Who built Dick Smith's House of Cards?

• COMMENT

The scorecard in the Dick Smith game of deception versus incompetence is a hard one to read.

Shoppers face less choice as Metcash culls product range

Grocery wholesaler joins the big chains in reviewing and slashing its product range.

Cotton On aims for more than $2 billion in sales as it expands globally

Homegrown apparel success story the Cotton On Group is on the verge of becoming a global business, with revenue from its international outposts about to surpass what it earns in Australia.

Woolworths 'stitched up' Lowe's

US retailer Lowe's claims it was "stitched up" by Woolworths in a deal to sell Masters for $800 million.

How to pick the fastest checkout line

Doesn't matter where you go, you always end up in the slowest line? This one's for you.

Debenhams eyes off Myer and David Jones customers

British department store Debenhams in bringing back affordable, designer fashion to Australia.

Today's consumer buys the fridge rather than the food

What do Australians that haven't seen a decent pay rise or whose wages are moving backwards spend their money on? It's turning traditional retail theory on its head.

'No horrible skeletons in the closet'

Dick Smith chairman Rob Murray wanted to get rid of CEO Nick Abboud months before the retailer collapsed, a court has heard.

Why Lego wanted people to stop buying its toys

Everything has been a bit too awesome for the world's most profitable toymaker, which is struggling to keep up with demand for its building blocks.

Retail sales to continue to slow: Deloitte

Retail sales will continue to slow this year as low wages growth sees Australians spend less at the supermarket, Deloitte Access Economics has warned.

Farmers Fund milk about to hit Coles shelves

Despite kicking off the so-called supermarket milk wars, Coles is launching a new, more expensive home brand to help struggling dairy farmers.

Dick Smith board 'concerned' about excess stock

Dick Smith had more than 330 stores across the country but only 62 stocktakes were carried out last year, a court has heard.

Former McDonald's execs, private equity firm swallow Pizza Hut

Three former McDonald's executives and a Sydney private equity firm have bought the master franchisee licence for Pizza Hut in Australia from US parent company Yum! Brands.

Online phone retailers caught not supplying goods

Online retailers Android Enjoyed, Camera Sky and Klukkur all subject of NSW Fair Trading warning.

Dick Smith's bizarre retail practices

• ANALYSIS

Just why would Dick Smith have acquired something from a supplier at 98¢ and sell the same thing back to the supplier at 78¢?

No, the internet has not killed the printed book

Three-quarters of Americans read a book last year, and the most popular platform was print.

Taxing times for winemakers

Crackdown on tax rorts in wine industry gets thumbs up from wine giant Treasury Wine Estates, but some winemakers say government has gone too far.

Westfield isn’t like the shopping malls of the ’90s

• COMMENT

In a rush of nostalgia, four girls of the ’90s stroll through the shiny new Westfield mall.

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.