March
Toys R Us auditor warns retailer’s future is precarious
Once one of the country’s largest children’s toys and clothes chains, the company has been struggling against intense competition from its larger rivals.
Koala schedules non-deal roadshow for IPO; $100m raising tipped
Should Koala progress with the IPO, sources said it could raise about $100 million for a circa $500 million valuation.
Mattress-in-a-box retailer Koala explores $500m-plus ASX listing
The decade-old start-up that expanded into homewares has engaged Barrenjoey as it assesses its options four months after the return of co-founder Dany Milham.
The six charts that show the consumer comeback is here
After two years of cutting back, Australians are finally loosening their purse strings as confidence rises. But a full-blown boom seems unlikely.
The Iconic shows early signs of a sales turnaround, powered by AI
The online retailer has been overhauling its business after several years of losses, and says the value of merchandise sold has been rising again.
Country Road sales, profit crushed amid restructure
Fashion retailer Country Road’s profit plunged more than 70 per cent due to weak sales, higher operating costs and a split from department store David Jones.
Quadrant taps Macquarie for Amart Furniture sale
The private equity firm has sought to exit the retailer several times recently, but now seeks to capitalise on increased consumer spending and a housing super cycle.
Liam Millward founded Instant at 17. It’s now worth $100m
With co-founder William Gao, the entrepreneur has snared new investment from Blackbird and European venture capital funds for the automated marketing company.
February
Temple & Webster shares gain as sofas, bathroom taps boost sales
The country’s biggest online furniture and homewares retailer beat market expectations for sales in the first half of the financial year.
Amazon CEO explains why he’s happy to run DeepSeek
Andy Jassy rushed to make DeepSeek’s open-source models available to his customers, in a move that will put downward pressure on the total costs of AI projects.
January
NAB helps Amazon bypass credit cards with new way for customers to pay
The bank will enable the online retailing platform to accept payments directly from bank accounts, via an Reserve Bank-backed system known as PayTo.
Young people are the happiest customers. 3 charts show why
Despite the cost of living, a cohort of Australian consumers is still willing to splash out $250 on a swimsuit. What’s fuelling their spree?
Wesfarmers to shut Catch amid stiff competition from Temu, Amazon
The rise of big international players has prompted the retail giant to wind down the loss-making marketplace, saying it’s the “right thing for shareholders”.
Why Wesfarmers killed Catch.com.au
For a brief moment, it seemed Wesfarmers had found a winner when it bought online retail pioneer Catch Group. But it got two things wrong.
December 2024
Myer’s mega-expansion guards against Temu and Shein threat: expert
The independent assessors of the retailer’s proposed purchase of five Premier Investments chains say scale is needed to compete against cheap global giants.
Frustration gives birth to ‘the Mecca of the baby world’
Phoebe Simmonds and Kate Casey saw customers embrace big changes in the beauty world. So they brought them to the baby industry.
Amazon’s Temu copycat to fuel mindless Australian consumerism
The e-tailing giant’s “Haul” shopfront – an answer to cheap marketplaces that’s now on a US trial – is feeding a growing subculture of over-shopping.
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?
November 2024
CBA prepares for AI to transform banking, with dozens of uses
The country’s biggest bank is already using AI to resolve 15,000 payment disputes every day. And its chief executive, Matt Comyn, says many more uses are on the way.
Fashion retailer The Iconic plots recovery, one Samba at a time
The boss of the popular fashion app is aiming to restore sales growth and shrink its net loss after a tough 12 months. But the field is getting crowded.