STEINHOFF Asia Pacific Group Holdings Pty Ltd (Steinhoff Asia Pacific) operates a number of high performing retail brands in Australia and New Zealand including Freedom, Fantastic Furniture, Best & Less, Snooze, Harris Scarfe, Plush, OMF, Postie and Bay Leather Republic. 

Group CEO of Steinhoff Asia Pacific, Michael Ford said: “The Steinhoff Asia Pacific business is an independent, profitable and financially strong business delivering positive cash flows.  The business has its own banking facilities here in Australia. 

"Steinhoff Asia Pacific is not party to any of the banking facilities of its parent company Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. In addition, the Steinhoff Asia Pacific business is not dependent on working capital support from our parent company, Steinhoff International N.V.

Mr ford said Steinhoff Asia Pacific continues to work constructively and openly with its local banking partners in Australia.  To reinforce its commitment to the local market and the strength of its local businesses, Steinhoff Asia Pacific has appointed Minter Ellison and Ferrier Hodgson to provide strategic advice in relation to legal, financial and corporate matters.

He said Steinhoff Asia Pacific’s local banking partners supported these appointments. Mr Ford said the appointment of experienced advisors was a prudent step by Australian management in circumstances where its parent company is working through significant uncertainty.  Steinhoff Asia Pacific and its business are not in distress and are trading normally, he said.

Michael Ford added: “For all our brands in the Steinhoff Asia Pacific group, and our 10,000 employees, it is business as usual.  We are now in our peak trading period and have had some exceptionally strong trading across our retail brands. 

"Total system sales (including franchisee sales) across Australia and New Zealand are up 3.1 percent for the 12 months ended 30 November 2017 compared to the same period in the prior year.  And for the month of December so far, System sales are up 12.4 percent compared to the same period last year. 

"These are healthy sales figures for a business group that is clearly performing well.”

www.steinhoff.com.au

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WITH crowds of consumers flooding in-store and website traffic peaking to its highest this year, Boxing Day proved to be another successful day for retailers across the country as the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) tipped this year’s Boxing Day sales to reach $2.4 billion.

Russell Zimmerman, ARA Executive Director, said bricks-and-mortar retailers were happy with the steady stream of customers entering their stores throughout the day and were thankful to shoppers who waited patiently in queues due to the rise in foot-traffic across physical retailers throughout the nation.

“This year the ARA predicted retailers would trade almost $2.4 billion this Boxing Day, and judging by the increase in foot-traffic and shoppers lining outside bricks-and-mortar stores, I think we may have hit the mark,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“Every year Boxing Day crowds seem to grow, however with the growth of online retail the ARA believe many Australians got their bargains online this year, with consumers choosing to click through websites to take advantage of the best sales of the year.”

This Boxing Day, Myer expected to have 1.6 million customers flood through their doors after launching their biggest Stocktake Sale with up to 70 percent off a wide range of brands and products.

“Aussie consumers enjoyed savings across the board this Boxing Day, with 30-50 percent off selected clothing from Cue, MARCS, David Lawrence, Country Road, Seed and French Connection,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“Myer’s super Stocktake Sale also include up to 70 percent  off cookware by Circulon, up to 50% off small appliances and up to 40% off women’s clothing by Mossman, Tommy Hilfiger and Wayne Cooper.”

As Boxing Day is only the start of the sale period, the ARA and Roy Morgan Research expect shoppers to spend $17.9 billion from December 26, 2017 to January 15, 2018.

“We anticipate consumers to continue taking advantage of the best retail sales of the year for the next two or three weeks, both in-store and online,” Mr Zimmerman said.

The category tipped to enjoy the biggest increase in post-Christmas sales over the next three weeks will be the Other Retailing category as the ARA and Roy Morgan have predicted a 4% boost in post-Christmas sales for this category.

“With online shopping accounting for more than 7% of total retail sales and looking to account for 15% in the next five years we believe physical retailers will not be the only retailers to receive an increase in post-Christmas sales,” Mr Zimmerman said.

ARA Boxing Day 2017 sales predictions , December 26, 2017

Boxing Day 2017 sales

[ARA]

ARA and Roy Morgan Research post-Christmas sales predictions

December 26, 2017 – January 15, 2018

2017/2018 Post-Christmas sales growth by category

[ARA / Roy Morgan]

2017/2018 Post-Christmas sales growth by state

[ARA / Roy Morgan]

About the Australian Retailers Association:

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is the retail industry’s peak representative body representing Australia’s $310 billion sector, which employs more than 1.2 million people. The ARA works to ensure retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 7,500 independent and national retail members throughout Australia. For more information, visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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WITH the biggest trading day of the year upon us, retailers across the country are looking for a substantial trade this Boxing Day as the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) predict Australians to spend almost $2.4 billion in just 24 hours.

With the ARA and Roy Morgan forecasting consumers to spend a total of $17.9 billion nationwide from December 26, 2017 to January 15, 2018, Boxing Day traditionally signifies the start of the post-Christmas sales period.

Russell Zimmerman, Executive Director of the ARA said although pre-Christmas sales are usually very strong for retailers, Boxing Day is the pinnacle of retail trade globally, with online and physical retailers preparing for this day months in advance.

“Our annual research with Roy Morgan has identified a 2.9 percent increase in post-Christmas sales this year, and with Boxing Day marking the start of the post-Christmas trading period, retailers across the country are excited that this day has finally arrived,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“Following the back of our post-Christmas predictions with Roy Morgan, the ARA’s analytics team have estimated Aussie shoppers to spend almost $2.4 billion this Boxing Day in-store and online.”

With the NSW Government finally legislating Boxing Day trade across all parts of NSW this year, the ARA expect NSW retailers to see the biggest Boxing Day sales across the nation.

“Due to the new deregulated trading hours in NSW, we predict NSW consumers to spend over $766 million and forecast Victorians to spend roughly $745 million this Boxing Day,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“Physical retailers should be prepared for an onslaught in foot-traffic and online retailers will need to ensure their online functionalities are strong enough for the increased website traffic they will receive across their online and social platforms in the next 24 hours.”

With new global giants entering the Australian retail market, the ARA believe local retailers are putting their front foot forward, adapting to consumer demand and ensuring they are in-line with the increased competitive market.

“As convenience is key for today’s consumers, retailers who have ensured their physical stores are accurately staffed will not only thrive today, but see further growth in the new year,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“Although Boxing Day is known as the biggest day of the year for retail discounts, sales will continue beyond December 26 into the new year, giving shoppers plenty of opportunities to grab a good bargain or two.”

ARA and Roy Morgan Research post-Christmas sales predictions

December 26, 2017 – January 15, 2018

2017/2018 Post-Christmas sales growth by category

[ARA / Roy Morgan]

2017/2018 Post-Christmas sales growth by state

[ARA / Roy Morgan]

About the Australian Retailers Association:

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is the retail industry’s peak representative body representing Australia’s $310 billion sector, which employs more than 1.2 million people. The ARA works to ensure retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 7,500 independent and national retail members throughout Australia. For more information, visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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THE Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and Roy Morgan believe Aussies will continue their summer shopping long after Christmas day, predicting consumers to spend $17.9 billion nationwide from December 26, 2017 to January 15, 2018 and forecasting shoppers to increase their post-Christmas spend by 2.9 percent.

Russell Zimmerman, Executive Director of the ARA, said he is looking forward to a substantial post-Christmas trade as bargain hunters seek out both online and physical retailers for the best deals across the industry.

“Traditionally pre-Christmas sales are an exciting time for retailers, however, post-Christmas sales are that extra cherry on top for many retailers trying to increase their yearly sales and meet targets before they head into the new year,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“With Amazon’s recent Australia launch, we are certain that online retail will be a driving force for post-Christmas sales with the ARA and Roy Morgan forecasting the Other Retailing category to increase by more than 4 percent this year.”

According to the ARA and Roy Morgan’s Annual Post-Christmas Trading Predictions, Other Retailing, Food Retailing and Hospitality Retailing will see the biggest sales growth across the industry this year.

“We are expecting Food Retailing to see a 3.4% spike in sales during the post-Christmas trading period, as many food retailers will be discounting their fresh produce post-Christmas for families spending time at home during the holidays,” Mr Zimmerman said

“Our in-depth research with Roy Morgan also forecasts a 2.8% increase for Hospitality Retailing, as market research has identified the summer holidays are an exciting time for Australians to celebrate the end of the year with their friends at cafés and bars across the country.”

New South Wales will see the strongest post-Christmas sales growth with the ARA and Roy Morgan predicting the region to spend almost $6 billion after Christmas; a 4.2 percent increase in New South Wales sales from last year.

“We are also expecting Victorian retailers to see a 3.3 percent spike in post-Christmas sales this year as Victoria is the fashion capital of Australia,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory are also likely to receive a substantial increase in post-Christmas sales, as Australians across the country will be seeking retail bargains both online and in-store.”

Every year, the ARA proudly partners with Roy Morgan Research to deliver the only professionally researched retail figures in the industry, with proven year-on-year results.

“Although there have been various disruptions to the Australian retail market throughout the year, we look forward to seeing our pre-Christmas and post-Christmas predictions come to fruition when the retail trade figures are released in the new year,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“With online retail accounting for more than 7% of total retail sales, we urge retailers to understand the new technologies available to them, including Roy Morgan’s new Audiences tool which assists retailers in measuring their digital audiences in peak shopping periods like post-Christmas trade.”

ARA and Roy Morgan Research post-Christmas sales predictions

December 26, 2017 – January 15, 2018

2017/2018 Post-Christmas sales growth by category

[ARA / Roy Morgan]

2017/2018 Post-Christmas sales growth by state

[ARA / Roy Morgan]

About the Australian Retailers Association:

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is the retail industry’s peak representative body representing Australia’s $310 billion sector, which employs more than 1.2 million people. The ARA works to ensure retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 7,500 independent and national retail members throughout Australia. For more information, visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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WITH the Australian retail industry employing over 10 percent of the total working population, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) strongly believe that casual workers and their flexible hours are crucial to the survival of retail.

Russell Zimmerman, Executive Director of the ARA, said restricting casual employment would only bring further challenges to Australian retailers who are already facing a difficult operating environment.

“With the Christmas period coming to an end, and crowds of shoppers entering stores across the country during increased trading hours, the flexibility of casual retail employees is crucial,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“Last week we saw foot-traffic increase by 13 percent year-on-year, and without the flexibility of casual employees, Australian retailers would not have been able to staff their stores adequately during the busiest time of the year.”

The ARA believe retailers see employees as a vital part of their business, and therefore know retailers would be happy to offer a fixed number of hours to part-time employees, however Mr Zimmerman continues to stress the importance of flexibility needed in the sector.

“If the unions want permanent employment, then we would need to see more flexibility around the hours of work, and the notification period of roster changes for part-time employees,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“Under the current General Retail Industry Award (GRIA) retailers are restricted in their ability to offer additional hours to part-time employees, and must provide part-time employees seven days written notice if there will be any changes to the roster.

“With unpredictable trading hours in the industry, retailers need to be able to add hours to staff without paying overtime penalties, especially during busy trading periods like Christmas.”

The ARA understands from various retailers that the majority of casual staff enjoy the flexibility in choosing their own hours, and would like to maintain their casual loading as casual staff are adequately compensated for their type of employment.

“Last minute changes always arise in retail and if retailers need to provide their staff seven days notice for each change to the roster, the sector will begin to suffer,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“With ongoing challenges affecting the retail industry and rising energy costs, small and medium retailers will not have the capability to give the required notice to part-time employees and would then end up staffing their stores themselves.”

The ARA believe the existing GRIA provisions around part-time employees and the inefficiencies around Enterprise Bargaining Agreements (EBA)s emphasise the necessity of casual employees.

“This ploy is just another example of the unions losing the fight before the Fair Work Commission,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“The unions already ran a case to convert casual retail employees to permanent retail employees after six months, and the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission assessed the case and unanimously rejected it.

“The unions need to understand the Fair Work Commission was established as the independent umpire, by former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, when she was Minister for Employment, and the unions must accept the decision of the Full Bench,” Mr Zimmerman said.

About the Australian Retailers Association:

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is the retail industry’s peak representative body representing Australia’s $310 billion sector, which employs more than 1.2 million people. The ARA works to ensure retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 7,500 independent and national retail members throughout Australia. For more information, visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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THE Australian Retailers Association (ARA) welcomes the announcement from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to re-authorise an amended Casual Mall Licensing Code of Practice (Code) today. The Code in its current form has led to a number of issues for retailers and the unfair introduction of external competitors to shopping centres across the country.

The ARA’s long running campaign to change the Code has resulted in a victory for retailers battling against unscrupulous landlords. The ARA sought to make changes to the Code’s dispute resolution process, as well as the Code Administration Committee, which has been ineffective at administering and maintaining the Code over the last five years.

The ongoing issues with the Code have led to the unreasonable introduction of external competitors to shopping centres, especially at peak periods, which is hurting retailers and disrupting their businesses.

Russell Zimmerman, ARA Executive Director, said the ACCC had delivered a win for retailers just before Christmas, the busiest time of the year for the industry.

“The news couldn’t come soon enough for retailers, who have endured skyrocketing rents and a barrage of pop-up shops right outside their stores at some of the busiest times of the year,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“We now have a mandate from the ACCC to push ahead with making the necessary changes to the Code to ensure it is fair for everyone concerned.”

The ARA would like to thank the Australian Sporting Goods Association (ASGA), Franchise Council of Australia (FCA) and Pharmacy Guild of Australia (PGA) for their ongoing support in amending the current Code.

Mr Zimmerman said he was quite stunned to see the National Retailers Association (NRA) abandon retailers in favour of their landlord friends at the Shopping Centre Council of Australia (SCCA).

“It was astounding to see the NRA standing on the side of unfair competition and supporting the standover tactics of landlords when it comes to pop-up shops,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“The ACCC have had to drag landlord advocates like the NRA to the adult’s table this Christmas. However, these efforts have not gone unnoticed as shopping centres will no longer be able to introduce unfair competition, or bully their tenants into submission when they make a reasonable request.”

The FCA and PGA will now join the ARA on the CAC, ensuring a fair and balanced approach to casual mall leasing.

“The ARA will continue to seek fairness across the tenancy space for retailers and will ask the ACCC for regulatory intervention if the current issues are not addressed,” Mr Zimmerman said

“The proof of the pudding will be in the eating. All parties to the Code need to work together to address its issues, and ensure it operates in the interests of fairness for retailers across the board.”

To view the ARA’s submission to the ACCC, please click here.

About the Australian Retailers Association:

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is the retail industry’s peak representative body representing Australia’s $310 billion sector, which employs more than 1.2 million people. The ARA works to ensure retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 7,500 independent and national retail members throughout Australia. For more information, visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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