RETAIL TRADE – AUSTRALIA

Winter vortex warms retailers’ hearts

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Original article by Patrick Hatch
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 16-Jul-15

Australian retailers have enjoyed a surge in sales of warm clothing and heaters due to the onset of very cold weather in the eastern states in mid-July 2015. The Good Guys’ sales of portable heaters have risen by 20 per cent in Victoria and 22 per cent in New South Wales, while Melbourne clothing retailers Otto & Spike and The Coat Man have reported strong demand for their products. Bogong Equipment’s sales of skiing gear have also risen strongly.

CORPORATES
THE GOOD GUYS, OTTO AND SPIKE, THE COAT MAN, BOGONG EQUIPMENT PTY LTD, LMB KNITWEAR PTY LTD

Coles, Woolies cut private label prices to ward off Aldi incursion

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

Data from Deutsche Bank shows that there was a 1.3 per cent increase in the prices of brand-name groceries in the June 2015 quarter. However, the prices of private-label products fell by 6.1 per cent, as Coles and Woolworths sought to defend their market share against Aldi. Deutsche’s supermarket inflation survey also shows that the price of a basket of brand-name groceries at Coles increased by 5.1 per cent during the quarter, compared with a 2.6 decline at Woolworths.

CORPORATES
DEUTSCHE BANK AG, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, MACQUARIE EQUITIES LIMITED, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, SUPA IGA

Aldi in great shape for Coles, Woolies battle

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

Woolworths continues to have the highest pre-tax profit margin among Australian grocery retailers, at 7.1 per cent. However, Aldi boasted a profit margin of 5.2 per cent in 2013, according to its submission to a Senate tax inquiry. This compares with a profit margin of just 4.3 per cent for Coles. Craig Woolford of Citigroup believes that Aldi will gain more market share at the expense of its two main rivals, while Craig Young of Nikko Asset Management doubts that Aldi will pursue a grocery price war.

CORPORATES
ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, NIKKO ASSET MANAGEMENT GROUP, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Light at end of the tunnel for Ritchies Stores

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 & 26 : 9-Jul-15

Ritchies Stores’ earnings have fallen by 73 per cent since 2011, but chairman Fred Harrison says the grocery chain returned to profit growth in the 2014-15 financial year. Ritchies is supplied by grocery wholesaler Metcash, and Harrison notes that Metcash’s store refurbishment and price-matching strategy for the IGA network has helped to boost his company’s sales. Harrison adds that price competitiveness has become essential for independent grocery retailers.

CORPORATES
RITCHIES STORES PTY LTD, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, INDEPENDENT GROCERS OF AUSTRALIA, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, MACQUARIE SECURITIES PTY LTD

Debt-free Pac Brands upgrades profit

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 3-Jul-15

Shares in Pacific Brands gained $A0.165 to close at $A0.49 on 2 July 2015, after the clothing and homewares group lifted its earnings forecast. Pacific Brands’ revised guidance is for 2014-15 underlying EBIT to be within the range of $A63m to $A65m, compared with market expectations of about $A60.1m. Meanwhile, asset sales have allowed the group to be free of debt for the first time since its sharemarket debut in 2004.

CORPORATES
PACIFIC BRANDS LIMITED – ASX PBG, BONDS INDUSTRIES LIMITED, SHERIDAN AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, HARD YAKKA, VOLLEY, GROSBY FOOTWEAR, KING GEE CLOTHING COMPANY, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, EVERLAST PTY LTD, SLAZENGER, DUNLOP SPORT, ANCHORAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, IBML CAPITAL PTY LTD, THE PAS GROUP LIMITED – ASX PGR, DESIGNWORKS LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LEGG MASON ASSET MANAGEMENT AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Woolworths serves up Thomas Dux

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 19 : 30-Jun-15

Australian-listed Woolworths has declined to comment on reports that it is seeking a buyer for its chain of Thomas Dux stores. However, it is believed to be aiming for a sale price of $A10m-$A20m for the grocery chain, which specialises on gourmet foods and comprises 10 outlets. Woolworths Holdings is seen as a possible buyer for the chain, although the South Africa-based group has denied that it has made overtures regarding Thomas Dux.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, THOMAS DUX GROCER, WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS LIMITED, DAVID JONES LIMITED, ABOUT LIFE PTY LTD, JONES THE GROCER, L CAPITAL ASIA, LVMH MOET HENNESSY LOUIS VUITTON SA, BRIGHT FOOD GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, MANASSEN FOODS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SIMON JOHNSON PURVEYOR OF QUALITY FOODS PTY LTD, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES

Murray in the business of making a difference

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Original article by Carrie LaFrenz
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 29-Jun-15

Former Lion Nathan CEO Rob Murray has a track record of turning around struggling companies. He did so at Lion, as well as Spillers Petfoods and Nestle Foods in the UK. Murray is now on the boards of three Australian-listed companies whose outlooks are uncertain. He is a non-executive director of Southern Cross Media Group and chairs both Metcash and Dick Smith Holdings. Murray says Metcash’s price-matching strategy must focus on key grocery products, and has ruled out the sale of its Mitre 10 hardware business.

CORPORATES
METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, DICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX DSH, LION PTY LTD, SPILLERS PETFOODS, NESTLE SA, IGA, MITRE 10 LIMITED, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, LIDL GMBH & CO KG, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, LINFOX PTY LTD, BESTEST, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY

DJs set to join great Aussie food fight

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 25-Jun-15

South Africa-based Woolworths Holdings is believed to be planning to build a presence in Australia’s food and grocery sector, via its David Jones subsidiary. The group intends to revamp the food halls in David Jones department stores, and the strategy may also include establishing stand-alone food stores to compete with local grocery retailers Coles and Woolworths Limited. Meanwhile, Woolworths Holdings is said to be looking at selling two of its stores in the Melbourne and Sydney CBDs.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS LIMITED, DAVID JONES LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, THOMAS DUX GROCER, JONES THE GROCER, MARKS AND SPENCER PLC, NM ROTHSCHILD AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, COUNTRY ROAD LIMITED, JP MORGAN AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, FOODCHAIN BY DAVID JONES

Guylian’s sweet spot for growth

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 24-Jun-15

Guylian currently has three chocolate outlets in Sydney, but the group intends to pursue national expansion. Patrick Freriks, the operations director of Guylian Belgian Chocolate Cafe, says the aim will be to have 30 outlets across Australia within four years. He stresses that the chocolate cafes will offer a different range of Guylian products to those available in supermarkets.

CORPORATES
GUYLIAN BELGIAN CHOCOLATE CAFE, LOTTE CONFECTIONERY COMPANY LIMITED, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW

Aldi hits back at claims of shirking tax

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 24-Jun-15

Discount grocery chain Aldi says it fully complies with its Australian tax obligations, and has advised that its local income tax bill for the year to 31 December 2013 totalled $A81.6m. The German-owned group was responding to comments by Wesfarmers CEO Richard Goyder, who had questioned whether Aldi was paying sufficient tax in Australia. Aldi boasted local sales of $A6bn in 2014, which was around 13 per cent higher than previously, and it is gaining market share at the expense of its rivals.

CORPORATES
ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, ALDI EINKAUF GMBH & CO OHG, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, IGA, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, APPLE INCORPORATED, MICROSOFT CORPORATION, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED