RETAIL TRADE – AUSTRALIA

Goyder defends Coles’s conduct amid strong sales

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 21 : 31-Oct-14

The total turnover of retailer Coles during the September 2014 quarter grew 4% to reach $A9.2bn. Across the individual units of the Wesfarmers-owned group, sales at Bunnings were up 11%, those at Officeworks 8% and Kmart 2.9%. At the results presentation on 30 October 2014, Wesfarmers CEO Richard Goyder rejected claims by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission that Coles supermarkets were guilty of "unconscionable conduct" by pressuring grocery suppliers into making financial contributions

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS BUNNINGS LIMITED, OFFICEWORKS SUPERSTORES PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, ZARA, INDITEX SA, TOPSHOP, ARCADIA GROUP PLC, HENNES OCH MAURITZ AB

Treasury’s premium clear out of Penfolds Grange

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Original article by Julie-Anne Sprague
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 & 28 : 30-Oct-14

Treasury Wine Estates MD Mike Clarke refutes claims that the company is providing retailers with discounts on its flagship Penfolds Grange. Some liquor store operators say they have been offered a rebate on the 2009 vintage of up to 30 per cent. Clarke says Treasury has increased its marketing support for retailers after the group opted to release the 2009 and 2010 vintages in the same calendar year

CORPORATES
TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, PENFOLDS WINES PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, DAN MURPHY’S

Myer shifts focus to ‘find wonderful’

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 27-Oct-14

Department store chain Myer will use the tagline "find wonderful" in its new marketing campaign, which has been developed by Clemenger BDO Melbourne. TV advertisements using the new slogan were launched on 26 October 2014, while the marketing campaign will also include internet, cinema and in-store advertising. The new marketing campaign is based on research into Myer’s customer base

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, CLEMENGER BBDO (MELBOURNE) PTY LTD, ALEX PERRY PTY LTD, ELLERY, APPAREL GROUP PTY LTD, UNIT 1 CREATIVE PTY LTD

Coles was ‘entitled’ to payments

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 17 : 20-Oct-14

Ian McLeod, CEO of the Coles retailing arm of Wesfarmers for six years until mid-2014, has rejected allegations by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC). The watchdog claims that the supermarkets chain in 2010 acted unconscionably, when it demanded suppliers bear the cost of wastage as well as make payments so that Coles could reach its profit goals. McLeod says no unethical practices were engaged in during the group’s relationships with grocery companies. The ACCC court action names five suppliers as having been affected

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, COLES GROUP LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Guardian Pharmacy guards top spot in customer satisfaction

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Oct-14

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that Guardian Pharmacy had a customer satisfaction rating of 91 per cent in the year to August 2014. Rival chemist chains Priceline Pharmacy and Chemist Warehouse both had customer satisfaction ratings of 90 per cent, ahead of Amcal and Chemmart. Guardian was also the winner of its category in the 2013 Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, GUARDIAN PHARMACY, PRICELINE PHARMACY, CHEMIST WAREHOUSE, AMCAL CHEMISTS, AMCAL MAX, CHEM MART PTY LTD

Leverage from two-tier wages

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 17-Oct-14

The new enterprise agreements for warehouse staff at Coca-Cola Amatil and Woolworths provide for new employees to be paid lower wages than existing staff. The new agreement for staff at Woolworths’ distribution facility in Brisbane includes a four per cent pay rise for current employees, higher annual leave loadings and an increase in loadings for shift workers

CORPORATES
COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, HOLDING REDLICH, AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE

Iconic rides $3b wave in e-retail

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Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 & 25 : 14-Oct-14

The Iconic’s website boasts about three million visitors each month, according to MD Adam Jacobs. He says there are no plans for the online clothing retailer to list on the Australian sharemarket at present, and the priority is to expand the company and make it the leading player in its sector. The Iconic raised $A25m from venture capital firms in January 2014, and it raised an additional $A28m in July

CORPORATES
THEICONIC.COM.AU, INTERNET SERVICES AUSTRALIA 1 PTY LTD, ROCKET INTERNET GMBH, ZALANDO LIMITED, FRANKFURT STOCK EXCHANGE, AUSTRALIA POST, NIKE INCORPORATED, ADIDAS-SALOMON AG, RIVER ISLAND CLOTHING COMPANY LIMITED, DOROTHY PERKINS, HUGO BOSS, CALVIN KLEIN INCORPORATED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, DAVID JONES LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS LIMITED

Dick Smith strikes gold with DJs outlets

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 21 : 13-Oct-14

Nick Abboud, CEO of electronic goods retailing chain Dick Smith, says its alliance with department stores group David Jones is progressing well. One year after the "David Jones Electronics Powered by Dick Smith" concept was rolled out in October 2013, the concessions inside the David Jones stores generate more than half of upmarket product sales for Dick Smith. This is despite this business accounting for only 3% of the parent’s total turnover, which shows that the David Jones link has given it access to more affluent consumers. David Jones has since been acquired for $A2.2bn by South African group Woolworths

CORPORATES
DICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX DSH, DAVID JONES LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS LIMITED, COUNTRY ROAD LIMITED, BOSE PTY LTD

Online retailers stay upbeat

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Original article by Jessica Sier
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 7-Oct-14

Australian online retailers have reported strong growth and are positive about the outlook for Christmas spending. Overall retail spending rose by only 0.1 per cent in August 2014, with spending in retail stores falling by 2.9 per cent. Milan Direct founder Dean Ramler said that his company’s sales rose by 51 per cent in September compared with the previous year. The Catch Group co-founder Gabby Leibovich said that his group’s sales rose by 26 per cent in the September quarter

CORPORATES
MILAN DIRECT PTY LTD, CATCH GROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, CATCH-OF-THE-DAY.COM.AU, SCOOPON.COM.AU PTY LTD

Competition watchdog won’t call for Woolies liquor split

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Original article by Julie-Anne Sprague
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 22 : 6-Oct-14

A former Woolworths executive has claimed that the retail giant has too much market power in the liquor sector. Tony Leon says Woolworths should be forced to divest one of its liquor chains, as its market dominance allows it to put pressure on liquor suppliers. However, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims says forcing companies to offload assets should not be within the regulator’s purview, arguing that it can already address concerns about abuse of market power

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, BWS – BEER WINE SPIRITS, DAN MURPHY’S, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, IBISWORLD PTY LTD, LIQUORLAND (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, VINTAGE CELLARS (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, FIRST CHOICE LIQUOR SUPERSTORE, AUSTRALIAN LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY GROUP LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL RETAILERS ASSOCIATION LIMITED, STEVE’S LIQUOR, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, AUSTRALIAN LIQUOR MARKETERS PTY LTD, CELLARBRATION PTY LTD, BOTTLE-O, IGA LIQUOR