RETAIL TRADE – AUSTRALIA

Bunnings: still ‘plenty of room to grow’

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 11-Mar-15

Citigroup notes that Australia now boasts significantly more hardware stores per capita than the US and the UK. Wesfarmers-owned Bunnings aims to open 20 new stores annually over the next two years. Citigroup warns that Bunnings’ margins are likely to be affected by its growing market penetration, but Bunnings MD John Gillam argues that the group only has a 17 per cent share of the home improvement market at present

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS BUNNINGS LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, MITRE 10 LIMITED, THE HOME DEPOT INCORPORATED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, DAVID JONES LIMITED, COLES GROUP LIMITED, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD

Retailers urged to grill recalcitrant or disloyal shoppers

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 10-Mar-15

AT Kearney estimates that corporate expenditure on "big data" will top $US114bn ($A147.6bn) by 2018. However, AT Kearney principal Ian St-Maurice notes that most companies are not satisfied with the return on this investment. St-Maurice says retailers such as Coles and Woolworths should focus on improving their service to customers who shop at their stores regularly, and suggests supplementing big data with consumer surveys and focus groups, particularly for people who shop elsewhere

CORPORATES
AT KEARNEY INCORPORATED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR

Supermarkets cut to the chase

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 6-Mar-15

Australian supermarket groups’ food and liquor sales were 0.7 per cent lower in January 2015. The sector recorded sales growth of just 2.2 per cent in year-on-year terms. Meanwhile, the four major grocery retailers all plan to open new stores in 2015, prompting analysts to warn that the new stores will gain sales at the expense of established stores. Aggressive price discounting due to slowing consumer spending is also adversely affecting the supermarket chains’ margins

CORPORATES
COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, INDEPENDENT GROCERS OF AUSTRALIA, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, LIDL GMBH & CO KG

Myer’s new British CEO gets a tough welcome from investors

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 11 : 3-Mar-15

Shares in Myer Holdings shed 11 per cent to close at $A1.1655 on 2 March 2015 following the resignation of CEO Bernie Brookes. He will be succeeded by former Woolworths executive Richard Umbers, while Daniel Bracken has been appointed deputy CEO. Umbers was previously Myers’ chief information and supply chain officer. He says the new management team will adopt a customer-centric focus and look at the type of customers Myer has now and people who are likely to be customers in the future. Myer CFO Mark Ashby has also resigned

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA POST, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, TPG CAPITAL LP, DAVID JONES LIMITED, EZCORP INCORPORATED, ZARA, TOP SHOP, UNIQLO COMPANY LIMITED, SEPHORA USA LLC, HENNES OCH MAURITZ AB, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, DEBENHAMS RETAIL PLC

Billabong still has long wave to ride

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 27-Feb-15

Australian-listed Billabong International has posted a 2014-15 interim net profit of $A25.7m, following a $A126.3m loss for the first half of 2013-14. The surfwear group’s EBIT from continuing operations was 4.9 per cent lower at $A42.81m. Billabong has flagged an increase in annual capital expenditure in the next few years, with an upgrade of its supply-chain systems and the implementation of an omni-channel retail platform

CORPORATES
BILLABONG INTERNATIONAL LIMITED – ASX BBG, SURF DIVE N SKI AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SURFECTION PTY LTD, BEACH CULTURE INTERNATIONAL PTY LTD, WEST 49 INCORPORATED, RVCA

Cleaning frenzy buoys Godfreys

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 24-Feb-15

Listed vacuum cleaner retailer Godfreys has posted a 20140-15 interim underlying pro-forma net profit of $A6.4m, with sales of $A90.6m. Godfreys has forecast a full-year profit of $A12.2m. CEO Tom Krulis notes that sales of cleaning products tend to be higher during the month of January, as consumers typically clean more often. He adds that Godfreys plans to expand its product range to include air purifiers

CORPORATES
GODFREYS GROUP LIMITED – ASX GFY, ARCADE FINANCE PTY LTD

Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards: announcing Australia’s retail superstars

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 19-Feb-15

Roy Morgan Research announced the winners of its 2014 Customer Satisfaction Awards for the retail industry on 18 February 2015. David Jones was named the Department Store of the Year, while Target won the award for Discount Department Store of the Year. The Reject Shop won the award for Discount Variety Store of the Year, and The Good Guys took out the award for Furniture/Electrical Store of the Year for a fourth consecutive year

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, DAVID JONES LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, THE REJECT SHOP LIMITED – ASX TRS, THE GOOD GUYS, AUTOBARN PTY LTD, GUARDIAN CHEMISTS, SUZANNE GRAE, MICHEL’S PATISSERIE, TRUE VALUE HARDWARE LIMITED, DYMOCKS PTY LTD, CRUST GOURMET PIZZA BAR PTY LTD, GULL PETROLEUM PTY LTD, BETTS AND BETTS PTY LTD, BETTS KIDS, SPORTSPOWER, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD

Pacific Brands: hope after loss

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 18-Feb-15

Restructuring costs and impairment charges contributed to Pacific Brands’ $A108.7m for the first six months of 2014-15. Revenue was six per cent higher at $A391.8m, and its Bonds brand achieved sales of $A176.3m. CEO David Bortolussi warns that the recent fall in the Australian dollar will force all underwear manufacturers to increase their prices in 2016. Some market watchers have suggested that prices could rise by 10-15 per cent

CORPORATES
PACIFIC BRANDS LIMITED – ASX PBG, BONDS INDUSTRIES LIMITED, HARD YAKKA, KING GEE CLOTHING COMPANY, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, SHERIDAN AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TONTINE BEDDING, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GROSBY FOOTWEAR, VOLLEY, BRAND COLLECTIVE

David Jones profit up 10.3 per cent under new owners

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 13-Feb-15

David Jones has posted an operating profit of $A107m for the five months to December 2014, which is 10.3 per cent higher than previously. Its department stores division recorded earnings of $A100m, an increase of 14.9 per cent. Woolworths Holdings stablemate Country Road posted 9.4 per cent growth in operating profit. South Africa-based Woolworths has reported a 2014-15 interim pre-tax profit of R9.2bn ($A320m), an increase of 29.8 per cent

CORPORATES
DAVID JONES LIMITED, COUNTRY ROAD LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS LIMITED, AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

Woolies’ supermarket growth revised

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Original article by Sue Mitchell, Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 11-Feb-15

Shares in Shopping Centres Australasia Property Group have risen by 15 per cent so far in 2015. However, the listed property trust has reported that growth in sales at supermarkets in its shopping centres slowed to 4.2 per cent in the December 2014 quarter. Some analysts believe that this may have implications for the sales growth of grocery giants Coles and Woolworths, which will report their results later in February

CORPORATES
SHOPPING CENTRES AUSTRALASIA PROPERTY GROUP – ASX SCP, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD