NewsBite

Carrie LaFrenz

Yesterday

Myer executive chairwoman Olivia Wirth.

Myer, Premier sales hit by softer trading as vote on merger deal nears

A week out from a shareholder vote on the merger of Solomon Lew’s Apparel Brands with Myer, both companies say trading conditions are tough.

This Month

Shane Fallscheer founded fashion jewellery chain Harli + Harpa. He has started with 20 stores.

Blundy’s former right-hand man takes on Lovisa jewellery empire

Shane Fallscheer spent more than a decade growing the billionaire’s accessories retailer into a giant. Can he do it again – for himself – with Harli + Harpa?

December 2024

Former Super Retail Group chief legal officer Rebecca Farrell (left), former company secretary Amelia Berczelly (centre) and their lawyer Michael Harmer have a legal battle against the retailer.

Super Retail whistleblower settlement claim dismissed

The company’s two former lawyers who claimed there was a culture of bullying at the firm have had their bid to enforce an alleged payout agreement thrown out by the Federal Court.

  • Updated
Aesop CEO Michael O’Keeffe.

Aesop CEO exits as skincare group hits $1b in sales

Michael O’Keeffe, the long-serving Australian CEO of the skincare brand now owned by L’Oréal, is leaving after more than 20 years with the group.

Stuck for gift ideas? Here are 56 popular items this Christmas

Australian shoppers are spending with surprising gusto on gadgets, appliances, fashionable drink bottles, cosmetics gift sets and cult skincare products.

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Ruslan Kogan.

Retailer Kogan cooperating with ASIC over options deal probe

Two executives made a $17.6 million windfall following an options buy-back; weeks later the Kogan share price crashed. The regulator is now looking into the saga.

The Kmart wizard who wants to take Anko to the world

The discount store’s own brand was founded in 2019 and now sells more than a billion items every year. Ian Bailey is about to take it global.

Super Retail Group has been accused of serious wrongdoing by its former top two lawyers, Rebecca Farrell (left) and Amelia Berczelly (centre).

Super Retail claims it fired lawyers over alleged defamatory statement

Lawyers for the owners of the Rebel Sport chain say two fired senior executives only have their own lawyers to blame for losing their jobs.

The Katies store at Westfield Southland Shopping Centre.

Mosaic Brands receivers close Katies chain, 480 jobs to go

KPMG said it would close all 80 stores run by the womenswear brand, and another 80 owned by the company. Mosaic had already closed 200 shops to avoid collapse.

Myer executive chairwoman Olivia Wirth speaking to shareholders at the company’s annual meeting on Tuesday.

Myer says Black Friday sales were ‘encouraging’ despite tough trading

The retailer’s executive chairwoman Olivia Wirth used her first annual meeting in the job to sell plans for a merger with Premier Investments’ fashion brands.

Former Super Retail executives Rebecca Farrell (left) and Amelia Berczelly, in August, are suing the company.

Two ex-Super Retail lawyers suing the company have been hospitalised

The Federal Court heard that the two women, who have claimed there was a culture of bullying at the retailer, are in hospital because of the stress of the case.

Amanda Bardwell is the chief executive of Woolworths. The company faces regulatory action in Australia and New Zealand.

Woolworths NZ faces criminal charges for allegedly misleading shoppers

The Commerce Commission was not satisfied that “specials really are special”, leading to legal action against the supermarket and its rival Pak’nSave.

Striking workers outside the Woolworths distribution centre in Dandenong South last week.

Hit to Woolworths sales from strike grows to $140m, expected to rise

The supermarket giant agreed to a pay deal with the union on Saturday, ending industrial action. But it will take weeks to restock stores and warehouses.

Woolworths Metro/BWS on Collins St, Melbourne with empty shelves due to a prolonged strike by warehouse workers.

Woolworths has partial win in union blockade leaving shelves bare

The retailer’s win at the Fair Work Commission could dent an indefinite strike that has cost it more than $50 million.

Aleks Spaseska will become the new managing director of Kmart Group from April 1.

Wesfarmers shuffles the decks to double down on Kmart, Anko Global

The move involves the department store’s CFO, Aleksandra Spaseska, being elevated to the top job. Her predecessor will focus on expanding the Anko brand.

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Endeavour, the owner of Dan Murphy’s chain, is on the hunt of a new CEO.

Endeavour mulls an executive chairman as CEO search drags on

The largest shareholder of the Dan Murphy’s operator, Bruce Mathieson, said Ari Mervis could be a “short-term solution” to a permanent chief executive.

The bosses of BHP and Wesfarmers have called on Labor to overhaul the nation’s uncompetitive tax system and reverse changes to IR laws if it wants a private sector recovery.

You’re part of the growth problem, business leaders tell Chalmers

The bosses of BHP and Wesfarmers have called on Labor to overhaul the uncompetitive tax system and reverse changes to IR laws if it wants a private sector recovery.

Leah Weckert, Coles

Weckert stamps her mark on Coles amid tumultuous year for supermarkets

Leah Weckert, one of the Business People of the Year for 2024, has fared well amid a barrage of criticism from politicians over grocery prices.

Amazon has a number of large distribution centres and hopes to be able to do same-day delivery in every major city by 2026.

Amazon is quietly turning into a major rival for Coles and Woolworths

Goldman Sachs estimates it is now the second-largest online retailer in Australia, but sales are still a fraction of the big supermarkets. Will that change?

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Woolworth workers on a picket line outside the company’s distribution centre in Dandenong South on Monday.

Woolworths strike bill tops $50m as disruption spreads to Dan Murphy’s

The nation’s largest supermarket operator has applied for an urgent tribunal order to keep unions from blocking access to distribution sites in Victoria and NSW.

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Original URL: https://www.afr.com/by/carrie-lafrenz-11bwz7