Consumer sentiment worries retailers as Christmas looms

It's been blamed on the super-sized election, property prices and even the Indian summer but with just 112 days until Christmas, shopper sentiment is worrying on some of Australia's top retailers.

Bunnings' price promise will not apply to Master fire-sale

Bunnings will not undercut Masters' fire-sale prices as the inventory liquidation ramps up.

DJ's food plans a risk for Coles and Woolies: Moody's

David Jones' appetite for Australia's up-market food sector will lure big-spending foodies away from Coles and Woolworths and take a bite of ouf the chains' future earnings.

Collins Foods eyes expansion

Collins Foods is focused on expanding its fast food restaurant operations following its recent acquisition of 13 KFC stores.

Target pulls 'sexist' girls' shirt from stores

Target Australia has withdrawn a Batgirl T-shirt aimed at young girls from its stores following an outcry over a "sexist message" to do with dry cleaning and other household chores.

Pencils at ten paces in Smiggle stoush

Billionaire rag trader Solomon Lew's Just Group is suing its chief financial officer for defecting to rival chain Cotton On.

Holden hopes to roar once again with a new image

A year out from the closure of its two Australian manufacturing plants, and the production of the final locally built Commodore, Holden has unveiled its game plan for life as a pure car importer.

Gadgets, housing demand boost Harvey Norman profit

Demand for connected devices and Australia's "resilient property market" sent shoppers to Harvey Norman's stores.

Lowe's alleges 'flagrant breach' in Masters battle

Woolworths wants to appoint an independent arbitrator to resolve a legal dispute with its home improvement partner Lowe's.

7-Eleven's 'laughable' claims it's on top of wage fraud

7-Eleven's claims it is processing back pay requests faster internally than through the Fels Wage Fairness Panel have been described as laughable.

Masters 'fire sale' has a wet start

'See you for your next project!' says the big sign outside Masters. This is unlikely.

Legal case threatens returns Woolworths seeks from hardware exit

Lowe's legal action could ultimately hurt Woolworths' chief Brad Banducci's plans to upgrade 80 of the Woolworths supermarkets and turn around its core business.

Surfstitch shares halved after $155m wipeout

SurfStitch's shares have dived 50 per cent after it posted a $155 million full-year loss and revealed plans to sell its Surf Hardware International business.

Breadth of Just Group non-compete clause in spotlight

A contract restraining Just Group's CFO from working at rival retailers for two years was so broad it would arguably prevent her from working in the coal mining industry, a judge has said.

US giant accuses Woolies of acting in 'bad faith'

US hardware giant Lowe's has hammered its Masters joint venture partner Woolworths.

Temple & Webster loss balloons

Online furniture retailer Temple & Webster's loss was more than double what was forecast in its prospectus.

Aldi accounts shed some light on Australian operations

The privately held chain Aldi, one of the world's biggest retailers, has released some eagerly awaited detail about its local operations. But an accounting expert questions elements of Aldi's accounts.

David Jones to reinvent ready-to-eat food in Australia

David Jones chief John Dixon said the department store's ready-to-eat range will rewrite the rules for take-away in Australia.

Job cuts tipped as Ingham's eyes sharemarket float

The country's biggest chicken producer is widely tipped to cut jobs after bumper float.

Australian womenswear chain Seduce collapses

Twenty-five-year-old Australian fashion label Seduce has collapsed, after surviving several wind-up bids from landlords over the past couple of years.

7-Eleven's wage fraud sparks $170 billion blow back

• EXCLUSIVE

The federal government is preparing to crack down on wage fraud across the $170 billion franchise industry.

Coles, Woolworths look for growth as wars rage on

• ANALYSIS

It all started in May with some chatter about cheap bananas.

Stop, hammer time: Masters fire sale to start Monday

If your hedge trimmer carks it this weekend, it might be worth waiting until Monday before you buy a new one.

An inconvenient year for 7-Eleven

At the crack of dawn on Tuesday, a tired and emotional 7-Eleven franchisee, Helen Ren, will meet a group of executives to hand back the keys to her store.

Coca-Cola Amatil lifts profit with move from fizz to fresh

Coca-Cola Amatil's profits are up after higher sales of bottled water offset weak demand for fizzy drinks.

Australia Post returns to profit as letter reforms cut losses

Australia Post has recovered from its huge financial losses in 2015 to post a $36 million after-tax profit thanks to increased parcel deliveries and a shake-up of its letter delivery business.

VW strikes $1.6b deal with US dealers

Not that long ago, Volkswagen dealerships were among the hottest properties in car retail. Now they're only worth the land they stand on, and the inventory in their showroom.

Bingeing on Bentleys and Beamers, thanks to the RBA

Aussies are buying Bentleys, Jaguars, BMWs and Mercedes in record numbers even as overall living standards are falling in a sign of rising inequality.

Woolworths not in 'catch up' phase: Banducci

Woolworths boss Brad Banducci claims Australia's biggest supermarket chain has "caught up" and vowed to invest any funds it claws back from its disastrous foray into hardware into sprucing up its store network.