Retail Wreckage

[jbocker]

The administrators cited difficult trading conditions – in the wake of the company being rocked by a major underpayment scandal – as a reason for the collapse of the business.

I wonder how much of it was market conditions rather than significant numbers of people choosing not to dine there after that disgusting underpayment scandal. Now you are paying the price George!

 

[sptrawler]

I wonder how much of it was market conditions rather than significant numbers of people choosing not to dine there after that disgusting underpayment scandal. Now you are paying the price George!

Yes, unfortunately so are the 400 people who work for him, I wonder if the underpayment was intentional or accidental?

 

[sptrawler]

The state of the car industry in regional W.A, isn't much better than the housing industry there.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02...ruggling-to-survive/11940410?section=business
From the article:
Data from Consumer Protection shows 136 motor vehicle dealers' licences have been handed back in regional WA in the past five years.
Eighteen dealerships returned their licences last year alone, including businesses in Geraldton, Bunbury, Donnybrook, Wagin, Halls Creek, Kununurra, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Esperance, Dunsborough and Busselton

 

[moXJO]

Restaurants are doing it tough in current market conditions have been for a while. Sydney Chinese restaurants are all going broke at the moment with the corona going through.

 

[jbocker]

Yes, unfortunately so are the 400 people who work for him, I wonder if the underpayment was intentional or accidental?

I understand from ABC reporting that the backpay has been done. However that is scant reward for those who remained and have since lost their jobs. Yes you are quite right it is much more than George paying the price.

 

[Toyota Lexcen]

George Columbaris

Have been near the one in Brighton quite often over the past few months and the place is really down on clientele.

Church st will be bustling with people

George Calombaris' ailing food empire came crashing down on Monday with restaurants closed, administrators appointed and the celebrity chef's Toorak mansion put on the market
https://www.theage.com.au/national/...is-food-empire-collapses-20200210-p53zgl.html

Calombaris said he was "gutted" by what had happened to his business and apologised to his family, friends, staff, 400 of which will lose their jobs, and customers.
The administrators cited difficult trading conditions – in the wake of the company being rocked by a major underpayment scandal – as a reason for the collapse of the business.

Employees will be paid all entitlements owed, the administrators said.

I been around the Brighton restaurant quite a bit the past few months and it has just been empty when the whole Church St precinct is bustling. Especially during AusOpen.

George warned about this last year.

 

[sptrawler]

I wonder how much of it was market conditions rather than significant numbers of people choosing not to dine there after that disgusting underpayment scandal. Now you are paying the price George!

A more comprehensive write up on George's implosion.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02...of-fair-work-rising-restaurant-costs/11952898

 

[Dona Ferentes]

A more comprehensive write up on George's implosion.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02...of-fair-work-rising-restaurant-costs/11952898

love the outrage from the Unions

Victorian Trades Hall Council secretary Luke Hilikari said the collapse was another blow to staff who had been underpaid by the company.

"First Calombaris rips off workers and owes them $7.8 million in wages and now they face losing their jobs," he said.

because not one employee has ever phoned in for a "sickie" or otherwise diddled the boss

 

[finicky]

Well , at H1FY20, JB Hi-Fi (JBH) is another one that's not wrecked - not yet anyway. I remember Howard Coleman of TeamInvest, whose advice I respect fwiw, Howard said maybe 6 years ago at a guess, how he would never invest in JB Hi-Fi because the management was richly rewarding themselves and doing accounting engineering. His lip was curling at the mention of JBH and it turned me well off. I think Roger Montgomery was going off them by that time too, that would almost be a contrarian signal for me today.

HY20 Trading Performance
JB Hi-Fi Limited
• Total sales up 3.9% to $4.0 billion, with positive comparable sales growth across all three divisions;
• EBIT up 8.0% to $255.6 million;
• Net profit after tax (NPAT) up 8.9% to $174.4 million (Statutory NPAT up 6.6% to $170.6 million);
• EPS up 8.9% to 151.8 cps; and
• Interim dividend up 8.8% to 99 cps.
Group CEO, Richard Murray, said “We are pleased to report record sales and earnings in the first half, with
JB HI-FI Australia and The Good Guys recording strong earnings growth

 

[Smurf1976]

Yes, unfortunately so are the 400 people who work for him, I wonder if the underpayment was intentional or accidental?

Thing is, with restaurants there’s massive choice so if there’s any suggestion that there’s a reason to avoid a particular one well then there’s plenty of others to choose from.

Most would rationalise any impact on staff etc on the basis that they don’t know them personally and for every loser at the place they’re avoiding there’s a winner somewhere else.

 

[Smurf1976]

because not one employee has ever phoned in for a "sickie" or otherwise diddled the boss

My observation is that crap management and crap employees tend to stick together despite trying to so the opposite.

Good managers don’t keep crap employees and good employees have no need to work for bad managers.

Bring good management into a business and ultimately they end up with good workers. One way or another the bad ones leave.

Bring bad management into the same business and ultimately they end up with bad employees. The good ones either leave or simply stop giving a damn.

Underpayment, abusing sick leave, any sort of referring to the fine print of an Award rather than following the spirit and intent. Etc. Anyone who’s any good, either managers or workers, gets rid of those who engage in that sort of nonsense.

 

[Smurf1976]

Not a specific retailer but I see that Panasonic are ceasing selling TV's in Australia.

Panasonic aren't going out of business and they'll still be selling TV's elsewhere in the world. That being so, I take it as a sign that their relatively higher end products aren't selling well in Australia. Either TV sales are struggling overall or consumers are going for cheaper products. Neither is a sign of overall consumer confidence.

It's effective immediately apparently. All remaining stock will be sold and they'll honor all warranties in full but that's it, they're out of the market.

 

[sptrawler]

Another example of the changing demographics and changing tastes of the younger generation, as we have been saying, the times they are a changing.
The younger generation are moving away from their parents love of cars.

https://www.drive.com.au/news/frank...ors-after-68-years-123237.html?trackLink=SMH1

 

[Smurf1976]

Fly365 Travel agency has gone into voluntary administration:

https://www.news.com.au/travel/trav...n/news-story/a5bbdafad75f204934eef5da54dfbcb2

 

[SirRumpole]

Fly365 Travel agency has gone into voluntary administration:

https://www.news.com.au/travel/trav...n/news-story/a5bbdafad75f204934eef5da54dfbcb2

Unsatisfactory, leaving customers in the lurch, it's pretty close to theft.

Maybe companies like this should be required to buy insurance to cover the debts they owe to customers in the event of shutdown.

 

[Country Lad]

.
Maybe companies like this should be required to buy insurance to cover the debts they owe to customers in the event of shutdown.

If it is not already the legal requirement, then the payments should go in to a trust account until such time as the carrier is paid - same as real estate transactions.

 

[sptrawler]

I think this is only the tip of the iceberg, the corona virus and flight/cruise cancellations, is going to catch some dodgy travel agents with their pants down.
Well that is my guess, any ponzi schemes will quickly show up. IMO

 

[sptrawler]

Another business going under, showing its dependence on timely stock deliveries from overseas.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/busi...m/news-story/5778a526603595dd20ee2dc6f575b70d
From the article:
Ishka, an Australian home furnishing store, has gone into voluntary administration, with the company launching a “total clearance” sale with its website revealing “everything must go”.

The family-owned chain was founded 50 years ago and there are 60 stores across the country, including 15 in country areas, with more than 450 staff members on the payroll.

Ishka sells handmade crafts, homewares, gifts, clothing, furniture and jewellery from throughout the world, and was started in a small workshop in Glen Iris, Melbourne.
He said Australia’s unusually challenging summer period, coupled with a devastating delay of more than $3 million worth of Christmas stock, had crippled the business.
“But unfortunately in late November, quarantine seized 32 components of Christmas stock. Normally that would be released quite quickly … but a week later it hadn’t arrived, and then a week after that we were starting to get concerned, and then another week later in mid-December I thought, ‘my God, we’re not going to get our Christmas stock’.”
The crucial items didn’t arrive until late January, which meant the store missed the vital holiday trade period.

The disaster occurred because the person responsible for fumigating the stock overseas before it departed for Australia lost their certificate, meaning the goods had to be treated again upon arrival on home soil, which created a backlog.

 

[moXJO]

Another business going under, showing its dependence on timely stock deliveries from overseas.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/busi...m/news-story/5778a526603595dd20ee2dc6f575b70d
From the article:
Ishka, an Australian home furnishing store, has gone into voluntary administration, with the company launching a “total clearance” sale with its website revealing “everything must go”.

The family-owned chain was founded 50 years ago and there are 60 stores across the country, including 15 in country areas, with more than 450 staff members on the payroll.

Ishka sells handmade crafts, homewares, gifts, clothing, furniture and jewellery from throughout the world, and was started in a small workshop in Glen Iris, Melbourne.
He said Australia’s unusually challenging summer period, coupled with a devastating delay of more than $3 million worth of Christmas stock, had crippled the business.
“But unfortunately in late November, quarantine seized 32 components of Christmas stock. Normally that would be released quite quickly … but a week later it hadn’t arrived, and then a week after that we were starting to get concerned, and then another week later in mid-December I thought, ‘my God, we’re not going to get our Christmas stock’.”
The crucial items didn’t arrive until late January, which meant the store missed the vital holiday trade period.

The disaster occurred because the person responsible for fumigating the stock overseas before it departed for Australia lost their certificate, meaning the goods had to be treated again upon arrival on home soil, which created a backlog.

Business is taking a lot more risk on lately through no fault of their own. I'm finding that everyone is flaking on their responsibilities. Makes me then have to run around for hours trying to sort out a problem, because someone was to lazy to do their job right. The last few months have been insane for it.

 

[Dona Ferentes]

High street is changing. In Box Hill and Eastwood, at least. A claim there are 12,000 daigou shops in Australia, clustered around immigrant suburbs and educational institutions. How they're traveling now with co-vi around is moot, but the quest for authentic product remains strong.

Ugg boots, honey, health food bars, vitamins, supplements and skin cream plus baby formula of course.

https://amp-news-com-au.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/massive-boom-in-personal-shopping-gift-shops-sees-thousands-emerge-across-australia/news-story/65320aacf81cfa60e28582cbc473ee71?amp_js_v=a3&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQFKAGwASA=#referrer=https://www.google.com&amp_tf=From %1$s&ampshare=https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/massive-boom-in-personal-shopping-gift-shops-sees-thousands-emerge-across-australia/news-story/65320aacf81cfa60e28582cbc473ee71