Peter Strachan, Berwick Leader January 30, 2013 http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader BERWICK businesses should stop living in the 1950s and realise customers expect them to open year round, Berwick Village Chamber of Commerce secretary Harry Hutchinson has warned. Mr Hutchinson said far too many village traders lost valuable sales by closing for Christmas and not re-opening until well into the new year. “I was horrified at the number of businesses that closed. Some didn’t even wait for Christmas and one I know of closed ahead of the three most valuable shopping days of the year,” Mr Hutchinson said. He said there was a need to re-focus and provide real competition for city traders and major centres. “You wouldn’t see them closing on Boxing Day or any other day of the year they didn’t have to,” he said. “This is not a time to miss sales by taking time off.” Crema Caf aac proprietor…

Damon Kitney January 30, 2013 The Australian THE Australian operations of Silicon Valley-based technology company Better Place look set to be dramatically scaled back or even abandoned after the surprise resignation of its global chief, Australian entrepreneur Evan Thornley, following a boardroom dispute over strategy. Better Place released a statement a fortnight ago saying Mr Thornley had quit after three months in the job. Mr Thornley said in a note to staff at the time that “in recent times, strong and honestly held differences have emerged at the most senior levels of the company about how we best take the company forward”. “I do not wish to be a barrier to that unity and so will step down and let the company transition to new leadership,” he said. It is understood Mr Thornley favoured pushing on with the rollout of Better Place’s electric car recharge network in Australia, China and…

Jason Dowling January 30, 2013 The Age SMOKING would be banned in all public spaces in the City of Melbourne, including Bourke Street, City Square and even footpaths, under a radical proposal to make the city healthier and more attractive to visitors while reducing ambiguity for smokers. The move would make smoking bans in Melbourne some of the toughest in the world. The ban is being pushed by newly elected councillor Richard Foster, who said reducing the impact of smoking was an important cause for a progressive city such as Melbourne. ”I will very shortly be calling for a complete smoking ban across Melbourne,” Councillor Foster said. ”The ban would extend to any public place that could in no way be considered a private place, so basically anything that is not private land, so that would include alfresco dining areas, outside office blocks, anything like that,” he said. There had…

Jane Harper January 30, 2013 News Limited Network RETAIL giant Wesfarmers says record customers levels over the crucial Christmas period had boosted sales across all the group’s businesses. Managing director Richard Goyder said a strong performance from supermarket Coles, hardware store Bunnings and discount department store Kmart were particularly pleasing. Total sales at Coles hit $18.3 billion in the six months to December, up 4.7 per cent from the same period in the previous year, while food and liquor sales were up 5 per cent to $14.3 billion. Key like-for-like food and liquor sales, which strip out the impact of stores that have opened or closed, were up 3.8 per cent for the six months. Coles managing director Ian McLeod said the store’s five-year turnaround project to improve quality, service and value had attracted more customers and benefited suppliers through higher volumes. “The response to our initiatives has been encouraging,…

Eli Greenblat January 30, 2013 The Age DISCOUNT retailer Costco has underscored its threat to supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles by posting its maiden annual profit in Australia. It has also received a further $50 million from its American parent to bankroll an aggressive push. Costco opened the first of its warehouse stores in Australia four years ago. Operating last year out of three stores, in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra, Costco managed to more than double its revenue to $609.5 million as shoppers warmed to its club membership model and bulk purchases of everything from whitegoods, fish and furniture, to hearing aids and French wine. With another three warehouse stores under construction or awaiting planning approval, Costco has sent a clear warning to the supermarket heavyweights, German discounter Aldi and the struggling convenience store sector that it is rushing towards $1 billion in annual sales in Australia. The threat to…

Rob Lyon January 29, 2013 AskMen Can you guess what the worst traditionally ‘Aussie’ junk foods are? Here are the top five. (And yes, Tim Tams made the list!) We all remember back to those carefree days of our childhood. Playing out in the streets until dark, spending weekends down at the beach or park, and stuffing our faces with whatever we could get our hands on. It seemed like we spent our entire preteen years surviving on nothing but meat pies, red frogs and cans of Fanta. Fast forward a few years and all of a sudden we are hit in the face with the deadly combination of a slower metabolism and less recreational exercise. Now, what we eat counts. No longer can we get away with eating how we did as a kid. Sure, the junk foods we all seem to love and crave can be eaten sparingly,…