December 2024
- Exclusive
- Retail
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.
- Carrie LaFrenz
October 2024
From Birmingham to Britain: Inside Harvey Norman’s new UK beachhead
After two years of planning, the retailer’s chief executive Katie Page will this week open the company’s first store in the country, its boldest expansion yet.
- Hans van Leeuwen
February 2024
Breville shares tank as coffee machine maker quits deep discounts
The small appliance maker’s shares dropped more than 10 per cent after weaker sales in Australia and the US hurt its top line.
- Carrie LaFrenz
January 2024
- Updated
- Retail
Godfreys goes bust, shuttering 50 stores and sacking staff
The vacuum cleaner retailer’s first store opened in 1931, but its finances have deteriorated in recent years as customers ditch old-school brands.
- Updated
- Carrie LaFrenz and Simon Evans
December 2023
Is this the end of the crazy robovac?
With the Deebot X2 Omni, Ecovacs has finally worked all the big kinks out of its robot vacuum cleaners.
- John Davidson
- Opinion
- Style
The Dyson Airwrap should cost $1500 – at least
If technology is the equivalent of craftsmanship, then Dyson already has luxury cred. Making the Airwrap even better would make shelling out the extra dollars worth it.
- Andrea Felsted
October 2023
- Updated
- Retail
Harvey Norman profits halve as first quarter sales slump
The retailer has also flagged a $442.3 million on-market share buyback, as executive chairman Gerry Harvey says foot traffic is down more than 20 per cent.
- Updated
- Carrie LaFrenz
July 2023
- Opinion
- Retail
‘As bad as we’ve had it’: retailers cut stock as shoppers strike
Stores are moving to avoid a blowout in inventories in the expectation of tougher trading in the lead-up to Christmas as cost-of-living pressures bite.
- Sue Mitchell
January 2023
JB Hi-Fi posts bumper half as consumers keep tills ringing
CEO Terry Smart says trading conditions have started to normalise after years of COVID-19 disruptions, but he is bracing for a tougher second half.
- Updated
- Carrie LaFrenz
August 2022
Breville banks on art and air fryers to keep sales climbing
The kitchen appliance maker expects innovative product designs, like its Aboriginal culinary range of toasters, coffee machines and kettles, to boost its bottom line this year.
- Updated
- Carrie LaFrenz
Slimmed-down Godfreys rides rise of robotic vacuums
The CEO of the vacuum cleaner retailer, which has 175 outlets, says households getting out and about again are seeking convenience.
- Simon Evans
May 2022
Consumers shift again, flummoxing big retailers like Target
Purchases of big TVs and appliances that Americans loaded up on during the pandemic have faded, leaving Target with a bloated inventory that must be marked down to sell.
- Anne D'Innocenzio
How Gillette embraced the beard to win over scruffy Millennials
For a decade, the shaving company struggled to come to grips with a new generation who don’t see being clean-shaven as a masculine ideal. But a new philosophy on facial hair has turned its fortunes around.
- Thomas Buckley
March 2022
Coffee to Italy: Breville snaps up specialty coffee group
The €113 million ($168.7 million) cash and share deal will be paid half in cash and half in Breville shares.
- Updated
- Carrie LaFrenz
February 2022
Inflation tipped to rise significantly this quarter
Underlying inflation rose to 3.2 per cent in February; retail sales for January were better than expected; and profits jumped 2 per cent in the December quarter.
- Ronald Mizen
Buoyant January retail sales augur well for economic outlook
The COVID-19 omicron variant will slow the economy in the three months to March 31, but growth should still be positive says AMP Capital’s Shane Oliver.
- Ronald Mizen
Breville to increase prices as inflation persists
The global kitchen appliances group expects to increase prices and ramp up its inventory position in the face of global supply chain squeeze.
- Updated
- Carrie LaFrenz
May 2021
Kogan shares slump 14pc after downgrade
Online retailer Kogan.com has slashed its outlook after betting big - incorrectly - that surging pandemic-induced buying by consumers would continue.
- Updated
- Carrie LaFrenz
February 2021
Harvey Norman faces JobKeeper heat as profits double
Harvey Norman faces new pressure to return JobKeeper subsidies after profits more than doubled, but Gerry Harvey says the bigger issue is long-term growth.
- Sue Mitchell
The Reject Shop gets profit boost from turnaround plan
The discount variety retailer’s interim profits jumped 79 per cent on cost cuts, showing a turnaround plan is working despite flat sales during the pandemic.
- Jenny Wiggins