It’s been a big week for the NRA with our spectacular Rewards for Excellence Gala on Wednesday night in Sydney, and former CEO, Trevor Evans MP delivering his Maiden Speech to the Australian Parliament. The 2016 NRA Rewards for Excellence Gala was held on Wednesday night at the Sofitel in Sydney, with the 14 award […]
The re-elected Turnbull Government has this week shown a dawning awareness of the real challenges confronting the Australian economy, with a number of MPs drawing attention to unemployment and faltering economic conditions, particularly in regional areas. For the retail sector, the difficult trading conditions in some market segments were highlighted by the collapse of two […]
I am very pleased to announce that the National Retail Association has appointed Ms Dominique Lamb as our new Chief Executive Officer. Many of you will already be familiar with Dominique, given her previous role as Principal of the Association’s law firm, NRA Legal. In this position she has worked closely with many members and […]
I’m sure most of us will be well and truly tired of the Federal Election campaign and the wash-up over the weekend, so I was hoping I would be able to use this column to reflect on the winner, and what it means for the retail sector. Of course, there’s not a clear winner and […]
As the Chairman mentioned in last week’s message, we have farewelled CEO Trevor Evans, who has been preselected to contest a seat at the Federal Election on July 2nd. While the National Retail Association is strictly a non-partisan organisation, we do wish Trevor every success. It is important that we have Federal MPs who understand […]
The National Retail Association exists to be a strong voice for the retail sector in the media and with government and policy makers. We are not only Australia’s largest peak body for retailers, but also the most representative – with members across all aspects of the retail, fast food and personal services sectors. We support […]
This week’s Australian Bureau of Statistics results for February showed a continuation of the longer term growth in our sector we have been witnessing for some time now. The headline figures were no doubt disappointing – showing effectively no change from January’s results. However, the annualised growth rates showed a 3.7 per cent increase compared […]
You may have seen some media reporting this week about the upcoming Annual Wage Review of minimum wages, and the National Retail Association’s position leading the discussion on behalf of retailers. I’d like to share with you some of the thinking that informs our submission on this issue each year. As a knee-jerk reaction, it […]
This week, we’ve seen suggestions in the media that recent high-profile collapses like Dick Smith, Masters and Laura Ashley signal that the retail industry is entering a period of ‘doom and gloom’. Negative commentary never helps consumer confidence and retail spending. The National Retail Association has been working hard to point out that retail is […]
NSW and Queensland governments are both looking at banning plastic shopping bags. This issue has long been debated by governments over the years. Some of Australia’s less populous states and territories have already implemented bans of certain types of plastic bags. Bans are a blunt policy response to most problems but, of course, proponents for banning bags […]
Over the past few weeks I’ve spoken with you about the broader national interest after spending time in Canberra, particularly issues surrounding taxation and the Budget. This week, I’d like to focus discussions back towards the association, in order to highlight a number of opportunities we’ve launched for members in coming months, particularly relating to […]
It’s been a week of distractions in business and politics, from the instability of global stock markets to the decision of the Federal Government to abandon the idea of increasing the GST, to a looming Ministerial reshuffle. These are factors that can dent consumer confidence, which has otherwise been improving, so we’re hopeful that things […]
Today’s official retail trade figures for December have confirmed the NRA’s predictions of steady and “sensible” spending by Australian consumers in the lead up to Christmas. The figures showed spending during the pre-Christmas period (the final six weeks of the year) reached $44.63bn – only just above our prediction of $44.5bn. Sales in December grew […]
Federal Parliament resumes next week, with the Government and Opposition both looking to finalise their pitches to voters ahead of the election due later this year. To coincide with the resumption of Parliament, a delegation from the NRA will be in Canberra for meetings with the Prime Minister, Mr Turnbull, as well as a range […]
News this week of Woolworths’ decision to abandon its failing Masters chain has come as no surprise to the retail and business community, after widely-publicised losses. Post-Christmas is a time that traditionally sees retailers assessing their performance, with similar announcements having occurred in January in previous years. While we now add Masters to a shortlist of […]
The Federal Government this week released its innovation package which it hopes will spark an “ideas boom” across Australia. And while most commentary has tended to focus on high-tech industries and emerging technologies, it’s pleasing that the Government realises that ideas and innovation must also be fostered across traditional industries such as retail. Retail is […]
As a business owner or manager, you deal on a daily basis with a wide range of expenses – some large and some small, but each one impacting on your bottom line. And, no doubt you often stop to reflect on the worth of each overhead to your ultimate performance. Membership of an industry association […]
Because Boxing Day falls on a Saturday this year, an extra public holiday was gazetted by the Queensland Government on Monday 28 December. For major retailers in regional areas of Queensland, this meant that they could not open their doors for four consecutive days over the Christmas Period – namely December 25, 26, 27 and […]
Aussies are spending more than ever before but visiting stores less, according to a snapshot of the country’s retail sector released this week. The annual Roy Morgan State of the Nation report this year featured a special focus on retail. It found spending on commodities topped $100 billion for the year to June, with approximately […]
With only five weeks to go until Christmas, we’re well into the swing of the festive season. Last week, we welcomed the New South Wales Government’s landmark decision to allow retailers across New South Wales to open their doors on one of the biggest trading days of the year – Boxing Day. Previously, Boxing […]