Kate Nancarrow April 10, 2013 The Age Stop sipping tea and pick up the dessert spoon. The retail frenzy of the past three years that has seen Chinese and Taiwanese ”bubble tea” chains open hole-in-the-wall outlets has peaked and now some are being reborn as Asian dessert outlets. Centred on areas with high numbers of Asian residents, visitors and students, Ten Ren Tea, Chatime, Easyway Tea and Bubble Cup opened colourful outlets offering cold ”bubble teas”, blending ice, milk, tea and fruit. While outlets opened in Box Hill, Doncaster and Glen Waverley, the CBD has been the main focus with some chains, such as Chatime, having as many as four outlets. But all fads peak and decline – as tea outlets soared, retailers struggled to sustain high sales and have been forced to change focus to survive. Max Cookes, CBRE’s associate director of retail services, said Asian dessert concept stores…

Glenda Kwek April 10, 2013 The Age Coles has sealed a 10-year-deal with Australia’s biggest milk supplier Murray Goulburn to supply the supermarket giant’s home-brand labels, which it says will allow consumers to have continued access to cheaper milk. The deal, which will come in effect from July 2014, will also see Murray Goulburn relaunch its flagship brand Devondale’s daily pasteurised milk through an exclusive agreement with Coles. Norco, the NSW North Coast dairy co-operative with 161 supplying farms, added today that it had secured a major milk supply contract with Coles that would begin at the same time. The announcement comes after the ACCC said it would investigate Coles’ and Woolworths’ duopoly over milk suppliers. Coles said the new contracts were ”a major win for farmers because we cut out the middle man and farmers get a bigger share of the retail price”. ”It is also a win for…

Eli Greenblat April 10, 2013 The Age Australia’s leading supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths, could be six weeks away from a voluntary code of conduct with suppliers, possibly alleviating political pressure for a deal to be done or the government imposing a mandatory code. Coles boss Ian McLeod confirmed this morning a voluntary code with suppliers could be four to six weeks away, with nearly 90 per cent of the issues agreed to. However, Mr McLeod warned any voluntary code in the way supermarkets deal with their grocery suppliers should not impose extra costs and bureaucracy on the supermarkets and supplier sectors. Talks between suppliers – through the Australian food and grocery council – and supermarkets began last year but as yet no deal has been reached as the parties disagree on fundamental matters. Recently the National Farmers Federation pulled out of the voluntary code talks. The government is keen for…

Michael Baker April 11, 2013 The Age It’s official. In 2012, business-to-consumer e-commerce passed a trillion dollars US in a single year for the first time, according to a report from US-based research firm eMarketer. Australia’s share of this was US$36.2 billion. More than 10 million people, or almost half the population, bought something online in 2012, spending an average of $3,547 per person. What is extraordinary, though, is how much Australian consumers are ‘in for a penny, in for a pound.’ More than 10 million people, or almost half the population, bought something online in 2012, spending an average of US$3,547 per person. This average expenditure per online buyer is 54 per cent higher than the US and the highest in the world bar one country – the UK. eMarketer forecasts the average for Australia will grow by 7.2 per cent to more than US$3,800 per online buyer this…

April 11, 2013 The Age Woolworths has lifted its quarterly sales by 2.5 per cent to $14.4 billion despite challenging retail conditions. Its core Australian food and liquor operations, which includes the Woolworths supermarket chain, increased third quarter sales by 5.6 per cent to $9.9 billion. Woolworths chief executive Grant O’Brien said while the quarterly result was pleasing there was still more work to be done to ensure future growth. ‘‘The momentum of the first half has continued into this quarter as a result of a sharpened focus on our core businesses and early results from work on our strategic priorities,’’ he said. Woolworths shares are up 0.5 per cent at $34.07 in early trade. The retailer’s Australian food and liquor division increased in market share, customer numbers, basket size and items sold during the quarter. Woolworths plans to open another 13 Australian supermarkets and two Dan Murphy’s liquor outlets…