Yesterday
Four leaders with four tough challenges in 2024
For Treasury Wines CEO Tim Ford, Qantas boss Vanessa Hudson, Liontown’s Tony Ottaviano and Housing Australia’s Nathan Dal Bon the stakes have rarely been higher.
- Simon Evans, Peter Ker, Ayesha de Kretser and Nick Lenaghan
This Month
Gerry Harvey says angrier shoppers are a bad sign for retailers
Economists says consumers could be about to go into their shells for up to six months after a hunt for bargains at post-Christmas sales.
- Samantha Hutchinson
Anchorage snags David Jones at 75pc discount
Anchorage paid $92.5 million for the group in March, but financial accounts show the full value of the company and its assets was closer to $376 million.
- Lucas Baird
What this economy means for Boxing Day sales
Retailers are hoping shoppers splurge $1.25b in just 24 hours, but economists warn even that will not be enough to produce an end of year boom.
- Hannah Wootton
Japan’s SoftBank swoops on ASX-listed shopping centre cleaning minnow
A division of the investments conglomerate has made a $57 million offer for Millennium Services, and wants to help it deploy robots to help service clients.
- Nick Bonyhady
- Exclusive
- Food & drink
Prominent rag trade family pursued ex-KPMG dealmaker Jon Adgemis
Monaco-based Richard Gazal has taken the businessman, who now runs Public Hospitality Group, to court. Adgemis says the matter has almost been resolved.
- Primrose Riordan
Shoplifting jumps amid cost of living crisis
The chief statistician for Victoria’s Crime Statistics Agency says cost-of-living pressures may be contributing to increased crime rates.
- Gus McCubbing
The books flying off the shelves right now
Richard Flanagan’s “best thing yet”, a graphic novel for teenagers, Trent Dalton’s latest novel and ‘dragons and young love’ are flying off bookshop shelves.
- Hannah Wootton
- Opinion
- Retail
Retailers hope for clearer skies after ‘perfect storm’ in 2023
The economy managed to avoid a recession this year, but the retail sector was not as fortunate, with real retail spending declining for three consecutive quarters.
- Sue Mitchell
Chemist Warehouse: A look inside the deal of 2023
This week on The Fin podcast, Carrie LaFrenz and James Thomson on the rise of Chemist Warehouse, its deal with Sigma and the biggest risk facing the new merged business.
KMD dives to lowest since 2020 after sales drop 12.5pc
The owner of Rip Curl and Kathmandu says orders from its wholesale customers have dried up, while sales of rainwear and puffer jackets were weak due to warmer weather in Australia.
- Carrie LaFrenz
- Exclusive
- Retail
Foster Blake sold Go-To stake for $89m. She’s bought it back for a fraction of that
The former Young Rich Lister, along with her co-founder Paul Bates, have taken back control of the skincare brand from the failed BWX Group.
- Carrie LaFrenz
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Chemist Warehouse deal just part of David Di Pilla’s big plan
In helping to bring the retail giant and Sigma together, he is playing the long game and hopes to create a “mini Blackstone” in Australia.
- James Thomson
Jan Cameron guilty of misleading market by hiding Bellamy’s stake
The judgment was delivered more than two years after the hearing which ran for two weeks through October and November 2021.
- Max Mason and Carrie LaFrenz
Koala Eco cleans up with $3m in Series A funding
The Australian company has gotten noticed in the US and will leverage that with new capital. “We are going at this market with everything we have,” said co-founder Paul Davidson.
- Lauren Sams
ACCC gives nod to Woolworths pets deal with asset sales in tow
The purchase price for the supermarket giant’s 55 per cent stake in the pet company is now expected to be $438 million, reduced from $586 million.
- Carrie LaFrenz
HMC Capital opens back door to Sigma-Chemist Warehouse deal
Street Talk understands about 80 brokers tuned in for a lunchtime briefing from the asset manager on Wednesday.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Sigma could shed customers after Chemist Warehouse merger
The deal, creating an $8.8 billion retail and wholesaling giant, could even be blocked by competition regulators, according to analysts at Morningstar.
- Carrie LaFrenz and Tom Richardson
- Updated
- Mergers & acquisitions
Chemist Warehouse’s 100-year plan to be the next Walgreens
Chemist Warehouse CEO Mario Verrocchi says the retailer could become the next Walgreens or Boots and expand rapidly overseas after becoming an $8.8 billion ASX-listed pharmacy giant.
- Updated
- Carrie LaFrenz
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The 100-year dream that powers Chemist Warehouse
The company is on the verge of achieving a 50-year dream with the $8.8 billion Sigma merger. It insists there’s plenty of growth to come.
- Updated
- James Thomson
