Products & Services

Strong $A has a retail sting

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 13 : 23 May 2008
Original article by Ashley Midalia

LexisNexis Summary: Products & Services

As the Australian dollar rises to record levels in May 2008, consumers may be thankful but retailers have a lot to consider. Retailers are cautious about dropping their prices early on as the exchange rate rises. If the Australian dollar were to fall again they would face the unpleasant task of raising price tags. Companies are better advised to import directly, as suppliers often do not bother to drop prices, with research showing that only one-third of currency benefits are realised on price tags. Retailers will sell more units if the demand is there by dropping prices, but if sales were already at market saturation there are few benefits

E-Business

Clicking up their heels

BRW
Page: 34-36 : 22 May 2008
Original article by Agnes King

LexisNexis Summary: E-Business

Elle Roseby says that Sportsgirl is very happy with the performance of its online store since it was launched in November 2007. Roseby, the CEO of the Australian fashion retailer, says the online store's sales have grown between 20 and 30 per cent each month. The site includes a link to the Facebook social networking site, an idea supported by Hitwise Asia-Pacific analyst Sandra Hanchard, who says it is a "smart move". Analysts believe that the best use of the internet by retailers is in the form of customer engagement, rather than just having an online store that competes with physical stores for sales

Roast and Post coffee concept takes hold

Inside Retailing
Page: 7-8 : 19 May 2008
Original article by Kiren Thandi

LexisNexis Summary: E-Business

An online coffee retail group in Australia has been very successful. Australian coffee-lovers can buy coffee beans online from the retailer, Roast & Post. The group was started by the Brisbane-based couple, Nathan and Kerri Scholz. They import coffee beans from across the globe and roast them just after they get the online order. They then mail the roasted coffee beans to the customer. The couple has had great success, because their coffee beans are freshly-roasted, and of high quality. They plan to also sell coffee beans to the corporate market and to groups which want to raise funds

Lawyers' clients need serious web advice, expert says

Law Society Journal (NSW)
Page: 14-15 : May 2008
Original article by Anne Susskind

LexisNexis Summary: E-Business

Dianne Beer says lawyers who have clients that have web sites should check that they comply with the law. Beer is with Holding Redlich, whose specialty is intellectual property and technology. She says the sort of things that lawyers should check on a client's web site include whether it has a suitable privacy statement and whether users can enter information into it. Beer says that making sure that a site is legally compliant is particularly important if it is being used to sell a product or service

Marketing Strategy

Spudbar signs on master franchises

Inside Retailing
Page: 6 : 19 May 2008
Original article by Lyn White

LexisNexis Summary: Marketing Strategy

The Spudbar outlets in Australia are shops selling baked potatoes, salads and soups. The Melbourne-based Spudbar was founded in 2000 by Clay and Laura Thompson. In 2008, there are eight Spudbars in Melbourne and a master franchisee has been signed up in both Western Australia and New Zealand. Clay Thompson said that the group is expanding and there are three models - a kiosk, a compact strip shop and a larger strip shop. He wants to get 20 stores up and running by the end of 2008

Consumer Behaviour

How petrol is pumping Sydney motorists dry

The Sydney Morning Herald
Page: 1 : 23 May 2008
Original article by Jacob Saulwick

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

Experts are concerned the rapidly rising cost of petrol will substantially affect the way the city of Sydney functions. Public transport will become more popular but struggle to cope with the added demand, while the Australian Retailers Association suggests that every increase in the petrol retail price by $A0.10 has the same effect on consumption as an official interest rate increase of 0.25%. Those consumers to be hardest hit live in outer mortgage belt suburbs and therefore also have longer commutes, making the fuel costs even harder to factor into stretched budgets. Some forecasts have petrol reaching $A2 per litre in the not-too-distant future, after it broke the threshold of $A1.60 in mid-May 2008

History points to a sitting dux

The Sydney Morning Herald
Page: 21 : 23 May 2008
Original article by Vanda Carson

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

Thomas Dux, Woolworths' new upmarket grocery brand, will not be a success according to Coriolis Research's Tim Morris. Middle-market retailers struggle to "think upmarket" according to Morris, who cites Safeway's unsuccessful attempt with Bon Appetit in the 1980s as an example. Woolworths states that customer feedback has been positive since its first Thomas Dux store opened in Sydney in April 2008

Strong $A has a retail sting

The Australian Financial Review
Page: 13 : 23 May 2008
Original article by Ashley Midalia

LexisNexis Summary: Consumer Behaviour

As the Australian dollar rises to record levels in May 2008, consumers may be thankful but retailers have a lot to consider. Retailers are cautious about dropping their prices early on as the exchange rate rises. If the Australian dollar were to fall again they would face the unpleasant task of raising price tags. Companies are better advised to import directly, as suppliers often do not bother to drop prices, with research showing that only one-third of currency benefits are realised on price tags. Retailers will sell more units if the demand is there by dropping prices, but if sales were already at market saturation there are few benefits