RETAIL TRADE – AUSTRALIA

Rebel well placed to take on Decathlon

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-Jan-18

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey shows that Rebel is again Australia’s leading sports store, with a customer satisfaction rating of 89.2% in November 2017. This is up 3.0% from a year ago, as competition hots up in Australia’s sporting goods market. Closest rival Sports Power also scored an impressive customer satisfaction rating of 86.5% in November, up 2.5% over the past year, while Sportsco had a satisfaction rating of 73.7%. French sports store giant Decathlon entered the Australian sporting goods market in 2016 with an online presence, and the Decathlon "warehouse" store opened pre-Christmas in suburban Sydney is the first of up to 100 stores Decathlon plans to open in Australia. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says Rebel’s performance in 2017 has been exceptional with the company taking out several monthly Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards during the year and heavily favoured to build on its successive victories in 2015 and 2016 in the annual Roy Morgan Annual Customer Satisfaction Awards in February.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, REBEL SPORT LIMITED, SPORTS POWER, SPORTSCO PTY LTD, DECATHLON

Life yet in department stores says Macy’s exec

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Original article by Patrick Hatch
The Age – Page: 20 : 16-Jan-18

Terry Lundgren, the executive chairman of US department store chain Macy’s, says Australian retailers should aim to compete with Amazon by offering unique products and a unique shopping experience. Lundgren is upbeat about the outlook for department stores, and says they can survive by adapting their business models to reflect changes in the sector. Macy’s has scaled back its store numbers in recent years and opened discount outlets in some of its stores. Myer Holdings has adopted the same strategies in Australia.

CORPORATES
RH MACY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, BLOOMINGDALES, BLUEMERCURY, TJ MAXX, NATIONAL RETAILERS FEDERATION

Amazon to trigger big change in ad spending

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 20-Dec-17

UBS forecast that Amazon will boast revenue of $A3.5 billion in Australia by 2023, while Morgan Stanley expects it to be generating revenue of $A12 billion by 2026. Search marketing firm Adthena forecasts that Amazon’s share of internet searches in retail categories could be between 40 per cent and 70 per cent by 2023, which will require existing Australian retailers to change their advertising strategies and improve their online sites. PHD Media CEO Mark Coad notes that Amazon is effectively becoming a default search engine for some consumers when it comes to looking for products.

CORPORATES
AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ADTHENA, PHD MEDIA, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, KOGAN.COM LIMITED – ASX KGN, THE GOOD GUYS, APPLIANCES ONLINE PTY LTD, M&C SAATCHI AGENCY PTY LTD, BOHEMIA

Myer profit warning a present for Lew

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 20 : 15-Dec-17

Solomon Lew might be more likely to get support for his push for an extraordinary general meeting of Myer shareholders after the department store chain issued another profit warning on 14 December. Lew is Myer’s largest shareholder through Premier Investments, and he has been attacking the Myer board for some months over what he claims is its flawed business strategy. Myer’s shares fell to a record low after it revealed that sales for the last two weeks were down five per cent.

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV, OROTONGROUP LIMITED – ASX ORL, VERTIUM ASSET MANAGEMENT, LIVE CLOTHING, LOVER

Failed BP deal won’t hit Woolworths’ refit plans

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 15-Dec-17

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has blocked the sale of Woolworths’ fuel business to BP on the grounds that it would likely push up petrol prices and reduce competition. Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci said he was disappointed by the ACCC’s decision. Woolworths was due to receive $A1.8 billion if the transaction had gone ahead, with some of the funds expected to be used on an upgrade of Woolworths’ supermarkets. Banducci said the ACCC’s decision should not impact on any refurbishment program.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, BP AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, SHERPA, YELLO, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AIRTASKER PTY LTD, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED

Department stores set for decade-long tumble

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Original article by Luke Misthos
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 12-Dec-17

The value of Australia’s department store sector will decline to $A16.7 billion (excluding the value of GST) in 2027, according to Morningstar. The sector is currently valued at $A17.5 billion. Morningstar predicts that sales earned by "bricks and mortar" department stores will decline by two per cent annually between now and 2027, while the number of physical stores will fall by 26 per cent. Morningstar contends that Kmart is best-equipped to meet the challenge posed by Amazon.

CORPORATES
MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DAVID JONES LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES

Amazon just warming up, warn analysts

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 7-Dec-17

Melanie Sanders of Bain & Company has forecast that e-commerce giant Amazon will boast Australian sales of between $A8bn and $A10bn within 5-10 years, making it the nation’s sixth-biggest retailer. Consumers have criticised the limited product range offered by Amazon when it officially launched in Australia, but Sanders argues that the company probably opted for a low-key launch in order to test its systems. Retail industry analysts have warned Australian retailers against becoming complacent based on Amazon’s local launch on 5 December, while Amazon itself says its sales for the day were higher than for any previous country launch.

CORPORATES
AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, BAIN AND COMPANY, UGAM, WORLD FIRST AUSTRALIA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, IGA, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN

Local retailers brace as Amazon opens

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Original article by Chris Griffith, Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 2 : 5-Dec-17

The Australian retail website of e-commerce giant Amazon will be officially launched on 5 December. Consumers will be able to purchase a range of goods at significantly lower prices, with discounts of up to 30 per cent on some clothing and toy brands. Consumers will be able to purchase goods directly from Amazon or from merchants that sell their goods via the Amazon Marketplace. Consumers who order goods worth more than $A49 in total will receive free delivery. Amazon is forecast to gain up to $A200m worth of local sales at Christmas.

CORPORATES
AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, OFFICEWORKS SUPERSTORES PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, BABY BUNTING GROUP LIMITED – ASX BBN, REBEL SPORT LIMITED, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, DAVID JONES LIMITED, CALVIN KLEIN INCORPORATED, TOMMY HILFIGER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FISHER-PRICE INCORPORATED, BONDS INDUSTRIES LIMITED, PUMA AUSTRALIA, LEGO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SOL-SANA, L’OREAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SONOS INCORPORATED, SUNBEAM CORPORATION LIMITED

Woolies’ warning to suppliers

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 24-Nov-17

Woolworths chairman Gordon Cairns has urged food and grocery suppliers to think carefully before putting their goods for sale on Amazon. Speaking at its AGM on 23 November, he said retailers such as Woolworths might find that they could not compete with Amazon’s prices, and so might decide to start selling more of their private label goods in preference to brand-name products. CEO Brad Banducci said that Uber Eats could be as a big a threat to Woolworths’ business as Amazon over the next year.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, UBER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, BP AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Amazon’s retail invasion begins

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Original article by Sue Mitchell, James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 23-Nov-17

Australian retailing is set for its biggest shake-up in decades on 23 November, when Amazon "soft-launches" its electronic commerce operations, with a full launch expected on 24 November. Ben Gilbert from UBS says Amazon’s arrival in Australia is likely to have a detrimental impact on the profit margins of local retailers, as they will have to invest more in delivery and service, as well as lowering their prices. However, he believes investors have perhaps over-reacted to Amazon’s pending arrival in terms of how much they have pushed down the share price of local retailers.

CORPORATES
AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, GREENCROSS LIMITED – ASX GXL, SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, DYSON APPLIANCES LIMITED, BREVILLE GROUP LIMITED – ASX BRG