A price to pay for terrorism insurance
Retailers, especially those operating in the CBD, could face a
significant hike in insurance premiums should the Terrorism
Insurance Bill 2002 come into effect by June 30, as is proposed by
the Federal Government.
The Bill, introduced late last year, has had its First Reading,
and is now being examined by a Senate Economics Committee. This
follows a request by the the Labor Opposition seeking clarification
of certain aspects of the Bill, such as the relevance of involving
SMEs.
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DJ profit up 18%
An 18% profit rise to $32 million (after tax), has been recorded
by David Jones Ltd for the first half of financial year 2003.
Net profit after tax in line with post-significant items (pre
preference share dividend) was $27.4 million.
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E-tailers face market slowdown
The online retail market in Australia and worldwide is not so far
providing a major impetus for sales growth, according to the PA
Consulting Group’s recent e-tail survey.
And the results raise concerns for many e-tailers, says Alastair
Charatan, who heads up PA's e-retail group.
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ACCC warns telco businesses
Telecommunication businesses making misleading advertising claims
are a high priority for Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission action, ACCC Commissioner responsible for consumer issues,
Jennifer McNeill, warns.
The ACCC is stepping up its campaign against misleading claims in
this important economic sector, she told business and consumer groups
at the recent launch of Fair Call, an advertising guide for
telecommunications businesses.
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Voice-picking catches on in NZ
New Zealand-based Mainfreight is embracing the latest IT supply
chain initiatives to help drive its growing local and international
operations.
The integrated transport and third-party logistics (3PL) provider
is introducing new IT systems at several of its operations to improve
supply chain visibility and ensure best practice service levels.
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15% profit rise by Harvey Norman
Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd has reported a consolidated operating
profit of $122.44 million for the six months to last December against
$100.86 million previously.
This figure is before tax and exclusion of minority interests in
Pertama Holdings Ltd and Rebel Sport Ltd.
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Price glitch sparks blitz
An internet website was closed for almost an hour recently after
it was deluged with orders for a computer mistakenly priced at £7.32.
Shoppers thought it was too good to be true when they saw the
Amazon UK website's price tag for the Hewlett Packard pocket computer
that normally costs £275. Another model, which usually sells
for £500, was advertised at £23.04.
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Pressure mounts for TPC reform
The National Association of Retail Grocers of Australia (NARGA)
has welcomed Tasmanian Liberal Senator Guy Barnett’s call for
the amendment of section 46 of the Trade Practices Act to restore
protection for small business against predatory pricing and other
unfair conduct by big business.
“Senator Barnett’s statement of support for reform of
the Act acknowledges that the recent High Court decision in the Boral
case stripped away protections against misuse of market power,”
NARGA national spokesman Alan McKenzie said today (Monday, March 24).
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National Foods, Spotless join forces
National Foods Limited and Spotless Services Australia Ltd have
agreed to a multi-million dollar national reciprocal arrangement
whereby National Foods will supply Spotless' milk requirements and
Spotless will supply full facilities management services to National
Foods.
National Foods will supply Spotless with around 10 million litres
of Pura brand milk a year from its milk plants throughout Australia.
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Quick! Get Smart Tags
Microsoft Australia and Quicken Australia have unveiled the latest
version of the Microsoft Office XP Smart Tags for QuickBooks 2003, a
leading-edge solution specially designed for Australia’s 1.1
million small businesses.
The new technology allows users of Microsoft Office XP to marry
information from QuickBooks financial and business management
software with Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook files without having
to continually exit in and out of these applications.
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Card services in $2.5m pin pad deal
Cadmus Technology Ltd is to supply its new Cadmus EFTPOS terminals
and pinpads to Card Services Australia Pty Ltd (CSA).
The agreement, worth A$2.5 million, will see Cadmus supply CSA
with its new Cadmus CPO2 SCR Pin Pad – complete with EMV
(Europay, Mastercard, Visa) capability – and also provide the
company with its AC4500G Touch Terminal, customised to offer the
merchant mobile phone top up, bill pay and CRM capability.
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Petticoats down and out in UK
Women's petticoats, which once had pride of place in the "shopping
basket" of goods used to measure inflation in the United
Kingdom, have been dropped - so to speak.
London’s Daily Telegraph reports that for the first
time since 1956, this once-vital item of a respectable woman's
wardrobe has been left out of the list of goods and services used to
calculate the Retail Price Index (R.P.I.)
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SMS is A-OK
Arnott’s marketing director David Cross is cock-ahoop about
the success of a campaign that has just generated a staggering 10
million SMS messages.
The campaign, for Arnott’s Snackfoods, is reckoned to have
set a sales record for the Asia Pacific region.
More... |
Close
This bulletin is edited and compiled by retail commentator John Kingsley-Jones.
John has worked as an Editor, Chief Sub-Editor
and journalist in magazines and newspapers both
in Australia and overseas.
In the past 15 years, he has consulted to a
range of companies and brands such as Unilever,
Mars Confectionery, TipTop, Tooheys, McWilliam's
Wines, Goodyear and BMW.
That's it for this issue of the Retail One-Stop. If you
have any questions or comments please give us a call on 02 9419 8356 or email us
on info@eps.net.au.
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