Year: 2018

There was great optimism that November would see somewhat of a recovery in the Australian retail market with most analysts predicting a rise of 0.3 percent for the month. However, much to the surprise of most people, retail sales actually fell 0.1 percent for the month leading up to the December holiday period. This was despite the fact that there was a rate cut leading up to November.

The sectors that had the biggest impact on retail figures was household goods retailing which had a big 0.9 percent drop. Then there was clothing and footwear which saw a 0.6 percent drop.

Some areas which had a rise were categorised under a non-specific area called other retailing which saw a one percent rise.

One area which did see a phenomenal rise was online sales. This area has continually chipped away at the bricks and mortar sales and is starting to take significant market share. Stores like ShowPo have reporting robust sales in the month and expect bigger figures for December. ShowPo have attracted customers through brilliant offers including offering a ShowPo discount code.

Pennytel has been in the prepaid market for a number of years now and the landscape has
changed with technology moving from 3G to 4G networks. The company is 100% Australian
owned and has been growing successfully for a number of years.
Vaya has now launched their 4G plans to compete with other VARs that have launched their
plans.
Previously, Pennytel had access only to 3G Optus network, however it now has reached an
agreement to resell the 4G network as well. The plans that are on offer are for monthly or two
year contracts and start from $9 a month.
There are also data only plans available which will give you 10GB of data to use each month
for only $33. This price will make it competitive in a market for low usage ADSL users.
For a  Pennytel coupon  or deals, see here.

If you’re looking for more premium plans then you cannot go past a Telstra phone plan. You can use a Telstra coupon to save on your purchase.

Hallenstein Glasson Holding has upgraded it’s profit forecasts for the first half of the financial year due to an impressive jump in sales. Consumers seemed to be out in force for the brand with sales and profit both increasing by an unexpected margin.

The group has indicated that the sales for the first half of the financial year (six months to February the first) was $147 million dollars. This increase represents a 19% increase from the recorded sales in the previous period of $123 million dollars. Importantly, the net profit after tax is expected to be between $14.75 million and $15.25 million dollars. This represents an increase of 63% over the previous period. In the previous period, the profit was $9.2 million.
The guidance given by the business will be smashed by up to 50%.

The final indicator which also points to a hugely positive outcome is the gross margin. The gross margin for the first half of the year is estimated to sit at 3.5 percentage points up on last years figure. Mark Goddard, the chief executive of Hallenstein Glasson Holdings, attributes this increase to strong sales and an improved strategy in the way that the company purchases. There was also a decrease in Hallensteins promotions and discounting.

The groups balance sheet is strong at this stage and opportunities will be investigated to grow the business more. A war chest is also being stored to allow the business to weather the tough retail environment.

When people come home from a late night drinking, the last thing you would expect them to do is go online and shop. Strangely enough, this is becoming a more common theme and it is noticed that those that shop late at night while slightly intoxicated are actually spending more freely.

A survey done in the UK showed that many British people shopped online after a big night and even woke up the next morning not remembering what they ordered or that they even shopped online. It was also revealed that clothing and accessories was the most common purchases.

Online shopping has become all about convenience and practicality and stores like Catch Of The Day are doing well by offering customers convenience of freely shopping whenever they like as well as a sweeteners such as a Catch Of the day coupon.

The challenge for bricks and mortar stores is to give consumers an experience that they cannot get online.