Industry News

AAP July 16, 2012 PIE maker Patties Foods expects full year profit to increase by up to seven per cent as it continues to develop new products in the face of difficult trading conditions. The maker of Four ‘n Twenty pies and other famous brands, such as Nannas and Herbert Adams, on Monday said its margins had come under pressure in the supermarket category as the popularity of private label products continued to grow. “The trading environment remains challenging with continuing margin pressure and low consumer sentiment,” Managing Director Greg Bourke said in a trading update. “However, we will continue to invest in developing new, innovative branded products and drive our long-term growth initiatives.” Patties, which recently launched a new chicken parma pie, said it expected net profit after tax (NPAT) for the year to June 30, 2012, to increase by between 4.3 per cent to seven per cent, in…

July 9, 2012 The Age FRANCHISEES have been reminded they are personally liable for their business decisions, even if the advice comes from head office. The warning comes in the wake of last week’s apology from Brumby’s Bakery, after it attracted criticism for advising its members, via an internal newsletter, to raise their prices and ”let the carbon tax take the blame”. The Franchise Council of Australia has sent a memo to its members reminding them of their legal obligations, and the dangers of blaming outside factors such as the carbon tax for raising prices if claims could not be proven. If the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission finds wrongdoing, it can issue warning letters, infringement notices of $6600 or take court action with fines up to $1.1 million. Franchise council executive director Steve Wright said it was a timely reminder for franchisees that they were considered individual businesses under…

Dick Smith July 4, 2012 The Age ‘The evidence shows that by the time most of us get to the check-out, all we really care about is price.’ THE mysterious foreign bid for iconic retailer David Jones has fallen through, but it emphasises the vulnerability of some of our major retailers to cashed-up buyers. With few opportunities for expansion in Europe or America, it is only a matter of time before buyers come knocking on Australian doors. All of which puts into context the position of our dominant supermarket chains, Coles and Woolworths. There has been a lot of fuss recently about their power in the marketplace. Ministers say they are too powerful, while the competition regulator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, says it is investigating. But don’t hold your breath that anything will change any time soon. The truth is that the big retailers are only doing exactly…

CSD Staff Jul 03, 2012 Japan’s second largest c-store chain hits the U.S. market this summer. Lawson, Japan’s second largest convenience store chain, comes to the U.S. this Saturday as the company opens its first two stores in Waikiki, Hawaii. According to Pacific Business News, the two stores will be by the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel and the Moana Surfrider on Kalakaua Avenue. The stores will be managed by a Lawson subsidiary that was created in January. Takeshi Niinami, Lawson CEO, told the press in April he hopes to open 30 to 50 outlets in Hawaii, and the company has goals to further expand to the U.S. mainland.

Chris Zappone July 4, 2012 The Age Retail sales rose more than expected in May as rate cuts and government assistance for students and the carbon tax began flowing into households. Sales for the month rose 0.5 per cent from April, beating the 0.2 per cent increase expected by economists. Retail trade rose in the month to a seasonally adjusted $21.307 billion, compared with a revised $21.199 billion in April, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. The ABS revised the April figure to show a 0.1 per cent increase – making it five consecutive monthly increases and the longest string of rises for the gauge since September 2010. The Reserve Bank slashed interest rates by half a percentage in May, a move it followed up with a further quarter-point cut in June. Both cuts would have helped those repaying variable interest-rate loans. The central bank opted to leave its key…

July 4, 2012 The Age A week at the Gold Coast during school holidays feels like a never-ending series of queues. Long lines to enter theme parks were followed by even longer lines for rides. There were big queues at airports, restaurants, hotel check-ins and check-outs, and taxis after the football. Don’t think this is another rant about woeful customer service. Long queues at tourism attractions are unavoidable when you and thousands of other families go on holiday at the same time and place. But surely one of the great opportunities in Australian business is to kill the queue. Think of it this way: every minute wasted in a queue is a minute of dead time for a service business, and a lost opportunity to get more money out of a customer’s wallet before they leave the store. The 30 minutes spent waiting for a theme-park ride is 30 minutes…