‘Raise prices now and blame carbon tax’ advice foolish, says CEO

July 4, 2012 The Age The parent company of Brumby’s has apologised over carbon tax advice given to the bakery franchisees, saying it was foolish and ill-considered. The advice from Brumby’s managing director, Deane Priest says stores can make more money by raising prices now, because people will blame the carbon tax. “We are doing an RRP (recommended retail price) review at present which is projected to be in line with CPI (consumer price index), but take the opportunity to make some moves in June and July,” Mr Priest wrote in the June edition of Backmix, an internal newsletter. “Let the carbon tax take the blame, after all, your costs will be going up due to it.” Retail Food Group chief executive Tony Alford said in a statement to the stock exchange today the comments “were not sanctioned and are of significant concern to the board”. “Following thorough investigation of…

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Coles accused of Irish-made bread ‘con’

PIA AKERMAN The Australian July 05, 2012 JEFF Kennett has declared war on Coles, demanding the consumer watchdog investigate the supermarket giant for “deceptive” behaviour by selling imported bread. The former Victorian premier angrily attacked Coles on radio this morning and declared he was writing to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission asking for an inquiry into the supermarket’s “predatory” behaviour and labelling of its Cuisine Royale bread. Mr Kennett said the bread was advertised as “baked today” in-store, but small print on the back of the pack revealed it was made in Ireland. “This is a con,” he said on Neil Mitchell’s 3AW program. “I say they are deceptive and misleading in the advertising because it creates the impression that it’s fresh, but it is not. “They will say we’ve disclosed that it’s an imported product made in Ireland. You can’t read it but it’s there.” ACCC chair Rod…

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Reduce the juice: how to beat the carbon tax

David Wilson July 5, 2012 the Age Take charge of your energy consumption. The carbon tax could reportedly drive power bills up by 20 per cent. “The one thing that all small businesses need to understand about the carbon tax is that your energy costs will increase and – in some instances – quite considerably,” says the co-director of the environmental group Sustainability at Work, Melissa Houghton. A small business owner gets no direct government compensation. Your only gain is that your “instant asset write-off threshold” rises from $5000 to $6500. Hayley Purbrick has applied heat-reflective paint in order to cool her restaurant and cut down on airconditioning costs. So you might want to take charge of your energy consumption, like Hayley Purbrick, of Tahbilk Winery in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley. Among other measures, Purbrick has applied rust-grey heat-reflective paint in a bid to cool her restaurant whose iron roof stokes…

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Woolies accused by food suppliers

Mark Hawthorne and Madeleine Heffernan July 6, 2012 The Age Woolworths has threatened to remove products from shelves if cost savings are not found. SUPPLIERS to Woolworths claim they have been given two weeks to cut their prices by up to 10per cent or have their goods removed from shelves — with no commitment from the supermarket giant to lower prices to consumers. The squeeze on suppliers — described by one of them as “the most brutal negotiations… in my three decades in the industry” — is being mounted by Woolworths to help fund its price war with Coles. Independent senator Nick Xenophon, an outspoken critic of the combined 80 per cent market share of Woolworths and rival Coles, said yesterday he would be calling for Woolworths to be pulled before a Senate inquiry to explain its actions. Woolworths and Coles are already facing scrutiny from the Australian Competition and…

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Screwdriver brandished in spate of robberies

Michelle Ainsworth Herald Sun July 06, 2012 POLICE are hunting for a man believed responsible for a spate of robberies in the eastern suburbs overnight. A man used a screwdriver to threaten staff at a Mount Waverley convenience store about 5.30pm yesterday. He stole cash from the store at the corner of Waverley and Huntingdale Rds before fleeing. Police believe the same man then robbed a convenience store at the corner of Waverley and Batesford Rds in Malvern East about 1am. Just 15 minutes later he returned to the first store in Mt Waverley and again robbed it. It’s believed the man then headed to Glen Waverley where he held up a convenience store on Blackburn Rd, near Meadow Cres, about 2.30am. In all four robberies the man threatened staff with a screwdriver and stole cash before fleeing. The man is described as aged in his 30s, Caucasian, 175-180cm tall,…

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Several C-store Chains Rank Among STORES Top 100 Retailers

Jul 05, 2012 CSNews WASHINGTON, D.C. — Three convenience store chains have landed on the annual STORES Top 100 Retailers list, with 7-Eleven Inc. snagging the highest ranking at No. 35. Joining the Dallas-based c-store chain are Army Air Force Exchange Services (AAFES) at No. 47 and Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. at No. 76. Coming in at No. 1 on the list is Walmart, followed by Kroger at No. 2 and Target at No. 3. According to the STORES report, 7-Eleven experienced 19.1-percent sales growth last year, while AAFES saw a slight decrease in sales growth of 0.1 percent and Couche-Tard posted 16.6-percent sales growth in 2011. Specifically, the report put 7-Eleven’s 2011 U.S. retail sales at $10,361,000; AAFES’s sales at $8,228,000; and Couche-Tard’s at $4,867,000. The report also noted that AAFES is among a few one-of-a-kind-retailers on the Top 100 list. The company operates base and post exchanges, which include…

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