Ug shares in $166 million jackpot
Subject to the approval of the Foreign Investment Review Board,
the two Australian founders of Quiksilver, the world’s leading
surfwear brand, will share in a $166 million deal by merging their
business with its American associate, Quiksilver Inc.
Alan Green and John Law launched the brand at Torquay, Victoria in
1970, and sold off licences to various regions in the ensuing years.
The brand now holds a 38% share of the industry, achieving annual
revenue of nearly $US1 billion.
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Big W trials NCR FastLane
Big W will welcome the Year 2003 by becoming the first retail
chain in Australia to trial the revolutionary NCR FastLane
self-checkout system at two of its NSW stores, Pagewood and Warringah
Mall.
Each of the stores will have four NCR FastLane self-checkouts and
one attendant station the pilot will run for 12 months.
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Metcash net profit soars 43% to $38m
Net profit for Metcash Trading Ltd soared a hefty 43% to $38
million in the 26 weeks to October 31.
The result was struck on a 21% surge in sales to $3.2 billion for
the half –year with most of the gains resulting in a higher
market share in both supermarket and convenience store markets.
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Harris Scarfe (H.S.) – reborn and ready for action
By Andrew Allan*
In early to mid 2001, the long-term future had seemed very
uncertain for Adelaide-based Harris Scarfe, then Australia’s
third largest department store with 35 stores and around 3000 staff.
An over-ambitious expansion in a difficult retail trading climate
combined with serious maladministration problems led to
Administrators being called in.
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Large-screen windows for mobile workers
Australian company eInfo Solutions has launched a handheld device,
the Myfriend, which offers the advantages of deploying mobile
computing solutions.
To date, deployment of mobile data technology has been restricted
by screen size, and therefore redevelopment of software is required.
More... |
Trip-and-slip ruling affects retailers
By Stephen Pallavicini*
The NSW Court of Appeal delivered judgment in three trip and slip
cases on November 4. They were Burwood Council v Byrnes, , RTA v
McGuinness; and Richmond Valley Council v Standing which quite
clearly state that pedestrians have an obligation to take care for
their own safety. Whilst the cases deal with the duty of care owed by
public authorities, the comments applied by the Court of Appeal can
equally be applied to shopping centres as the Court is continuing to
put limits on the scope of reasonable foreseeability.
In the Burwood Council case the plaintiff tripped over a concrete
paver on a council footpath and fell. One paver had sunk more than
the other pavers resulting in a height difference of 20mm.
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Asda loses in ‘grotesque’ dispute
A complaint brought by British supermarket chain Asda against a
former employee has been dismissed by the World Intellectual Property
Organisation (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Centre Administrative
Panel.
Paul Kilgour registered the domain name “asdasucks.net”
on July 23, 2001 while an Asda employee. At that time, he was
operating a website connected to another of his domain names
“asdasucks.co.uk”.
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Melbourne goes harbourside – with Newquay
Melbourne’s first harbourside eating, drinking and shopping
precinct, NewQuay, officially opened on Tuesday, (November 28) with a
gala waterfront party for 500 VIP guests, and for 11 days from
November 28, NewQuay will see roving entertainment, water-based
activities, fireworks and free daily performances by some of
Australia’s best musical talent.
NewQuay’s collection of restaurants, bars and retailers will
also be staging a succession of special events throughout the opening
and the duration of Summer.
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Watch out for copy-protected CDs
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is
warning shoppers to be cautious when buying CDs.
The warning follows advice from a major record label that it has
launched copy protection measures on some CDs released in Australia
from Monday, November 18.
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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