'Low point': retail spending tipped to pick up

Population growth, strong food sales and more competition to drive extra sales at the checkout, Deloitte Access Economics predicts.

Store wars: David Jones scores another win

David Jones has struck again in the ongoing store wars, snatching contemporary international label Self Portrait from rival Myer.

Is Coles strategic or desperate?

• ANALYSIS

It's been a bad week for Wesfarmers, but good news for its shelf-stackers and shoppers.

Coke ditches Zero looks to No Sugar hero

Coca-Cola is making its sugar-free options clearer as sugar is declared the new "dietary villain".

Coles admits most of its workforce underpaid

Supermarket giant concedes for first time it has underpaid much of its workforce in a cosy deal.

The dreams and nightmares in the supermarket price war

• ANALYSIS

The spectre of a supermarket price discounting war is a customer's dream and a shareholder's nightmare.

'Crazy': Coles says grocery prices need to be cheaper

Supermarket giant says food and grocery prices are 'crazy' compared to the rest of the world.

'No insight': Brumby's owner slams investment bank report

Company behind Brumby's Bakery, Donut King, Michel's Patisserie and Crust Pizza slams analysis as "premature, precipitous and, with respect, an exercise in speculative guesswork."

'This is in effect wage theft': The problem of working at Aldi

Aldi faces claims of wage theft and breaking the law, but the retail giant said its work arrangements are "lawful and suitable".

CatchOfTheDay rebrands as it gets ready for Amazon

Online retailer CatchOfTheDay has rebranded itself Catch and relaunched as a marketplace for other sellers in a move that puts it in direct competition with US giant Amazon.

Investors drop shares in retailer behind Gloria Jean's, Donut King

Investors in Retail Food Group headed for the exits on Monday due to concerns about upcoming accounting changes.

Gwen Stefani and a worker pay push: inside Walmart's AGM

Just after 8 am, a woman descends from the ceiling at the Bud Walton Arena, 30 miles from Walmart's headquarters.

Bunnings finds it can afford to shun online

• ANALYSIS

The country's dominant hardware chain faces three big challenges.

Walmart asks staff to deliver packages on their way home

The idea is to cut costs on the expensive 'last-mile of deliveries', when packages are driven to customers' homes.

'Most exposed': Wesfarmers tipped to lose $400m to Amazon

Amazon poses a bigger threat to Wesfarmers' discount department stores, Kmart and Target, than to specialty retailers such as JB Hi-Fi, investment bank Morgan Stanley has warned.

Are the days of cheap chocolate coming to an end?

Cocoa prices have soared amid signs of tighter supplies, raising prospects that chocolate costs will climb.

Retail spending rebounds sharply to $25.9b

• UPDATED

Australian retail spending rose 1 per cent in April, beating market expectations of a modest rise.

Ten new investigations - Fair Work expands investigation into Domino's Pizza

Domino's Pizza has announced delays to its nationwide review into wage fraud allegations across its stores.

Rich people don't want Ivanka Trump's fashion

After losing her most glamorous retail partners amid the controversies and boycotts that have marked her father's move into the White House, Ivanka Trump has gone downmarket. At its heart, Ivanka Trump is now a celebrity brand, not a designer fashion house. It's the messy discount rack, not the gleaming glass jewellery case.

Three charts that show how unhappy Aussie consumers are

• ANALYSIS

Sentiment has remained negative this year all the way through May for the first time since the depths of the GFC in 2009, leaving retailers reeling and investors bearish on the sector.

Red Rooster says it can do what Officeworks could not: find investors

Red Rooster says it can attract investors to its chicken-frying franchise business despite the market's poor appetite for share market listings and consumer stocks.

Cosmetics the new battleground for retailers

Lipstick wars are gaining momentum across the country, led by French-based cosmetic giant Sephora.

New Wesfarmers boss to earn millions less than predecessor

Conglomerate Wesfarmers will pay its new chief executive up to $4 million less than his predecessor, acknowledging "downward pressure" on CEO pay levels in the broader market.

Retail trade data won't help outlook

The severe pressure on retail stocks will ramp up again this week as retail sales come in the spotlight.

Amazon 'hype' over the top

Online retailer Amazon will be lucky to get 5 per cent market share in Australia over eight years, investor says.

Domino's to take full control of Japan pizza business

Domino's plans to almost double the number of its stores in Japan by 2022.

SurfStitch suspends shares to assess $100m class action

SurfStitch has asked for its shares to be suspended from trade after the troubled online sports retailer was hit by a shareholder class action of as much as $100 million.

Tarocash owner sold to South African giant

The owner of Tarocash, yd.,✓ Rockwear and other apparel chains will be sold to a South African retailer in a deal that values the Australian company at $302.5 million.

Topshop UK owner could save local arm

Australia's struggling retail sector has been battered in a day that saw major players suffer heavy share prices losses.