RETAIL TRADE – AUSTRALIA

Wesfarmers moves to back Coles over coal

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 22-May-15

Financial market analysts have downgraded Wesfarmers’ profit and earnings per share forecasts for 2015, although there is widespread support for the conglomerate’s move to focus capital investment on its Coles and Bunnings chains. Ben Gilbert of UBS says the Bunnings hardware business in particular still offers huge growth potential, noting that its return on capital exceeds 30 per cent.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, COLES GROUP LIMITED, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PACIFIC BRANDS LIMITED – ASX PBG, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, MACQUARIE EQUITIES LIMITED

Target boss reckons there’s room for two

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 21-May-15

Target MD Stuart Machin has outlined plans to revive the discount retailer’s fortunes. He has told Wesfarmers’ annual strategy presentation that up to 10 new stores will be opened each year, while 30 stores will be closed. He has also downplayed concerns that a turnaround by Target could be at the expense of Kmart, noting that there is a lot of scope to gain market share from rival retailers such as Myer and David Jones.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, DAVID JONES LIMITED, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, HARRIS SCARFE HOLDINGS LIMITED

Woolworths faces $1b hit from price cuts

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 20-May-15

Morgan Stanley estimates that Aldi’s private-label grocery products cost 27 per cent less than Woolworths’ Select brand and six per cent less than Coles Group’s home brand. However, Aldi products cost 21 per cent more than Woolworths’ entry-level Homebrand. Tom Kierath of Morgan Stanley warns that Woolworths’ earnings could fall by between 5.09 per cent and 33 per cent if it reduces the prices of its private-label products to boost its competitiveness.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Myer sales improve in third quarter but investors cautious

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 & 28 : 14-May-15

Myer Holdings has reported sales of $A661.8m for the third quarter of 2014-15, which is 2.4 per cent higher than previously. Same-store sales were 1.7 per cent higher, and total sales for the first three quarters were 1.7 per cent higher at $A2.42bn. The general consensus of analysts polled by Bloomberg is that Myer will post a 2014-15 net profit of $A77m. Myer shares closed 10 per cent higher at $A1.55 on 13 May 2015.

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, ALPHINITY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, BLOOMBERG LP, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Investors push for Corbett

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 14-May-15

Roger Corbett has declined to comment on a push by Woolworths shareholders for him to take up the role of chairman. Corbett was CEO from 1999 to 2006, and he has worked in the retail sector for more than four decades. Some shareholders argue that Corbett’s expertise is needed to turn around Woolworths’ flagging performance. Wesfarmers recently announced that former CEO Michael Chaney will become chairman later in 2015.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, MAYNE PHARMA GROUP LIMITED – ASX MYX, HOSPIRA PTY LTD, ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, WAL-MART STORES INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY GROUP LIMITED, FOODLAND ASSOCIATED LIMITED, TESCO PLC, KELLOGG COMPANY

Wesfarmers’ Chaney looks to long-term gains

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 12-May-15

Wesfarmers has downplayed concerns about the appropriateness of its decision to appoint former MD Michael Chaney to the post of chairman. Chaney himself says Wesfarmers has changed significantly since he stepped down in 2007. He adds that a priority will be to look after the interests of long-term shareholders rather than hedge funds and investors who are short-term stockholders. Chaney will succeed Bob Every in November 2015.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COLES GROUP LIMITED, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, OFFICEWORKS SUPERSTORES PTY LTD, OWNERSHIP MATTERS PTY LTD

What makes a supermarket super?

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Apr-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 55.8 per cent of Australians aged 14+ nominated ‘high standards of food safety’ as one of the factors that matter most to them when buying groceries at a supermarket. The survey, which was carried out in the year to December 2014, also shows that 55.5 per cent nominated a location ‘close to home’, followed by ‘good value’ (54.1 per cent) and ‘convenient trading hours’ (52.6 per cent)

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Falling $A bolsters Bookworld’s fight against Amazon

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 10-Apr-15

IBISWorld estimates that sales of books online have risen by 26 per cent annually over the last five years, compared with a five per cent-plus annual decline in retail book sales over the same period. Bookworld has benefited from the Australian dollar’s 18 per cent fall against its US counterpart in the last eight months, as it has made the online bookseller’s prices more competitive against offshore rivals. Bookworld now boasts about 1.5 million registered customers

CORPORATES
BOOKWORLD, ANGUS AND ROBERTSON PTY LTD, BORDERS GROUP INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, THE BOOK DEPOSITORY LIMITED, DYMOCKS BOOKSELLERS PTY LTD, IBISWORLD PTY LTD, REDGROUP RETAIL PTY LTD, PEARSON GROUP PLC, RANDOM HOUSE AUSTRALIA, SAP AG, BOOKTOPIA PTY LTD

Retailers locked out of Apple Watch deals

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Original article by Madeleine Heffernan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 10-Apr-15

Telsyte MD Foad Fadaghi estimates that about 300,000 Apple Watches could be sold in just one week. The product will be available to pre-order in Australia from 10 April 2015, and it will be sold exclusively in Apple stores and via the Apple website from 24 April. However, it is uncertain as to when or if other retailers will stock the smartwatch

CORPORATES
APPLE INCORPORATED, TELSYTE PTY LTD, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, DAVID JONES LIMITED, DICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX DSH, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW

Harvey Norman cooking with gas as housing booms

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Original article by Madeleine Heffernan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 9-Apr-15

Australian retail sales topped $A24bn in February 2015. Sales were 0.7 per cent higher than in January, and 0.4 per cent higher than the same period in 2014. UBS is upbeat about the outlook for homewares and furniture retailer Harvey Norman, due to its exposure to the residential property market. However, UBS has "sell" recommendations on grocery groups Woolworths and Metcash

CORPORATES
HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, INDEPENDENT GROCERS OF AUSTRALIA, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, AUSTRALIAN BUFFALO INDUSTRY COUNCIL