JANE HARPER MAY 28, 2014 HERALD SUN THE new head of Coles has vowed to keep loading the cannons in the supermarket price war, claiming the chain will push hard to cut prices further in the next five years. Unveiling his growth blueprint on Wednesday, John Durkan also threw down the gauntlet to rival Woolworths over its longstanding “fresh food people” strategy, saying Coles would ramp up its own fresh offerings. And he declared he would overhaul the group’s liquor businesses — Liquorland, First Choice and Vintage Cellars — cutting the number of products on offer and removing clutter in the stores. Speaking at a Wesfarmers’ strategy briefing on Wednesday, Mr Durkan gave the first insights into his plan for the next phase of Coles’ turnaround. The Coles chief operating officer, who will replace Ian McLeod as managing director on July 1, said there would be no let-up in the…

Peter Taylor 29 May 2014 The Guardian The industry now claims to be more socially responsible, yet it is suing countries around the world that try to introduce plain packaging Thirty years ago, after making a series of controversial documentaries on smoking, including Dying for a Fag (1975) and A Dying Industry (1980), I wrote Smoke Ring: the Politics of Tobacco, outlining an industry denying the medical evidence linking cigarettes to deadly diseases with a smokescreen of deception and lies. For many years, the tobacco industry’s response to questions on health was that it was not qualified to comment. That was British American Tobacco’s line when I interviewed one of its executives, Alan Long, in Brazil in 1980. “I am not a medical man and therefore cannot offer a medical opinion,” he told me. “I am, of course, aware that there is a very substantial controversy in this area.” On…

RICHARD GLUYAS MAY 29, 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN IN February 2012, Australian Egg Corporation managing director James Kellaway called together the nation’s top 25 producers at the Mercure Hotel at Sydney Airport to discuss an “oversupply crisis”. Mr Kellaway didn’t need to tell his members they had a problem — prices had fallen through the floor, affecting industry ­returns. However, the short-term ­solutions proposed by the AEC chief would create a crisis of a different kind, as yesterday’s Federal Court allegations of cartel conduct demonstrated. According to a 28-page statement of claim lodged by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, one of Mr Kellaway’s PowerPoint slides advised producers to “dispose of eggs by either donating eggs to one or many charity groups or dumping/burying eggs”. “Reduce the number of laying hens by culling birds (there is currently capacity with the major processors). Use of an independent auditor?” the slide continued. “Increase…

MATT CHAMBERS MAY 28, 2014 THE AUSTRALIAN PUMA Energy, an aggressive new entrant into the fuel sector, says it expects more closures in Australia’s rapidly shrinking oil refinery sector, turning the ­nation into Asia’s biggest fuel import market and underpinning up to $250 million of planned infrastructure spending. Puma chief executive Pierre Elardari said recent closure announcements at three east coast refineries in Sydney and Brisbane, and the expectation of more to come, were creating big opportunities for the Swiss company and its compatriot and major shareholder, the trading giant Trafigura. “We import our (refined fuel) products, so we are quite skilled in building logistics and connecting with the international markets,” Mr Elardari told The Australian yesterday at the opening of a $70m fuel import terminal at Mackay. The terminal and storage tanks have been built to service the diesel needs of the Bowen Basin coking coal industry. “That is…

May 28, 2014 CSNews SAVANNAH, Ga. – Greg Parker, president and CEO of The Parker Cos., served as the keynote speaker at the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Awards Luncheon on May 21 at the Omni Hilton Head Oceanfront Resort. During his speech, Parker discussed his experience leading the soon-to-be 35-store Parker’s convenience chain and highlighted seven business themes his company embraces: · Create a Dashboard for Success. “We believe that success doesn’t just happen,” Parker said, noting that his company worships data. “When you make success measureable, you make it achievable.” · Pay Attention to the Female Customer. In most direct consumer businesses, the female customer is the primary decision maker in the family, especially when it comes to time and discretionary dollars. “I believe if you create retail environments that please women, you get everyone else in the process.” · Cultivate Loyalty. “I truly believe…

Elizabeth Knight May 30, 2014 The Age Here are a few random facts on the use of social media. People over 50 are far more likely to post ratings and reviews of products (for example, fridges) and services (hotels and restaurants and holidays), men are more likely than women to do so. And even more random: 17 per cent of men access social media while on the toilet as opposed to 5 per cent of women. At the very least these facts provide some insight on the extent to which research into the usage of social media now drills so deep that it gives new meaning to the notion of big data. Large retailers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars over the past few years developing online strategies, a major part of which is developing social media platforms. But the statistics on how smaller companies use the likes of…