RETAIL TRADE – AUSTRALIA

Kogan blames Apple for dive in global sales

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 18 : 18-Jan-19

Kogan.com has reported revenue growth of 9.7 per cent for the first half of 2018-19. The listed e-commerce group’s private label and partner brand sales rose by 23.6 per cent and 92.8 per cent respectively, but sales of global brands fell by 47 per cent. Founder Ruslan Kogan notes that sales of Apple products fell sharply during the period, although sales of other global brand rose by 8.5 per cent. Kogan.com has also been affected by the federal government’s move to impose GST on goods purchased overseas that cost less than $1,000.

CORPORATES
KOGAN.COM LIMITED – ASX KGN, APPLE INCORPORATED, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS COMPANY LIMITED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, GARMIN LIMITED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, BLOOMBERG LP, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS

Hayne gets blame for retail spending squeeze

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 17-Jan-19

Australian retailers had mixed fortunes during the crucial Christmas shopping period, according to analysts. Data from ShopperTrak shows that shopping centres recorded a 12.2 per cent decline in customer traffic in December, including a 23 per cent fall in the week to December 30. Meanwhile, retail adviser James Stewart says factors such as falling house prices and tighter access to credit in the wake of the financial services royal commission are weighing on consumer spending. He adds that more retailers are likely to go into administration in 2019 following the recent collapse of clothing chain Ed Harry.

CORPORATES
SHOPPERTRAK INCORPORATED, ED HARRY MENSWEAR, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MICHAEL HILL INTERNATIONAL LIMITED – ASX MHJ, KATHMANDU HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX KMD, THE REJECT SHOP LIMITED – ASX TRS, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NONI B LIMITED – ASX NBL, THE PAS GROUP LIMITED – ASX PGR, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, NOMURA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

Wesfarmers revamps Kmart after sales shock

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 14 : 15-Jan-19

Wesfarmers has advised that same-store sales for its Kmart unit fell by 0.6 per cent in the first half of 2018-19. Wesfarmers stated that earnings from its department store division, which includes Kmart, would be down around seven per cent for the half-year. Wesfarmers MD Rob Scott said Kmart’s sales decline could be attributed to a range of factors, including lower demand for womenswear and its decision to no longer sell DVDs.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, COSTA GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX CGC, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KATHMANDU HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX KMD, QUADRANT ENERGY PTY LTD

Costco hits critical mass as sales soar

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 3-Jan-19

Costco Australia has advised that it posted a net profit of $29.52m in 2018, compared with $13.495m in 2017. Costco now boasts more than 225,000 members and its annual revenue is approaching the $2bn mark. The US-based group currently has 10 warehouse stores in Australia, and analysts believe that there is scope for more than 20 stores. Costco Australia CEO Patrick Noone says the local retail market is very competitive, but the company is enjoying strong sales growth in both food and non-food products.

CORPORATES
COSTCO WHOLESALE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS SUPERMARKETS, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, KAUFLAND STIFTUNG & CO KG, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED

Retailers hope for big bang finish

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 20-Dec-18

The Australian Retailers Association expects consumers to spend nearly $15bn during the last five trading days before Christmas. It still anticipates that Christmas spending will increase by 2.9 per cent in 2018. Many retailers are also counting on a spike in sales during the final days before Christmas, after less price discounting than in 2017. Meanwhile, Craig Woolford of Citigroup says consumers may spend less during the traditional post-Christmas clearance sales due to the impact of recent online promotions such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, VEND LIMITED, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, REBEL SPORT LIMITED

Foodland edges out Aldi for customer satisfaction

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Dec-18

New research from Roy Morgan shows that customer satisfaction with Foodland in the six months to October was 91%, giving the South Australia-based supermarket a third straight monthly win ahead of Aldi on 89%. Coles is on 85%, just ahead of Woolworths on 84% with IGA taking fifth position on 80%. The overall supermarket customer satisfaction across the industry was 85%, representing an overall decline of 6% in customer satisfaction compared to this time a year ago. These are the latest results from Roy Morgan’s ‘Retail Satisfaction Report-Supermarkets’, which is based on in-depth personal interviews conducted face-to-face with over 50,000 Australians per annum in their own home, including over 11,000 main supermarket shoppers.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, FOODLAND SUPERMARKETS, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS SUPERMARKETS, IGA

Weak wages a threat to Xmas sales

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Original article by John Kehoe, Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 6-Dec-18

The latest GDP data shows that the Australian economy expanded by just 0.3 per cent in the September quarter, compared with economists’ expectations of 0.6 per cent growth. Economists have attributed the fall in consumer spending to low wages growth and raised concerns about the outlook for retail sales during the Christmas trading period. Recent research by the Australian Retailers Association and Roy Morgan found that Christmas spending will increase by 2.9 per cent in 2018. The GDP data may affect the timing of any change in official interest rates, but the federal government still expects to post a Budget surplus in 2019-20.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, MJ BALE, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RETAIL APPAREL GROUP PTY LTD, CITIBANK PTY LTD

Woolworths extends lead over Coles in seafood

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Dec-18

Roy Morgan’s latest Supermarket & Fresh Food Currency Report shows that Woolworths has a 27.4% share of Australia’s fresh food market, ahead of Coles (24.6%) and Aldi (9.8%). In fresh seafood, which accounts for 7 per cent of the overall fresh food sector, stand-alone shops still have the largest market share in dollar terms. However, among supermarkets Woolworths has opened up a strong lead over rival Coles during the 12 months to September 2018. Woolworths also continues to hold the largest market share in dollar terms of fresh meat, fresh deli, fresh bread and fresh fruit and vegetables, although Coles has narrowed the market share gap in all those categories in the 12 months to September. The Supermarket & Fresh Food Currency Report is compiled from data collected as part of Roy Morgan’s Single Source survey, which involves more than 50,000 in-home, face-to-face interviews each year, including more than 12,000 detailed surveys of grocery and fresh food buying behaviour.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD

‘Totally frigging mad’: Harvey lashes critics

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 28-Nov-18

Furniture and consumer electronics retailer Harvey Norman incurred a "first strike" against its remuneration report at its AGM on 27 November. It will face a board spill in 2019 if a sufficient number of shareholders vote down the remuneration report again. Chairman Garry Harvey was not very happy about those who have criticised it over various issues, including the independence of its directors and loans to franchisees. Commenting on its share price, which has by fallen 22 per cent in 2018, Harvey said it presents a good opportunity for Harvey Norman to be privatised.

CORPORATES
HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Coles steps out alone to mixed reviews

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 23-Nov-18

Macquarie and Goldman Sachs have contrasting views on the prospects of Coles following the food and liquor retailer’s demerger from Wesfarmers. Macquarie has a "neutral" recommendation on Coles stock and a 12-month price target of $13.48, while Goldman Sachs rates it as a "buy" with a 12-month target of $14.80. Both Macquarie and Goldman Sachs believe that Coles can lift its earnings by boosting sales from fresh food and private label products. Macquarie also believes that Wesfarmers now has up to $10 billion to spend on possible acquisitions.

CORPORATES
COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, KAUFLAND STIFTUNG & CO KG, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED