RETAIL TRADE – AUSTRALIA

Gerry Harvey upbeat on retail sales outlook

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Original article by Carrie LaFrenz
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 15-Jan-15

Citigroup’s Craig Woolford estimates that Australian retailers generally enjoyed same-store sales growth of 2-3 per cent during the 2014 Christmas and New Year period. Harvey Norman recorded strong growth in sales, according to chairman Gerry Harvey, and he is optimistic about the group’s prospects for 2015. Harvey Norman shares closed $A0.23 higher at $A3.69 on 14 January, and Merrill Lynch has upgraded its share price target to $A4

CORPORATES
HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, INCU PTY LTD, SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV, PETER ALEXANDER SLEEPWEAR PTY LTD, JUST JEANS PTY LTD, PORTMANS PTY LTD, SMIGGLE PTY LTD, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, NET-A-PORTER.COM LIMITED, MR PORTER

Man to Man closes 20 stores, sheds 100 staff

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 16 : 9-Jan-15

Ferrier Hodgson’s Brendan Richards is hopeful that a buyer will emerge for failed menswear retailer Man to Man, with indicative offers due by 9 January 2015. The retail chain will continue to operate 62 stores following the closure of 20 outlets, which will result in the loss of nearly 100 jobs. Man to Man has debts of $A28m, and went into voluntary administration in late 2014

CORPORATES
MAN TO MAN FASHION MENSWEAR, FERRIER HODGSON AND COMPANY, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Call to keep lid on wage claims

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Original article by Mathew Dunckley
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 9-Jan-15

Coles, Woolworths and Billabong International are among the Australian retailers that will negotiate new workplace agreements in 2015. Other sectors in which enterprise agreements are due to be renegotiated include banking, insurance and telecommunications. Kate Carnell, the CEO of the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, notes that companies in many sectors cannot afford to grant pay rises that exceed the CPI

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BILLABONG INTERNATIONAL LIMITED – ASX BBG, DAVID JONES LIMITED, SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, PROUDS JEWELLERS PTY LTD, LUXOTTICA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DAN MURPHY’S, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, ACTU

Discounts spur $800m retail boost

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Original article by Madeleine Heffernan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 16 : 7-Jan-15

Data from National Australia Bank suggests that there was a 13.5 per cent increase in consumer spending in the week beginning 22 December 2014. The figures, which are based on credit card and eftpos transactions by the bank’s customers, shows that consumer spending topped $A1.2bn in the week after discretionary retailers introduced price discounts. Craig Woolford of Citigroup says many consumers waited until retailers began discounting before doing their Christmas shopping

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA POST, DICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX DSH, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, KATHMANDU HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX KMD, SEPHORA USA LLC, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, THE QUANTIUM GROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION

Accused Myer fraud ‘left CV at home’

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Original article by Pia Akerman
The Australian – Page: 22 : 17-Dec-14

Melbourne Magistrates Court was on 16 December 2014 told of the deceptions allegedly perpetrated by Andrew Jeffery Flanagan. He was made group GM strategy and business development at department stores chain Myer in mid-2014, but lasted just one day in the role before it emerged that he had faked the qualifications and experience on his resume. Flanagan has been granted bail ahead of a directions hearing on 17 December, and has been committed to stand trial on seven counts of fraud and theft. He had also duped the Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Bendigo Health and Specialty Fashion Group

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, MILLER’S FASHION CLUB, SPECIALTY FASHION GROUP LIMITED – ASX SFH, RIVERS (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, BENDIGO HEALTH, ZARA, INDITEX SA, AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA ARAB CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY INCORPORATED, MELBOURNE MAGISTRATES’ COURT

Retailers slam new Aust Post US service

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 17 : 15-Dec-14

Australia Post has launched its new ShopMate service, which allows consumers to order goods from US online retailers that ship only to domestic addresses. The parcels are being sent to a warehouse in the US and then forwarded to Australia. The move has been sharply criticised by the Australian National Retailers Association, which says it exacerbates the problem of no goods and services tax being charged for items shoppers buy over the internet from overseas. The lobby group is especially disappointed as Australia Post is a Federal Government business

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA POST, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL RETAILERS ASSOCIATION LIMITED, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, DAVID JONES LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS LIMITED, WESFARMERS BUNNINGS LIMITED, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV, JUST GROUP LIMITED, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, NATIONAL ONLINE RETAILERS ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Vacuum cleaners keeping us recession-proof: Godfreys

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 11-Dec-14

Godfreys Group’s stock ended its first day of trading at $A2.85 on 10 December 2014, compared with an issue price of $A2.75. The vacuum cleaner retailer raised $A78m via an IPO, after scaling back plans for a $A103m raising. Godfreys chairman Rod Walker notes that the group’s sales are generally not affected by the economic outlook, as every home needs a vacuum cleaner

CORPORATES
GODFREYS GROUP LIMITED – ASX GFY, ARCADE FINANCE PTY LTD, NOMURA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, INVESTEC AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FREEDOM GROUP LIMITED, PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, UNITAS CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, ACONEX LIMITED – ASX ACX

Dollar’s fall lifts retailers’ spirits

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 21 : 10-Dec-14

The latest Deloitte Access Economics retail forecasts study shows that the sector can expect higher margins during the 2014 Christmas period, due to the fall of the Australian dollar against the US currency. The overall sales growth figure for the calendar year is tipped to be 5.4%, compared with 3% on average per annum since 2010. The Australian National Retailers Association (ANRA) also forecasts turnover in the second week of December to reach $A7.6bn. However ANRA CEO Anna McPhee notes that retail sector margins have declined in the past three years

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL RETAILERS ASSOCIATION LIMITED, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Catalogues hit the mark with shoppers

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Dec-14

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 53 per cent of Australians aged 14+ read one or more store catalogues in an average week during the year to September 2014. Some 56 per cent bought a product as a result of seeing it in a catalogue. The survey also shows that 41 per cent of Australians read supermarket catalogues in an average week, and 58 per cent of these people buy items from the catalogues. Meanwhile, 38 per cent of readers buy something from a chemist’s catalogue, followed by liquor store catalogues (33 per cent)

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, DICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX DSH, WESFARMERS BUNNINGS LIMITED, IKEA TRADING PTY LTD

Shoes of Prey closes $6.5m Series A round with Khosla Ventures

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Original article by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
BRW – Page: online : 3-Dec-14

Australian online retailer Shoes of Prey has raised $US5.5 million ($A6.5 million) in new venture capital. Companies and individuals that participated in the funding initiative included Khosla Ventures, Blackbird Ventures, Bonobos CEO Andy Dunn, ThirdLove co-founders David Spector and Heidi Zak, Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes, and Bill Tai from Southern Cross Venture Partners. The new funds will be used to finance expansion in the US and to construct a new factory in China

CORPORATES
SHOES OF PREY PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS VENTURE PARTNERS PTY LTD, ATLASSIAN SOFTWARE SYSTEMS PTY LTD, KHOSLA VENTURES, BLACKBIRD VENTURES PTY LTD, BONOBOS INCORPORATED, THIRDLOVE