PEAK retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) said retailers could count on some steady improvement in retail sales over the Christmas period, based on 2013 Christmas sales predictions prepared by ARA research partner Roy Morgan Research.

ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman said shoppers would put about $42.1 billion through retail tills from 14 November until 25 December, representing a 3.3 percent gain on sales during the same period in 2012 ($40.7 billion).

"The 3.3 percent growth may result in shoppers starting their Christmas shopping a little earlier this year, rather than leaving it until late December. However, we also know that the week before Christmas will remain the busiest time for pre-Christmas shopping, and therefore the most lucrative time for retailers.

"The ARA is pushing for an interest rate cut in December as retailers are counting on the lead up to Christmas as an opportunity to catch up on past slower retail sales and get back on track financially.

"With 6.2 percent predicted growth, apparel sales indicate an increase in consumer confidence for the Christmas period.  

"Much like 2012, food and hospitality are expected to account for a significant percent of the overall projected figure, while other categories such as department stores and clothing, footwear and personal accessories may rely on last minute Christmas sales and promotions for any significant growth in sales.

"It is encouraging to see all states and territories likely to experience positive growth for the 2013 pre-Christmas shopping period. Tasmania was the only state facing negative growth in 2012, so it is promising to see Tasmania predicted to flourish alongside the other states and territories this year," Mr Zimmerman said.  

Since 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has been the peak industry body representing Australia's $258 billion retail sector, which employs over 1.2 million people. The ARA ensures retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 5,000 independent and national retail members throughout Australia.

Visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041

NATIONAL resource industry employer group AMMA – the Australian Mines and Metals Association  – says the Coalition’s legislative bill to restore the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) is a positive move that will help secure the $620 billion of new resource projects in Australia’s investment pipeline.

“Ensuring the rule of law is applied on mega resource sector construction sites is critical to delivering the $620 billion worth of projects currently in Australia’s investment pipeline,” says AMMA chief executive Steve Knott.

“Today’s legislation demonstrates to the global investment community that the rule of law will be upheld in building productive infrastructure in Australia. It sends the message that the significant capital being invested into new projects into our country is not being taken for granted.

“The extension of the ABCC’s jurisdiction to now cover the construction of offshore oil and gas projects, which operate in an ultra-competitive and high exposed marketplace, will help ensure a stable and lawful environment in which more nationally-significant projects can come to life.”

With the ABCC established following recommendations of the Cole Royal Commission, Mr Knott says the previous Labor Government erred when it ignored such findings and dismantled the watchdog in 2012.

“The ABCC has never been a political instrument, it was a law enforcement body specifically recommended by a Royal Commission. Any union complying with the law has nothing to fear from a tough regulator enforcing strong legislative compliance mechanisms,” he says.

AMMA also welcomes the move to address unlawful picketing at building sites, in particular so-called “community picketing” which are often coordinated by building unions to deliberately evade legal regulation of their industrial activities.

“The rights of our nation’s citizens to demonstrate peacefully in support of legitimate social and community concerns are too often undermined by a union ‘rent-a-crowd’ actually pushing industrial agendas and illegally disrupting important economic activity,” Mr Knott says.

“It is well beyond time that those unions which regularly engage in anti-social militancy, thuggery and intimidation accept that they are not above the rule of Australia’s workplace laws.

“The restoration of a tough regulator on Australia’s construction sites is long overdue. The resource industry calls on all members of parliament to act quickly and decisively in supporting this legislation.”

www.amma.org.au

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CUA, Australia’s largest customer-owned financial institution and Tata Consultancy Services (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS), a leading global IT Services, Business Solutions and Consulting firm, have successfully implemented a new core banking system, ensuring CUA’s capability to provide better priced, more flexible and innovative products and services to customers into the future.

CUA and TCS also simultaneously launched CUA’s new Online Banking service, using TCS BaNCS software.

According to Sue Coulter, General Manager, Business Transformation and Core Banking Project Director, this significant project underpins the company’s growth and transformation strategy as well as further strengthening its position as a leader among its peers and as a genuine challenger in the Australian financial services market.

“Our new core banking system provides a single integrated approach across all consumer banking products, including transaction banking, lending, mortgages and deposits, as well as online and mobile access. This level of real-time integration places CUA in a leading position within the retail banking industry in Australia.

“This hasn’t just been a large technology project; it has been the driver of significant business transformation. The replacement of a core banking system is an incredibly complex project and for an organisation of our size to manage such a smooth systems transition in tandem with the launch of a new Online Banking service is a great achievement,” said Ms Coulter.

Chris Whitehead, Chief Executive Officer, CUA, said, “Our extensive preparations – while certainly demanding on our people who balanced them against the continued delivery of business as usual – proved invaluable and we now have a system that gives us the flexibility we need for the future.

“Immediately following the transition of our systems, our priority was to ensure stabilisation and be available to assist our customers with any enquiries. We have worked hard to manage a few system changes to some of our payments and processes and have kept our customers fully informed every step of the way,” he said.

Like many financial institutions in Australia, CUA’s previous core banking system was over 20 years old.

The decision to replace it with a modern, scalable and configurable TCS BaNCS system ensures we will be able to improve internal processes and efficiencies, facilitate enhanced customer service and enable the development of better, more flexible products.

Colin Sword, Country Head, TCS Financial Solutions – Australia and New Zealand, said, “We are pleased to go live with our TCS BaNCS software solution at CUA. TCS BaNCS will assist CUA to automate its banking processes and provide best-in-class customer service, thereby maximising operational efficiency and minimizing risk. CUA’s new Online Banking platform will also provide customers with a modern, new look coupled with an easy to navigate Online Banking experience. I would like to congratulate CUA and the team on this transformation success.”

Across the duration of the project, the teams from CUA and TCS also worked closely with Cuscal which provided technical support and systems testing as well as critical support over the systems’ transition.

According to Mr Whitehead, CUA expects its new core banking system to bring significant customer and business benefits over the long term.

“The initial improvements from our new system are largely internally focused, including improved internal efficiencies, more user friendly and intuitive interfaces and streamlined processes. However, customers are already experiencing better service due to the single holistic view our frontline staff now have of their profile, product and service requirements and we expect to be able to introduce further customer and product improvements later this financial year,” he said.

The first release of CUA’s revamped Online Banking service offers customers an immediate range of improved features and functionality, including updated security via an SMS security code, enhanced menu options and the ability to open an eSaver or Term Deposit account quickly and easily.

Mr Whitehead concluded, “Like our old core banking system, our previous Web Banker system served us well, but was unable to meet our customers’ needs for the future. Our new Online Banking service gives us a platform to make ongoing feature and functionality improvements and we are already working on a range of short and long-term upgrades to ensure we provide the best possible service to our customers.”

About CUA

As Australia’s largest customer-owned financial institution, CUA provides banking services to more than 400,000 Australians across the country and is emerging as a competitive force in Australian banking. CUA is 100% owned by its customers, not shareholders, with profits reinvested back in to the business in the form of more competitive products, better interest rates and lower fees. For more information, please visit: www.cua.com.au

About Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS)

Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that delivers real results to global business, ensuring a level of certainty no other firm can match. TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT, BPS, infrastructure, engineering and assurance services. This is delivered through its unique Global Network Delivery Model, recognised as the benchmark of excellence in software development. A part of the Tata group, India’s largest industrial conglomerate, TCS has over 285,250 of the world’s best-trained consultants in 44 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of US $11.6 billion for year ended March 31, 2013 and is listed on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange in India.

For more information, visit us at www.tcs.com

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The Search Party has announced the world's first candidate Marketplace, which will transform how employers recruit talent. The Search Party connects Australian employers with the best qualified candidates quickly and cost effectively.

Employers can search a pool of the best qualified candidates and get connected to recruiters who can then arrange an introduction. At launch the talent pool has close to two million certified candidate profiles represented by agencies that have been handpicked to join.

Distinct from existing online recruitment networks that have been growing in popularity, Marketplace candidates are validated by recruitment professionals before organisations see their profiles. Australian employers at launch include two major international telecommunications companies, two out of the big four accounting firms, and one of the world's biggest technology companies.

"The current employment models are out of date and broken," said Jamie Carlisle, CEO - The Search Party.

 "Having the right people working in your business is one of the biggest priorities for all organisations. Yet it takes employers on average 81 days to hire a candidate at a cost of $15K per person. The Search Party provides a solution that is focused on what's important - finding great talent, quickly and cost effectively. We've built an online marketplace that gives employers access to deep knowledge on candidates by using the expertise of the best recruitment agencies to screen candidates. Alongside this we've designed a powerful search and a management function that makes sure only the most relevant candidates are viewed so employers don't get inundated with CVs."

Ben Hutt, Chief Financial & Operating Officer - The Search Party said, "in less than 10 weeks The Search Party has managed to capture 20 per cent of CVs in the Australian workforce and the candidate pool is growing 10 per cent week-on-week. We expect to have the vast majority of the Australian workforce in Marketplace by the end of 2014, represented by some of the most successful agencies in the country. The Search Party is looking to re-shape the global recruitment industry and will open a number of offices across the globe, starting with London in January 2014."

Paul Lyons, Managing Director - Ambition, Australia said, "the recruitment industry is ripe for change. Its business models are failing with our Clients not placing the same value as us on the work we do, especially where we are working competitively and only get paid when we place candidates.

"We need a new solution that will help us deliver better results for our clients and The Search Party's new approach is a game-changer for us. It allows us to focus on what we're good at which is building relationships with great talent and filling live job vacancies - all in a pricing model that's a win for both recruiters and employers."

The Marketplace's collaborative approach allows recruiters or hiring managers in the organisations access to a vast talent pool represented by top agencies at no cost. Employers can pick the candidates they want to meet, determine commercial terms with an agency and arrange interviews, all in the Marketplace. If employers don't find the right candidate there's no cost, and if they want guarantee periods these can be agreed.

About Jamie Carlisle - The Search Party, CEO

Jamie Carlisle is CEO and founder of The Search Party. He has over 10 years' experience managing leading technology start-ups as well as experience as a senior recruitment manager. Carlisle is a serial entrepreneur with a talent for using technology to solve real world problems. He started his first business at 19, and has been involved with a number of successful start-ups over the years including Spreets.com which was acquired by Yahoo!7 for $40 million, and GroupByWhat a group buying analytics platform. Carlisle has spent over three years with The Search Party and is responsible for technology, innovation and driving business growth and success.

Carlisle has held a number of high profile online positions, including Manager of National Brands for ReachLocal in the UK and Australia. He was Head of Social Media and SEO at Spreets.com in Australia before founding The Search Party.

He has firsthand experience of the recruitment industry and has held managerial positions in the UK at both Waters Barnes Associates (2007/2009), and Michael Page International (2006/7) where he started a new division.

Carlisle has a passion for neuropsychology, which he studied at UCL in London, and has a skill for taking academic theory into real world social-business situations. He is vocal about education reform and believes that the current conventional systems are failing to maximise the potential of young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

About Ben Hutt - The Search Party, Chief Financial & Operating Officer

Ben Hutt is Chief Financial & Operating Officer of The Search Party. He has over 15 years' experience in management consulting and problem solving with top-tier firms including Macquarie Group and PwC Consulting. Prior to The Search Party, Ben worked in a range of different roles in his five years at Macquarie Group, the last two of which were spent building an international team focused on delivering improved cost efficiency across the group.

Hutt is a perennial business problem solver and an expert in improving productivity. He began his career analysing call centre productivity and the impact of changes in technology for one of Britain's banks, whilst completing his final year thesis as a Psychology undergraduate. After that he spent three years at PwC consulting working for financial services and telecommunications clients in Europe, the UK and North America.

www.thesearchparty.com

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