James Eyers June 6, 2014 The Age The big banks, worried about a consumer backlash, have stared down the top police who suggested tap-and-go technology is fuelling a new wave of thefts aimed at stealing cards. Bank executives sat down with senior police officers from around the country at a two-hour meeting of the “fraud in banking” group, chaired by Stuart Woodwood of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia on Tuesday. The banks complained that Victoria Police Commissioner Ken Lay jumped to conclusions when he said last week police are seeing “many, many thefts of motor cars, thefts of handbags, burglaries where people are looking for these cards” and “the banks are simply not doing enough to rein in the illegal use of the tap-and-go cards”. The banks, along with credit card companies Visa and MasterCard, say the concerns raised by Mr Lay have never been raised with them directly. The…

Dr. Roch Parayre May 27, 2014 CSNews It’s no secret that the convenience store landscape is undergoing rapid change. Convenience Store News recently reported that competition is coming from all angles of retailing: Big-box chains are opening smaller “express” stores, while drugstores and dollar stores are adding product categories including cigarettes, beverages and fuel designed to lure c-store customers. As I discussed in my last column, these changes have far-reaching implications for individual retailers, as well as the industry at large. So, what can c-store leaders do to guide their companies toward a successful future? History has shown that in times of uncertainty, the ability to think strategically and navigate change effectively is key to creating a sustainable business. While this concept might sound simple, true strategic thinking and planning skills are a rarity among company leaders who are more often consumed with the present and near-term goals. In fact,…

June 16, 2014 Forbes As hubs of innovation go, the area around Switzerland’s Lake Geneva historically trumps pretty much any region in the world, save the 30-mile radius around Dave Packard’s old garage. It’s where pharmacist Henri Nestlé perfected the concoction of milk, flour and sugar that spawned the world’s largest food conglomerate, the first quartz wristwatch was developed and Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. Expand an hour or so further and you’ll find the birthplace of everything from the theory of relativity to LSD. Which brings us today to the shore of Lake Neuchatel, where I watch hundreds of scientists and technicians, recruited from pharmaceutical giants like Novartis Novartis and Roche, scurry around a $150 million glass cube that could easily be mistaken for Google’s GOOGL -0.79% European headquarters. Researchers sit in the center atrium, swapping ideas, while in the buildings on either side robotic machines churn…

Sue Mitchell May 28, 2014 Australia’s major supermarket chains will soon face the same digital disruption that has carved a swath through discretionary retail sectors such as ­electronics, books and homewares. The local supermarket duopoly is coming under attack from pure-play online retailers and packaged goods suppliers seeking growth by selling directly to consumers, according to management consultant A. T. Kearney. A. T. Kearney’s global consumer and retail partner, Michael Brown, says low-cost, pure-play online retailers ­selling products from pet food to health and beauty supplies, and packaged goods companies selling toilet paper, nappies and cleaning products direct to consumers will siphon sales from the major chains overseas, undermining their business models. Unless Woolworths and Coles ­maintain their dominance over online grocery sales, they risk losing volumes to smaller rivals and becoming less ­relevant to consumers. “What Woolworths and Coles offer is the convenience of the one-stop shop, but if online players start to…