Harvey Norman executive chairman Gerry Harvey has been slammed by the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) for ‘laughing off’ the real concerns of smaller retailers.
ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman said the majority of retailers across Australia would be fuming at Gerry Harvey’s arrogant comments and lackadaisical attitude towards the tough economic conditions and reduced consumer demand seriously damaging retail trade.
“Any retail giant that has the hide to laugh off the very genuine concerns of smaller retailers is completely out-of-touch,” Zimmerman said.
“While Mr Harvey may not be feeling the impact of current retail trading conditions, smaller retailers are spending every waking hour trying to get customers in the door and hold onto their staff.
“The June ARA Australian Retailers Index – due to be released next week – will show confidence levels for small retailers are the lowest of any small business sector and you only need to look at ABS retail trade figures to see consumers are tightening their belts and slowing down their spending.
Retail Category Year-on-Year growth
(April 2009 – April 2010)Food Retailing (groceries) 2.9% Household Goods Retailing 0.9% Clothing, Footwear and Personal Accessories -4.8% Department Stores -4.7% Other Retailing 1.5% Cafes, Restaurants and Take-aways 9.4% Total 1.8%
“In April 2010 total retail sales were only up 1.8 percent compared to the same time last year. This is appalling growth and well below the current rate of inflation. Sales for particular retail categories, including clothing, footwear and personal accessories, are actually in decline from last year.
“I might take this opportunity to remind Mr Harvey he represents only one retail brand, and lucky for him he’s doing quite well, but unfortunately he isn’t representative of the broader retail sector,” Zimmerman said.
