With Budget 2018 looming large, both corporate and personal tax cuts are firmly on the agenda. While the debate has been raging for some time on cutting the company tax rate for all firms from 30 cents in the dollar to 25 per cent by 2026 – there’s (unsurprisingly) far less furore surrounding the Treasurer’s […]
How many bags of groceries end up in the bin at your house each year? According to Foodwise.com.au, we throw out a mammoth 20 per cent of the food we buy – around one in five bags. That’s 345kg per household (the weight of three average-sized fridges), at an average cost of well over $1,000 […]
Gift cards are back on the agenda this week, with the New South Wales Government’s new legislation to introduce mandatory three-year minimum expiry dates set to kick in this Saturday, March 31. While we were naturally not a great supporter of this move, the NRA’s extensive track record of collaborative consultation with governments on all […]
When you argue for a 0 per cent rise in the minimum wage, you’re likely to attract a fair share of criticism, and over the past seven days, we certainly have. But in making such a controversial submission to the Annual Wage Review last week, we also brought an important conversation to the fore, highlighting […]
Our very own CEO, Dominique Lamb, joins a panel of experts in this OnDemand webinar on The Future of Loss Prevention. This is a key topic of interest for all retailers across industries at the moment, partly due to the Global Retail Theft Barometer’s recent stats on how retail shrinkage is on the rise due […]
Spanish fashion and accessories retailer Zara has announced it is launching an online shopping option for Australian consumers from March 14, and is rolling out free delivery (as well as click and collect) and free returns. It’s a move likely to at least rattle the immense market dominance of its online-only Australian competitor, The Iconic, […]
The National Retail Association (NRA) has today thanked the Queensland government for passing an amendment to allow non-exempt shops in regional Queensland to trade on Easter Saturday. In January the NRA identified that an amendment to the Trading (Allowable Hours) Act would result in many large retailers being forced to close their doors for four […]
The retail trade figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today revealed that sales for January remained sluggish but were an improvement on the December 2017 slump. The ABS figures show that retail turnover rose by 0.1 per cent seasonally adjusted in January, following a drop of 0.5 per cent in December last […]
Chemist Warehouse’s Jack Gance, Catch CEO Nati Harpaz, The Iconic COO Anna Lee… the list of industry heavyweights sharing their insights into the modern retail landscape during Inside Retail Live 2018’s three-day Melbourne event was staggering. I was honoured to be invited to panel alongside former Myer CEO Bernie Brookes and Blindspots author Bec Brideson […]
Actress and businesswoman Kate Hudson has spent the past week in Australia with the female support and entrepreneurship membership group, Business Chicks, where she attracted a sold out crowd at each of her three lunch events in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The 39-year-old addressed around 5,000 people while she was here, and spent a considerable […]
It is with great pleasure I announce that the NRA Legal team has grown by one, with Lindsay Carroll joining us as Legal Practice Manager. Lindsay brings to NRA Legal significant legal and practical expertise on managing workplace relations strategy and risk. Lindsay started her working life in retail at one of Australia’s biggest discount […]
The Christmas trading figures are in, with total sales for the entire Christmas period – the second half of November and all of December – reaching $47.5 billion. This closely compares with the $48 billion that the NRA forecast for the Christmas trade period and is a record high for the Australian retail sector. It’s […]
Every Thursday, our CEO Dominique Lamb, and a panel of retail experts discuss Australia’s retail industry on ABC Radio. Below are some insights from last Thursday’s discussion. Pizza Hut is offering old-school experiences with a modern twist Over the past couple of decades, Pizza Hut lost a foothold in the Australian market. But the strategists […]
As the March 31 implementation date nears for a minimum three-year validity on all gift cards sold to consumers in NSW, the State Government has agreed to give retailers a six-month transition period in which you can further run-down your existing stocks. The NSW Office of Fair Trading will allow retailers over the transition period […]
Last Thursday, our CEO Dominique Lamb, and a panel of retail experts discussed the future of Australia’s grocery industry on ABC Radio. Below are some insights from the discussion. While the lower end of the grocery market dominated by Aldi, and Coles and Woolworths dominate the mainstream market, David Jones has seized the opportunity at […]
The push for a nation-wide ban on single-use plastic bags has been underway for such a long time, it’s exciting to see it finally becoming a reality, with each state pursuing its own legislative amendments, and bans already implemented or pending in all states and territories except NSW. Other environmental legislation underway includes container deposit […]
Why are department stores struggling? A Retail Panel Podcast NRA CEO, Dominique Lamb, joins Steve Austin, Christine Moody, and Gary Mortimer each week on ABC Radio to discuss and share insights into the retail industry, including technology trends and what it takes to survive in a disruptive environment. This week, the panel discussed how department […]
Consumer confidence is up (although not expected to translate into any giant spending sprees anytime soon), and people are feeling more positive about the outlook for the economy and the jobs market, according to the Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index. Whether measured by Westpac or ANZ, consumer sentiment is at its highest level in more […]
Retailers this week may feel a little like drought-stricken farmers following a drenching, after the Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released its retail trade report for November. The nation enjoyed a rather robust jump of 1.2 per cent in total sales to $26.4 billion – three times the market forecast of 0.4 per cent – […]
Retailers naturally love a bustling store environment, but following 2017’s frenetic pre-Christmas rush and Boxing Day madness, on the back of what seemed like an entire year of uncertainty, it may be time for a little rest and reboot! 2017 certainly threw us a few curveballs – from the absurd politicisation of the penalty rates […]