Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

Fashion Week proves a runway success

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 10 : 2 May 2008
Original article by Katja Buhrer

LexisNexis Summary: Advertising & Promotion Campaigns

Australian Fashion Week 2008 will generate around $A200 million in wholesale orders, according to IMG Fashion Asia Pacific MD, Simon Lock. IMG senior vice-president, Fern Mallis, said difficult economic conditions had failed to dampen enthusiasm for the event. Zimmermann MD, Simone Zimmermann, said the event represented a "great opportunity" to get into the minds of buyers

Products & Services

Premium drop goes for a corker of a price

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 5 : 2 May 2008
Original article by Ashley Midalia

LexisNexis Summary: Products & Services

The latest vintage of Penfolds Grange was released on 1 May 2008, although it is not expected to be one of the greats. Around 50,000 bottles of the premium shiraz blend are released each year, although a significant number of bottles are sent directly overseas. Woolworths spokesperson, Benedict Brook, said the 2003 vintage should sell out within weeks. Penfolds' chief winemaker, Peter Gago, said that although it had been a difficult year, the wine would meet expectations. The 2003 vintage will retail for between $A520 and $A550 a bottle

Consumer Behaviour

Summit little more than a cheap stunt

The Age
Page: B8 : 2 May 2008
Original article by Mirko Bagaric

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

The Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, prioritises symbolism and process over outcomes, so working families must control their own financial destiny. There is hope that economic conditions will improve, but households are still feeling the pain over the high cost of living. The first thing to go is money spent on "experiences", as people try to maintain status by purchasing "stuff'. The keys to happiness however rate activities and relationships built on experiences highly, so people should dine at local restaurants and play tennis, rather than focusing on expensive cars

Tourists want a walk on the wild side

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 29 : 2 May 2008
Original article by Caitlin O'Toole

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

Many seasoned Australian travellers want to travel to exciting places. They have been everywhere else and they want to visit places like Burma, Cambodia, North Korea and Libya. They want to see what life is like under repressive regimes. Some humanitarian groups, like Oxfam, ask such travellers to weigh up whether to visit countries that have terrible human rights records. The tourist dollar can prop up terrible regimes. However, Oxfam noted that tourists have to decide for themselves whether or not to travel to dangerous or repressive regimes and how they want to spend their money. Australia has warned all citizens not to travel to Afghanistan

New-look rag trade, no sweat

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 10 : 2 May 2008
Original article by Mark Skulley

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

The Australian Government will spend $A4 million to promote a "No Sweat Shop" label and a code of conduct for the fashion industry. On 1 May 2008, Workplace Relations Minister, Julia Gillard, declared that Australia's world-class fashion sector should not be supported by forcing an estimated 300,000 workers to labour under "third-world working conditions". Michele O'Neill, of the Textile, Clothing & Footwear Union, says consumers are increasingly wanting to know the details of the process involved in manufacturing the product they are buying

Difference of opinion

BRW
Page: 46-47 : 1 May 2008
Original article by Jane Lindhe

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

The Grey Group has released the results of its 2008 "Eye on Australia". The study, now in its 17th year, is conducted by Grey in association with Sweeney & Associates, and aims to determine consumer attitudes to a range of issues, such as personal finances, their attitudes to big business, their level of work satisfaction, and the media sources that they place most trust in. The 2008 "Eye on Australia" survey found that worrying about their finances was the thing keeping most Australians awake at night, but that less than 50 per cent of respondents over 25 said they would try to resolve their concerns by seeking financial advice

It's not all for profit

BRW
Page: 17 : 1 May 2008
Original article by Phil Ruthven

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

Australia, along with most other nations, does not record goods and services generated by households in its gross domestic product (GDP) figures. For example, Australia's 8.4 million households are expected to produce goods and services to the value of around $A420 billion in the year to June 2008, on top of expected official GDP figures of around $A1.135 trillion

The emergence of India's mall rats

Far Eastern Economic Review
Page: 34-37 : April 2008
Original article by Rohit Sharma and Sharif D Rangnekar

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

There are some large shopping malls opening in India's big cities. Indian consumers are not used to shopping malls and usually buy only what they need from local stores. The problem is that India is not yet ready to run large shopping malls and the complex logistics chains needed to supply them. India has poor road networks and poor infrastructure. The Indian Government only allows single foreign retailers, like The Body Shop, to invest in India by taking up to a maximum of 49% in a joint venture with an Indian partner. There is a ban on foreign multi-brand retailers like Wal-Mart, due to fears of them destroying small Indian players. Experts argue that it will take years for Indian shopping malls to pay their way, because land prices and rents are so high