RETAIL TRADE – AUSTRALIA

New Christmas spending forecasts swell to $66 billion as Aussies set to break new retail records

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Dec-22

The Australian Retailers Association has bumped up its pre-Christmas spending forecasts by another $2 billion, now predicting that a record $66 billion will be spent in the November to December Christmas trading period. The ARA holiday sales predictions with Roy Morgan forecast a record-breaking spend in the lead up to Christmas, which is up 6.4% on last year’s spending. Out of the states and territories, NSW, Victoria and Queensland have driven most of the projected spike in spending. New South Wales is set to record a $20.8 billion spend (up 7.7%), followed by Victoria with $17.1 billion (up 5.2%), with Queensland spending predicted to top $13.5 billion (up 6.8%). Sensory indulgence is a key theme for spending 2022, with alcohol and food topping the list of intended Christmas gift purchases for this year, followed by gift cards and toys. Men were the most likely to purchase alcohol or food, whilst women were more interested in small inexpensive gifts or novelties, clothing, shoes and sleepwear or books and music.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION,{SPAC}ROY MORGAN LIMITED

October retail results remain solid despite economic headwinds

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Original article by
Australian Retailers Association – Page: Online : 29-Nov-22

Retail sales continue to show robust year-on-year growth, with $35 billion spent in stores and online in October; this is an increase of 12.5 per cent on the same time a year ago, according to figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. However, retail turnover fell 0.2 per cent compared to the previous month, which is the sector’s first monthly fall in 2022. There were strong year-on-year sales increases for clothing, footwear and personal accessories (up 32.8%), cafes, restaurants and take-away food (up 35.3%), and department stores (up 23.0%). Australian Retailers Association CEO Paul Zahra says that while the results remain solid for retail, some softening of sales is inevitable as Australians confront the cost-of-living challenges. He says the ARA is optimistic about pre-Christmas trading, anticipating a $63.9 billion spend this year; this is up three percent on 2021 spending, according to the ARA-Roy Morgan predictions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, ROY MORGAN LIMITED

New research shows good news in store for retail this Christmas

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Nov-22

The Christmas Gift Buying Survey by the Australian Retailers Association in collaboration with Roy Morgan shows that 59% of Australians intend to spend the same or more (12%) on Christmas gifts compared with 2021, despite growing inflationary pressures. The survey also found that the average gift purchase is $700, down slightly ($26) on last year. Australians aged 35-49 years will spend the most, committing an average of $933 to their gifts; spending for this age group is up $111 over last year. Meanwhile, the majority of Australians will continue to shop for Christmas gifts in-store, with around one-third done online (down 14% point on 2021). Only 1% of Australians say they will do 100% of their shopping online. This ARA-Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey was conducted with an Australian-wide cross-section of 2,317 Australians aged 18+ on Thursday October 20 – Monday October 24, including 1,717 who plan on buying gifts for Christmas.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Good news in store for retail this Christmas – new research

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Original article by
Australian Retailers Association – Page: Online : 23-Nov-22

The Christmas Gift Buying Survey has been undertaken by the Australian Retailers Association in collaboration with Roy Morgan. The survey shows that 59% of Australians intend to spend the same or more (12%) on Christmas gifts compared with 2021, despite growing inflationary pressures. It also found that the average gift purchase is $700, down slightly ($26) on last year. Alcohol and food top the list of intended gift purchases for this year, followed by gifts cards and toys. The ARA and Roy Morgan forecast that Australians will spend nearly $64 billion in the lead up to Christmas, up 3% on last year. They also forecast that sales over the four-day Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend (25 – 28 Nov) will reach a record $6.2 billion.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, ROY MORGAN LIMITED

October rate raise could be final straw for lower income spenders

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Original article by Emma Koehn
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 4-Oct-22

Low-income households will come under further pressure if the Reserve Bank of Australia increases the cash rate by another 50 basis points on Tuesday. The latest quarterly consumer survey from UBS shows that low income earners have an "outright negative" financial outlook, although wealthy Australians are expected to keep spending. Australian Retailers Association CEO Paul Zahra notes that the full impact of the recent interest rate increases have yet to flow through the economy, adding that retail sales could soften in coming months.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION

Myer defies rates gloom, tips big Christmas

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Original article by Carrie LaFrenz
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 16-Sep-22

Department store chain Myer released its latest full-year results on 15 September, announcing an underlying net profit of $60.2 million, up 16.5 per cent. Bottom-line profit rose 5.7 per cent to $49 million, while full-year sales were up 12.5 per cent to $2.99 billion; a final dividend of $0.025 per share was declared, to be paid on 7 November. Myer CEO John King said the company was expecting strong trade over the Christmas period, although he expressed fears about the level of consumer confidence, particularly if the Reserve Bank lifts interest rates again at its October meeting.

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Aldi crowned Supermarket of the Year for fifth year running

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Original article by Sezen Bakan
The New Daily – Page: Online : 3-Aug-22

Aldi has topped Canstar Blue’s annual supermarket satisfaction ratings for a fifth consecutive year, ahead of Coles, Woolworths and IGA. Aldi Australia’s MD Oliver Bongardt said the Germany-based retailer has saved Australians more than $7 billion since entering the local market in 2001. Canstar Blue notes that Australia’s supermarkets have shifted their focus to value and the overall customer experience rather than competing on price. Aldi was also recently named the Supermarket of the Year by Roy Morgan for the second year in a row.

CORPORATES
ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS SUPERMARKETS, IGA, ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Woolworths freezes price of everyday items

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Original article by Carrie LaFrenz
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 16-Jun-22

Grocery retailer Woolworths has responded to the rising cost of living by announcing that it will freeze the price of essentials such as sugar, flour and frozen peas until the end of 2022. CEO Brad Banducci says the spike in inflation has now affected prices in most grocery categories, having initially been largely confined to meat and imported products. Woolworths’ average prices rose by 2.7 per cent during the March quarter, and about 40 per cent of its suppliers requested a further price increase in May.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW

Lew seizes 20pc of Myer as endgame nears

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 15 : 2-Feb-22

Premier Investments has advised that it recently paid more than $15m for more than 33 million additional shares in department store group Myer Holdings. Premier now has a 19.88 per stake in Myer, which is just below the takeover threshold. Premier has spent some $132m to progressively lift its stake in Myer over the last five years. The latest share purchase may give Premier’s chairman Solomon Lew sufficient leverage to secure his long-sought representation on Myer’s board.

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV

Harvey says Australians are shopping like crazy

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Original article by Kanika Sood
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 22-Dec-21

The Australian Retailers Association recently forecast that pre-Christmas consumer spending will total $58.8bn in 2021, which is in line with 2020. Harvey Norman is among the retailers that are enjoying strong sales in the lead-up to Christmas, with executive chairman Gerry Harvey noting that all of its stores have been very busy and demand has been strong across its product range. Harvey adds that retailers may offer smaller discounts than usual at the upcoming Boxing Day sales, given that supply chain issues have resulted in less stock to discount.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN