DEPARTMENT STORES – AUSTRALIA

Woolworths denies Myer interest

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 27-Oct-17

Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments acquired a 10.8 per cent stake in department store chain Myer earlier in 2017, but the value of his investment has fallen by 35 per cent over the last six months. This has prompted Lew to launch a range of attacks against its board and its "new Myer" strategy. South African firm Woolworths Holdings has denied rumours that it was planning to launch a takeover bid for Myer at around the time that Lew made his investment. Lew in turn refutes suggestions that his investment was made to stop a possible Woolworths bid.

CORPORATES
PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS LIMITED, DAVID JONES LIMITED, COUNTRY ROAD LIMITED, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE

Wesfarmers’ Scott eyes the long game

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 24 : 26-Oct-17

Grocery giant Coles has reported an 0.3 per cent decline in sales for the September quarter, to $A9.4bn. Same-store food and liquor sales increased by just 0.4 per cent, down from 0.7 per cent growth in the previous three months and well below the forecasts of some analysts. Wesfarmers’ incoming MD Rob Scott remains upbeat about the outlook for Coles, forecasting that it will return to sales growth in the second half of 2017-18. Meanwhile, Kmart has reported same-store sales growth of 4.9 per cent, but Target has posted a 6.4 per cent decline.

CORPORATES
COLES GROUP LIMITED, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, OFFICEWORKS SUPERSTORES PTY LTD, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, VIVA ENERGY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Debenhams sets up shop in Australia

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 18-Oct-17

Pepkor will open the first Debenhams department store in Melbourne on 24 October, and Pepkor executive Graham Dean says the store format it has chosen has not been used by Debenhams before, nor has it been seen in Australia. Dean, who used to work for Myer, says the traditional "big-store" format that department stores are known for are no longer viable. Pepkor intends to open 10 Debenhams stores in Australia under a franchise agreement with the UK retailer.

CORPORATES
PEPKOR, DEBENHAMS RETAIL PLC, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, HARRIS SCARFE HOLDINGS LIMITED, DAVID JONES LIMITED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Kmart leads discount department store satisfaction

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Oct-17

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that Kmart had a customer satisfaction rating of 87.6% in August 2017, which places it ahead of its major Australian discount department store competitors. Kmart is followed by Costco (87.1%), Target (86.5%), Harris Scarfe (85.9%), Big W (85.3%), Best&Less (84.7%) and Target Country (81.2%). Kmart was ranked fifth a year ago, behind Target, Best&Less, Harris Scarfe and Costco. Kmart has improved its customer satisfaction rating by 1.0% points over the last 12 months, while its major competitors all showed declines, except for Big W which remained unchanged. The biggest declines were for Best&Less (down 2.8% points), Target and Target Country (both down 2.2% points).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, COSTCO WHOLESALE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, HARRIS SCARFE HOLDINGS LIMITED, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, BEST AND LESS PTY LTD, TARGET COUNTRY

Myer leads David Jones for satisfaction

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Oct-17

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that department store group Myer had a customer satisfaction rating of 88.6% in August 2017, ahead of David Jones on 85.1%. Myer has improved its customer satisfaction rating by 2.4% points over the last year, while David Jones showed a decline of 1.5% points. A year ago, David Jones had a satisfaction rating of 86.6%, marginally ahead of Myer (86.2%). The survey also shows that David Jones has its highest customer satisfaction rating among "Pre-Boomers" (those aged 71+) with 89.7%, compared with 87.6% for Myer. Meanwhile, Myer has its highest satisfaction rating (91.0%) among "Generation X" (aged 42 to 56), compared with 86.5% for David Jones.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, DAVID JONES LIMITED

Lew’s plans stir Myer investors

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 29-Sep-17

Anton Tagliaferro of Investors Mutual says Myer Holdings’ shareholders are keen to know Solomon Lew’s intentions with regard to the department store group. There is speculation that Lew could nominate himself or a director of Premier Investments for the Myer board at its upcoming annual meeting. Retail industry veteran Terry McCartney has been touted as a potential nominee. He was appointed to the Premier Investments board in April 2016, and he was the MD of Myer Grace Bros from 1996 to 2000.

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV, MYER GRACE BROS, COLES MYER LIMITED, JUST GROUP LIMITED, JUST JEANS PTY LTD, SMIGGLE PTY LTD, PETER ALEXANDER SLEEPWEAR PTY LTD, PORTMANS PTY LTD, DOTTI, INVESTORS MUTUAL LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, AURIAS DIAMONDS, ZAO SUAL HOLDINGS, MCCARTNEY RETAIL SERVICES

Woolies back in the retail race

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 24-Aug-17

Retail giant Woolworths has posted a 2016-17 net profit of $A1.533bn, following an impairment-marred loss of $A1.234bn for 2016-17. Net profit from continuing operations was down 3.6 per cent at $A1.422bn, but revenue was 3.7 per cent higher at $A55.47bn. Woolworths’ core supermarkets division recorded 4.5 per cent growth in food sales, to $A36.37bn, while the struggling Big W business recorded an EBIT loss of $A150.5m and a 5.6 per cent decline in sales.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, WOOLWORTHS SUPERMARKETS, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, EZIBUY, LOWE’S COMPANIES INCORPORATED, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, VERTIUM ASSET MANAGEMENT

David Jones’ future lies in food, fashion

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 23-Jun-17

David Jones CEO John Dixon says the department store chain will spend at least $A100 million over the next three years on improving its food offering. Dixon says that the availability of food helps to encourage customers to stay longer, and it is something that helps to differentiate it from online retailers. Stephen Carrott of JP Morgan suggests that David Jones’s new strategy will help it to generate $A700 million a year from food sales by 2022.

CORPORATES
DAVID JONES LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS LIMITED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MARKS AND SPENCER PLC, CAPE GRIM BEEF, SONOMA WOODFIRED BAKING COMPANY PTY LTD, SERENDIPITY ICECREAM, IN2FOODS, YARRA VALLEY FARMS, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR

DJ’s relocation triggers staff exodus

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 3-Mar-17

David Jones’s decision to relocate its headquarters from Sydney to Melbourne is expected to create up to 600 jobs in the latter city. However, the number of staff, particularly in the areas of marketing and finance, that have agreed to move from Sydney to Melbourne is said to be quite a deal less than what South African parent company Woolworths Holdings had forecast, meaning it may need to poach staff from other Melbourne-based retailers such as Myer, Cotton On and Kathmandu.

CORPORATES
DAVID JONES LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS LIMITED, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, COTTON ON, KATHMANDU HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX KMD, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV, COUNTRY ROAD LIMITED

Image conscious: how Australians view different department stores

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 24-Nov-16

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 22.6% of Australians aged 14+ (3.6 million people) buy something at Kmart in an average four-week period. The survey, which was carried out in the year to June 2016, also shows that 19.5% of Australians (3.1 million) make a purchase at Target and 18.9% (3 million) shop at Big W in an average four weeks. One common denominator shared by the three stores is the perception that each "has a wide choice of products". Almost 42% of Australians think Target fits this description, 45.1% feel the same way about Kmart and 49.2% think Big W has a wide choice of products. Meanwhile, 10.0% of Australians (or 1.6 million people) making a purchase at Myer in an average four weeks and 4.7% (760,000) buying something at David Jones. The most commonly held perception of these stores is less about low prices and more about quality, which evidently impacts on customer volume.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, DAVID JONES LIMITED