Peak retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has advised that, after very slow November Christmas sales, the stimulus package and lower interest rates helped Christmas sales skyrocket in the last weeks of December to meet early projections of $37 billion nationally in retail sales. Food retail was not surprisingly at the top of the tree as consumers got into the festive spirit. In fact, food sales accounted for more than one third of retail sales over the period. According... ...Read more »

New research released in the December ARA Australian Retailers Index revealed a five percentage point jump in confidence among SME retailers, after consistent falls in confidence levels since November 2007.Australian Retailers Association Executive Director Richard Evans said the December ARA Australian Retailers Index showed marked improvement for SME retailers with increases in key economic indicators, but warned the retailers’ attitudes were still being affected by ‘gloom and doom’... ...Read more »

Peak retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) said the 7.5 per cent jump in December Westpac Consumer Sentiment figures released today was great news for retailers who expected strong growth to return to the sector by September in 2009. According to ARA Executive Director, Richard Evans, the jump in consumer sentiment from 85.5 in November to 92 in December suggests consumers are finally realising the current economic crisis is a crisis of confidence. “With petrol prices... ...Read more »

Peak retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has welcomed the Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services’ report on the inquiry into the Franchising Code of Conduct tabled in parliament yesterday. Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, Bernard Ripoll, flagged two major changes to the Code. “To assist the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in its enforcement role, the committee recommends the introduction... ...Read more »

Peak retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) said new research released today in the ARA Retail Christmas Expectations Survey showed retailers are cautiously optimistic about trading during the holiday season, with 43% expecting sales to be the same or better than last year’s record trade. ARA Executive Director Richard Evans said the ARA Retail Christmas Expectations Survey indicated over 59 per cent of those retailers who were optimistic about the 2008 Christmas trading... ...Read more »

Peak retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has advised that new research, which suggests employee theft costs Australian retailers almost $3 billion per year, shows the traditional approach of protecting assets from external shoplifters only gets half the job done.ARA Executive Director Richard Evans said internal theft contributing to over half of the $5.8 billion (or two percent of turnover) expected to be written off as retail shrinkage this year could be minimised with... ...Read more »

Peak retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), in its final opportunity to present to the full bench of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC), today submitted a costings analysis of the draft modern retail award, indicating an average 14 per cent wage bill increase for retailers across Australia.ARA Executive Director Richard Evans said this is an unnecessary financial imposition on retailers who are already struggling with the tightening economic environment.... ...Read more »

Peak retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has applauded the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) decision to further cut the cash rate by .75 percentage points today. The news of a rate cut is further positive news for the food retail sector, following the release of trend figures for September showing food retailing up 0.6 per cent. Cafes and restaurants, among the hardest hit by the downturn, made a slight comeback - with trend figures climbing 0.2 per cent. ARA Executive... ...Read more »

Peak retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) left optimistic the Rudd Government is providing the leadership needed to respond to the global financial crisis following the Small Business Summit on Friday, but added that more could be done to help small business. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Small Business Minister Dr Craig Emerson announced a number of new measures on Friday including: 1. Small Business Support and Advice during the financial crisis from Business Enterprise... ...Read more »

Peak retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) yesterday called on retailers to get involved with environmental debates, including the proposed emissions trading scheme and plastic bag bans. Speaking to an auditorium of over 300 at the Future’s So Bright Green conference, ARA Executive Director Richard Evans encouraged retailers to embrace the opportunity in the challenge to ‘go green’ by engaging with governments. “Whether you agree with the science... ...Read more »