Can a Blundy-owned Best & Less take on Kmart and win?
The move by seasoned retailer Brett Blundy to takeover discount fashion retail Best & Less (B&L) resulted in plenty of headlines for the reason that the bid was lower than what the company’s shares were trading at. The fact that the board accepted the lowball offer had many questioning what Blundy and Ray Itaoui have in store […]
Good, better, best: How Myer is winning during the ‘shift to thrift’
Australians have been bombarded with cost-of-living pressures from many sides. From essentials – at the supermarket and the petrol pump, in the mortgage and in the power bills – to the not-so-essentials, such as the local café, the fashion boutique, the travel agent and the new car dealer. Even if you’ve got cash to splash […]
Do retailers have enough cash in the post-Covid coffers to stay afloat?
If you follow economic commentary and official statistics, you’d be forgiven for doing a little head-scratching of late. From Covid to the cost-of-living crisis and ever-increasing interest rates, there’s no shortage of doom and gloom. Many shopkeepers and larger retail chains are saying the market feels like we’re already in the throes of a recession, despite Australia’s […]
Why retailers and streamers are a match made in heaven
Late last year, Wesfarmers – the folks behind Bunnings, Kmart, Officeworks, Catch and Target – announced it had done a deal with Disney for a subscription bundle combining Disney+ and OnePass. OnePass is a membership program that gives customers free delivery and deals across the Wesfarmers brands. Usually, it’s $4 a month. Combined with Disney, which gives you […]
Unmade podcast. Ben Willee discusses the short and long-term media outlook
This week’s Unmade podcast features Ben Willee, GM and media director of Spinach Advertising. The interview, with Unmade’s Tim Burrowes, focuses on the short term and long term media outlook (Without predicting a recession, Willee is considering for the eventuality); he offers his interpretation of the first results from reporting season; and he assesses the importance of […]
Will the war on inflation crash the JB Hi-Fi party?
It was a case of right place, right products, right time for JB Hi-Fi, a brand that has raked in ample coin during Covid lockdowns. The retailer had what everyone wanted for a life that revolved around the home. TVs, computers, stuff to shut the kids up – JB was our saviour. Coupled with a […]
Why brands need to meet inflation with empathy
In May, the Australian retail sector recorded its fifth consecutive month of growth, with retail spending experiencing a 10.4 per cent increase over 12 months and a 0.9 per cent increase for the month. It wasn’t all good news, however, as higher prices contributed to the growth, particularly in food retailing and hospitality. With Australia […]
Is digital OOH headed the way of display advertising?
When programmatic came for digital display, CPMs plummeted. With more agencies trading digital out-of-home programmatically, is the same thing going to happen in the OOH sector? Spinach’s Ben Willee assesses the opportunity and asks what it means for advertisers. I know it sounds ridiculous but once upon a time, we used to ring up sales reps to […]
Ethics and empathy: It’s time to go hard on soft measures
The four Ps – product, price, place and promotion – have been the strategic marketing pillars of business for longer than even I’ve been in the game. Their use, and attendant monitoring of their progress, create the hard measures on which retailers and brand marketers live and die. Seemingly ‘soft and fluffy’ attributes, such as […]
Is personalisation the new loyalty program?
According to KPMG, ‘earn and burn’ loyalty programs are losing their lustre and instead, the way forward is for retailers to pursue personalisation at scale. But this is a circular argument. The irony is you need some sort of loyalty program to generate the data you need to truly personalise your offering and then, maybe, […]