the carbon tax. “We are doing an RRP (recommended retail price) review at present which is projected to be in line with CPI (consumer price index), but take the opportunity to make some moves in June and July,” Mr Priest wrote in the June edition of Backmix, an internal newsletter. “Let the carbon tax take the blame, after all, your costs will be going up due to it.” Retail Food Group chief executive Tony Alford said in a statement to the stock exchange today the comments “were not sanctioned and are of significant concern to the board”. “Following thorough investigation of…

PIA AKERMAN The Australian July 05, 2012 JEFF Kennett has declared war on Coles, demanding the consumer watchdog investigate the supermarket giant for “deceptive” behaviour by selling imported bread. The former Victorian premier angrily attacked Coles on radio this morning and declared he was writing to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission asking for an inquiry into the supermarket’s “predatory” behaviour and labelling of its Cuisine Royale bread. Mr Kennett said the bread was advertised as “baked today” in-store, but small print on the back of the pack revealed it was made in Ireland. “This is a con,” he said on Neil Mitchell’s 3AW program. “I say they are deceptive and misleading in the advertising because it creates the impression that it’s fresh, but it is not. “They will say we’ve disclosed that it’s an imported product made in Ireland. You can’t read it but it’s there.” ACCC chair Rod…

David Wilson July 5, 2012 the Age Take charge of your energy consumption. The carbon tax could reportedly drive power bills up by 20 per cent. “The one thing that all small businesses need to understand about the carbon tax is that your energy costs will increase and – in some instances – quite considerably,” says the co-director of the environmental group Sustainability at Work, Melissa Houghton. A small business owner gets no direct government compensation. Your only gain is that your “instant asset write-off threshold” rises from $5000 to $6500. Hayley Purbrick has applied heat-reflective paint in order to cool her restaurant and cut down on airconditioning costs. So you might want to take charge of your energy consumption, like Hayley Purbrick, of Tahbilk Winery in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley. Among other measures, Purbrick has applied rust-grey heat-reflective paint in a bid to cool her restaurant whose iron roof stokes…