Meg Major Jun 14, 2012 The experience of grocery shopping is still a bit of a mystery for many folks, which most assuredly makes the life’s work of our core supermarket buyer/seller audience all the more significant when pausing to ponder the cutthroat climate that distinctly defines food retailing today. To be sure, the days of “everything to everybody” retailing are gone, concurs Blaine Becker, senior director, marketing & business relations for Bellevue, Wash.-based The Hartman Group. “No food retailer wants to be caught in the middle,” he continues, “because there’s a very real possibility of being nobody at all.” No argument here. With this the case, Becker called to our attention some right-on-time Hartman Group insights that breakdown five realities and five fantasies of retailing that can potentially further inspire new thinking for food merchants in the 21st century. 5 Realities 1. Relevancy Gap. Today’s retail landscape is the…

Brian Robins June 15, 2012 The Age THE competition watchdog is considering laws to limit the steady increase in market power of the leading supermarket chains. In his strongest comments since taking over as the chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission nearly a year ago, Rod Sims has signalled concern at creeping takeovers by Coles and Woolworths that may be leading to reduced consumer choice and competition. Existing competition legislation does not put a cap on market share or allow the ACCC to assess the cumulative impact of previous acquisitions when studying new acquisition proposals. His disquiet comes at a time when the big chains are boosting their position in liquor, grocery and home improvement, ”which raises competition concerns”, he said. ”Barriers to entry for other chains or buying groups to replicate the strong market position of Wesfarmers [Coles] and Woolworths are becoming increasingly high,” Mr Sims said…

June 18, 2012 The Age WOOLWORTHS has recorded its strongest market share gains in nearly three years and will introduce a new advertising campaign, replete with a fresh slogan for the supermarket and an appearance on TV talent show The Voice, as it prepares to lock horns with Coles and blunt its rival’s recent success. A new advertising campaign that hit television last night places a greater spotlight on Woolworths’ relationship with farmers and suppliers as well as attempting to reinforce the message that a great proportion of its food is Australian made. The nation’s biggest supermarket group has also revised its famous 25-year-old ”The Fresh Food People” slogan and instead opted for ”Australia’s Fresh Food People” to counter confusion among some shoppers that the company was foreign owned. Woolworths director of supermarkets Tjeerd Jegen told BusinessDay that recent industry data showed the supermarket group had ”healthy” market share numbers…

Sophie Foster, Andrew MacDonald The Courier-Mail June 04, 2012 A BID by large retailers to extend trading hours is a fresh assault on the survival of the neighbourhood store, according to owners of smaller shops. The concerns come after The Courier-Mail on Saturday revealed retailers were renewing their push to expand the hours they are allowed to open. Major players said the move would help the struggling industry, provide thousands more jobs and help stave off the threat of online retail. Industry heavy hitters want large retailers in Queensland to be allowed to trade past 9pm on weekdays and 5pm on weekends, in line with most of the country. But operators of smaller shops fear it will be difficult to survive should the rules be relaxed in Queensland. “If their trading hours are longer, it will definitely affect our business because customers will think ‘we may as well go and…

Jane Harper Herald Sun June 05, 2012 WOOLWORTHS is likely to boost its strong profit margins thanks to a streamlined supply chain and its push into private label goods, analysts say. The supermarket giant, which has bigger margins than global counterparts including Tesco and Walmart, will continue to reap significant dividends from its efficient business model. In a note to investors, a Deutsche Bank analyst team led by Michael Simotas said the higher margins were not the result of unsustainable mark-ups. Instead, they were a product of Woolworths’ investment in programs to improve efficiency. “Woolworths enjoys high operating margins largely as a result of its low-cost of doing business,” the note says. “We believe this is an outcome resulting from considerable investment in its supply chain over the period of a decade which would be unlikely to be replicated by a competitor in the short-to-medium term.” The analyst team said…

Blair Speedy The Australian June 05, 2012 The Athlete’s Foot website makes recommendations, although it also urges shoppers to come into a store for a personalised fitting SHOE franchise The Athlete’s Foot is venturing into online retailing, the arena most responsible for poaching its sales. Ivan Hammerschlag, chairman of franchisor RCG Corporation, said the company had no choice but to try tackling its internet competitors head-on, despite a cost disadvantage that meant it would be unable to match them on price. “The world’s changed. Customers want to shop on the net and if you don’t let them do it they’ll buy from someone else,” he said. The company previously relied on high service levels to combat the threat of online sales. The TAF website makes shoe recommendations based on sex, weight, footprint and pattern of shoe wear, although it also urges shoppers to come into a store for a personalised…