Author: Deep End Services

17 Aug “Unavoidable costs to rise, shoppers’ spare cash to drop”, Inside Retail

Dimitri Sotiropoulos writes:  Australian consumers' discretionary income is expected to decline two years in a row for the first time since 1992, according to the latest research from IbisWorld.

19 Oct “Performance anxiety in Melbourne’s retail hubs”, Inside Retail

Dimitri Sotiropoulos & Justin Grey write: Home Consortium, a newly formed group comprising aged care start-up Aurrum Group and the families behind Spotlight Group and Chemist Warehouse, will repurpose the Masters Home Improvement properties it acquired from Woolworths a month ago in a move that will see it overtake Harvey Norman and the Brett Blundy-backed Aventus Retail Property Fund to become the biggest large format retail landlord in Australia.

05 Oct “A brave new world for large format retail” and “Large format retail grows up”, Inside Retail

Dimitri Sotiropoulos & Justin Grey write: Home Consortium, a newly formed group comprising aged care start-up Aurrum Group and the families behind Spotlight Group and Chemist Warehouse, will repurpose the Masters Home Improvement properties it acquired from Woolworths a month ago in a move that will see it overtake Harvey Norman and the Brett Blundy-backed Aventus Retail Property Fund to become the biggest large format retail landlord in Australia.

29 Sep “Baker’s Delight founder questions shopping centre giants over planning laws”, The Australian Financial Review

James Thomson and Simon Evans write:  The founder of the Bakers Delight chain, Roger Gillespie, has questioned whether shopping centre owners' calls for certainty in planning laws are really an attempt to crush competition.

26 Aug “Home Consortium’s Masters deal creates biggest bulky portfolio”, The Australian Financial Review

Larry Schlesinger writes: In a single transaction - the $725 million acquisition of the Masters property portfolio - Home Consortium has become the leading landlord in the growing large-format retail sector.

28 Jul “Space now big issue”, Inside Retail

Inside Retail writes:  Low vacancies may mean higher rents for large format retail, but they are spurring innovation and diversification where the law allows.

13 Jun “Bulking up: NSW plays catch-up on retail planning reforms”, The Australian Financial Review

Larry Schlesinger writes:  The booming $60 billion large format retail sector is hoping a NSW government inquiry will help reform the state's antiquated, parochial and inflexible retail planning scheme.

09 Mar “Big retailers seek standard rules”, The West Australian

Marissa Lague writes: Trading regulations that have long disrupted WA's large format retailers are closer to being resolved, according to the Large Format Retail Association.

01 Jul “Big-store retailers poised for recovery”, The West Australian

Marissa Lague writes: WA's large-format retailers have missed out on strong growth in the national sector but the lean times may soon be over, with sales increases set to bottom at 1.4 per cent this year before rising to 2.2 per cent in 2016 and 3.8 per cent in 2017.