On Thursday, the Productivity Commission Inquiry into the Structure and Performance of the Retail Industry – including international online trade, released the issues paper which will guide its review.
This is a paper well worth reading if you plan to be involved in retail in Australia in the future. I have read it and see several opportunities for individual newsagents and group’s representing them to make a submission and have their individual and collective voices heard.
I am particularly to see retail tenancy issues are to be covered including:
Is there any evidence that owners of major retail complexes in Australia exert market power to command higher rental and occupancy costs than are experienced in many overseas markets?
Is it inevitable that Australian retailers must pay higher rental and occupancy costs as a proportion of sales than offshore counterparts? If so, why and what factors cause this? Does this mean that Australian retailers will have to charge higher prices to maintain reasonable levels of profitability?
I urge newsagents to click on the link and read the issues paper. This is the type of opportunity where we will say what we should have done once the report has come out and our views have not been represented.
wasn’t sure what thread to add this to really, but this blog topic is really really interesting, although I warn it has a lot of comments on it to read, but they are current and worthwhile learning about where we are in this day and age –
http://macrobusiness.com.au/2011/07/the-bizarre-retail-debate/