One thing retailers do exceptionally well is create jobs for hundreds of thousands of Australians – many of whom are in the youth category. Around one quarter of all employed young people are in the retail sector. These jobs help supplement their schooling or tertiary education, gear up for overseas adventures, save up for home […]
As you’re all aware, last Friday the Fair Work Commission (FWC) raised the national minimum wage by 3.5 per cent effective from July 1 2018. The FWC, the ACTU and other supporters of this decision seem to think that retail owners are swimming in cash at the moment. They must be living under a rock. […]
The old adage, fake it till you make it, tends not to apply to those cheap wares that are undeniably similar to ones from some of the world’s biggest luxury brands. British fashion house Burberry has this week lodged in New York a whopper lawsuit against Target for allegedly selling copycat Burberry wares, after it […]
As many of you are discovering the hard way, Facebook’s seismic algorithm shift in January has left even some of the best-performing retailers in a race to the bottom on their organic reach. Additionally, many retailers are also finding their paid spend has been rising incrementally and consistently in price, but is losing its power […]
The annual post-budget reporting doesn’t seem to change from year to year – the big winners and big losers, what’s in it for you, who thinks it’s magnificent, and who thinks it’s a load of garbage. However, the Budget itself is always different from ones gone before it, including this one, which is the Government’s […]
Words like relevance and identity have been bandied about NRA headquarters this week like a pack of double-coat Tim Tams, with so many of the big players in the news again. Myer’s still flailing, The Good Guys have lost some serious skin in the electronics category, and Esprit has announced its exiting Australia and New […]
The Meghan Markle Effect has been in full swing for some time, and if you check in with struggling Aussie retailer Oroton, her choice of handbag during a recent outing may have just saved the entire brand from going under. The brand is struggling badly here in Australia and is relatively unknown in the US, […]
The ACTU’s war against employers continues this week, with an outlandish claim that its push for a whopping 7.2 per cent increase to the minimum wage would create 87,000 new jobs over two years. As you know, upping your staff’s wages by $50 per week each is not going to help you create more work […]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has upped the ante on its anti-business crusade, unveiling an alarming six-point plan it believes will lift wages. It’s a plan that’s more likely, however, to send businesses broke and cost Australians their jobs. Industry groups, including the NRA, have warned the unions’ bid for industry-wide bargaining and […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]