Despite the rampant growth of e-commerce, there is still plenty of life left in bricks-and-mortar stores. The latest research by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has shown that online retail turnover contributed just 3.1 per cent of total retail turnover in Australia during July 2015. In fact, according to analysis by National Australia Bank, […]
Commonly thought of as an alternative to the bricks and mortar retailer, a website is just another ‘location’ in which to do business. Or so many might think. For James Wakefield and his business partner Robin McGowan however, physical and digital presence is not about ‘alternatives’ but instead the creation of a reciprocal relationship where […]
For a new business start-up, the cost and complexity of staff, landlords and rent is all but part of the package. Then comes the question of location: who are your customers, will they come to you and how many competitors are already in the area? But what if your business was mobile – what if […]
As the end of the year draws near, online retailers need to turn their mind to making the most of the spending silly season – you don’t want to find yourself caught out when December rolls around. Holiday pre-season marketing has begun – major retailers are beginning to train employees to serve the holiday shopper, […]
Today, over 20 small business association leaders are convening at Parliament House to make their case for the adoption of the hotly debated effects test into Australian competition law. Put simply, the effects test, proposed by the Harper competition review, seeks to amend section 46 of the Competition and Consumer Act by targeting business behaviour that […]
Location, location, location. While once the buzzword for retailers, today traditional bricks and mortar retailers face increasing pressure from online businesses. Fuelled by consumers reliance on smartphones, tablets and social media, consumers buying and research habits have been driven online with e-commerce sales expected to top $10 billion in Australia in 2015. Retailers, like their […]
After 6 years in the making, Microsoft has confirmed the opening date of its first flagship stores in Sydney and New York. The Sydney store, opening on November 12th, will be located at Westfield on Pitt Street Mall giving customers and business the opportunity to experience the latest technology from Microsoft and its partners. Some of the […]
Launching your brand internationally is a growth strategy that follows from success. But success in one market shouldn’t be construed as a right of passage to success in another. The failure of Starbucks in their attempt to import an Americanised version of ‘coffee culture’ into Australia, a country already au fait with it’s coffee habits, […]
Have you ever travelled, offered to bring something back and ended up with a shopping list and half your luggage allowance already accounted for? For Alex Hsu, this was an all too common predicament. Frequently travelling to the US for his IT business trading computer parts, Alex became inundated with requests for running shoes, typically […]
With exposure to a wider customer base, lower overheads, greater choice and more competitive prices, the benefits of online retailing are obvious. Online is the birth place for many emerging retailers while the bricks and mortar sector strive to ‘get with the game’. But it wasn’t always this clear. John Winning, CEO of Winning Group, […]
