Gerry Harvey was in the news again yesterday talking down retail in that shrill style that is so him.
Gerry Harvey believes his Harvey Norman chain will be “the last man standing” as other retailers go bust due to tough trading conditions.
The chairman of the electrical, bedding and furniture retailer has predicted a wave of retailers will close in the early months of 2013 as businesses go under.
Retailers offering a consumers a value proposition are doing well and will do well. I am tired of gerry getting media covering for his doom and gloom. He does not speak for me.
Our sales are up wonderfully year on year. We also are attracting new shoppers with new lines. We are not having to use price as a selling feature – unlike Harvey Norman stores. Indeed, our average margin is up inn2012 over 2011.
i don’t think retail is doing all that good from what most of the reps say that come in ,going from town to town they are saying there are a lot of businesses that are doing it tough and a lot that are closing . Not talking about newsagencys but retail shops in general
Shaun reps tend to be gossips. They trade in information. I get to see how newsagents, bike retailers, gift shops, jewellers and garden centres are doing. Many I talk with are doing well.
We play a role in guiding consumer confidence with what we pass on. So does Gerry.
We are travelling Good in gifts, OK in cards, up in Lotto, but down on traditional newsagency lines magazines, stationery and newspapers.
I see Fashion retailers as the biggest risk in retail. We are in a centre of 41 stores with Woolworths and BigW the Anchors. Three fashion stores have closed in the past 6 weeks.
The other category suffering are Australian discount outlets. There are Asian owned operators such as “Hot Dollar” taking over this Category. They even get delivery of stock on weekends. They do not pay award wages, and do not pay superannuation. How can legitimate businesses compete?
I think some retailers are going great and others are struggling, from reading this blog it tells me that some newsagents are doing it tough.
And if you’ve been in retail for a long time, things probably aren’t as good as they once were so you tend to think that you aren’t travelling that well any more.
We definately have to work harder now, so much more competition and far too many shops.
I do agree though that talk of doom and gloom doesn’t help retail, it just scares shoppers.
retail is tough at the moment, has been all year. dont like the doom and gloom from gerry harvey, but dont believe we should sugar coat it either. politicians need to know its tough and we need some assistance in regards to IR laws and anti competitive action by coles/woolies. banks need to assist with passing on interest rate cuts to business borrowers. Help in these areas would take a great deal of pressure off, and save some families from going under, and also save some employees from getting put off.
Mark you closed one of your stores moved the other you moved into the site of a an Agent that had to close might I add that you denined you were doing this.
If it is so good why close your store why did the other Agent in a busy cnetre close and you roll on in to pick at his bones??
Yes Mark I am annoying you again the industry as it is has a lot to contend with.I would say Gerry isn’t that far off the mark.You can’t only see shops thriving if we all see shops closing why don’t you??
Mary I am concerned about your apparent obsession with me. Maybe you could tell folks here who you are so they can have this when considering your comments.
Now, I’ll put some facts in the way of your stories.
I closed one of my stores at the end of the lease and as a rejection of an offer from the landlord. It was an orderly departure.
In a different centre, a nextra store closed. The landlord approached me, I took up the opportunity upon negotiating a good lease. You wrote about this before the landlord approached me so your sources are better than mine.
The owner of the nextra store could have stayed. The choice to leave was theirs. No bone picking went on.
Gerry Harvey gets press coverage saying we’re all going to die. The reality is that we are not all going to die. As I have written, there are many success stories.
While it may be harsh, I would say to a newsagent doing it tough – is your retail business the best it can be? Are you making good decisions? Is your customer service the best? Are you managing the business for success?
I see data for more newsagencies than most. I see plenty of good news.
In my own newsagencies numbers are good even for magazines – up year on year.
Everyone seems to agree that basically our economy is fairly sound and strong compared to many. The only reason for retail to suffer is low consumer confidence and why do you think that is? We thrive or die by our attitude towards our business and I choose to thrive. Is it easy? No but negativity will only reap what we sow. Businesses need to plan to succeed or else we will fail.
So what is the story Mary. Not defending Mark, but this is not the first time you have bought this up.
Fact is that in the days of easy credit Gerry promoted attractive finance offers. And he did really well. Actually it was an illusion becasue all he really achieved was a massive pull forward of the market. eg People who planned to buy a new TV in 2011 bought one in 2010. Young homeowners, instead of buying a new piece of furniture as and when they could afford it, bought a whole househhold of stuff on Gerry’s easy pay later credit terms. Well now it’s 4 years later and people have got a house full of furniture and a delayed payment plan which has kicked in to consume most of their disposable income.
In our business we know when things are getting tough because the mix of cash and EFTPOS changes. At present people are clearly only spending their own money and not using credit cards. This changes the pattern of our sales. Days towards the end of the week and weekends are stronger than a year ago but Tuesdays and Wednesdays are dead.