The National Retail Association (NRA) has today welcomed the Federal Government’s four-year, $1.1b plan to usher in an ‘ideas boom’, with innovation measures including the facilitation of greater risk-taking in investment and entrepreneurship, a greater focus on collaboration between education and industry, and the creation of higher opportunities for small businesses.
NRA CEO Trevor Evans said the retail sector was well-places as a mostly unregulated sector to lead the innovation drive.
“Retail is already at the forefront of digital disruption and global change. While it has faced great challenges since the introduction of ecommerce, retailers who are now flourishing have done so by recognising and taking advantage of new technologies in order to grow alongside changing behaviours and greater consumer demands,” Mr Evans said.
“The measures announced today will give Australian retailers far greater potential to not only participate in ideas collaboration and risk-taking, but to invest in and influence the ensuing change in national culture.”
Mr Evans said a number of measures announced today will foster retail entrepreneurship and growth, including tax breaks for capital investment in start-ups, the relaxing of government procurement procedures to all SMEs to offer innovative solutions, giving extra support for incubators for small businesses, and the creation of initiatives to promote collaboration between universities and industry.
“The retail businesses of the future, which create jobs, economic growth and prosperity for all Australians, will rely on innovation being actively encouraged and facilitated by the government.
“We congratulate the Federal Government on focussing so much of this package towards fostering growth in the small business sector, which is essential for job creation and overall economic prosperity across Australia.
“This package shows that our government has recognised that in order to remain prosperous in a changing global economy, we must put business, science, education and innovation at the heart of policy making now and into the future,” he said.
Trevor Evans is avaialable for interview. Please contact the NRA’s media unit on (07) 3221 9222 or 0447 755 893. NB Mr Evans is currently in Canberra and as such, is also available for television interviews in Canberra.