All Australia articles – Page 12
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7-Eleven Australia to acquire Exxon Mobil petrol stations
7-Eleven Australia has confirmed it is to acquire all 295 petrol stations belonging to Exxon Mobil in the country.The deal comes after Exxon Mobil’s agreement to sell the petrol stations to Caltex Australia was blocked by antitrust regulators on competition grounds. The deal will see the number of 7-Eleven stores ...
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Woolworths aquires hardware businesses
Woolworths has acquired Gunns Retail Division in Tasmania and, in a separate arrangement, the Becks Timber & Hardware business.The Gunns acquisition includes five hardware stores in Tasmania, one timber joinery centre, one truss manufacturing plant and a support office.The move is part of the joint venture between Woolworths and US ...
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Big W launches online
Woolworths’ discount department store, Big W, has launched an online store, allowing web-based shoppers access to more than 4,000 items from its range, including 600 items that are not available in-store.
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Wesfarmers sales up 4.9%
Sales at Wesfarmers’ grocery arm Coles rose 4.9% to Aus$6.91bn (£3.5bn) in the quarter to March 28. Meanwhile, its home improvement operations experienced a 7.9% jump in sales to Aus$1.54bn (£771m), while sales from its office supplies division rose 7.7% to Aus$390m (£195m).Sales at Coles’ department store chains Target and ...
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Coles offers online groceries to Northern Territory
Coles has become the first major grocery retailer in Australia to introduce an online shopping service to the Northern Territory with the launch of Coles.com.au to residents in Darwin and the Top End, Retail World reported. Separately, rival Woolworths will introduce its online shopping service into Western Australia for the ...
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Harvey Norman profits up
Non-food retailer Harvey Norman reported that net profit in the six months to December 31 rose to Aus$158.9m (£95.4m) from Aus$99.3m (£59.6m) the year before.Profit from continuing operations soared 47% to Aus$237.8m (£142.7m). Consumer electronics performed strongly, despite the unwinding of one-off government stimulus cheques paid to consumers at the ...
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Woolworths H1 profits up
Woolworths posted an 11.4% increase in first-half net profit to Aus$1.09bn (£654.2m).The Australian retailer is planning an Aus$400m (£240.1m) share buyback, which it described as a modest start to capital management, now that the worst of the economic turmoil has passed.Woolworths forecast sales growth in the upper single digits, marking ...
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Wesfarmers post strong supermarket sales growth
Wesfarmers, the owner of Coles Group, has reported a flat first-half net profit, with strong sales growth at its supermarkets.Like-for-like sales climbed 6% at the Coles Group division, with earnings soaring 22.6%. The retailer said that increasing customer numbers continued to drive growth.The group’s DIY arm Bunnings delivered strong sales, ...
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Woolworths Australian sales up
Woolworths reported Aus$27.2bn (£15.17bn) sales for its first half ended January 3, a 6% increase (excluding petrol sales) on the same period last year.The company said its Australian food and liquor sales for the period were Aus$18.1bn (£10.1bn), a 6.8% increase. Woolworths chief executive Michael Luscombe said supermarkets achieved solid ...
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Australian law modification
Australian Competition Minister Craig Emerson has unveiled planned changes to the Trade Practices Act to increase the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s powers to stop small-scale acquisitions.The changes are part of a long-standing election promise that appears aimed at Woolworths, which in recent years has been aggressively acquiring small stores, ...
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AnalysisAldi could shake up the New Zealand food market
There’s been some interesting speculation that Aldi - which has really made waves in Australia - is actively looking to enter the grocery sector in New Zealand, registering myriad trademarks and also dispatching staff to scope out potential sites.
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Marty Hamnett to retire
Marty Hamnett, general manager of supermarket operations at Australian outfit Woolworths, is to retire at the end of the financial year after 40 years with the retail giant.Formerly general manager of the company’s Big W general merchandise division, Hamnett led the integration of Progressive Enterprise, the New Zealand supermarket business ...
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Metcash posts a 36.5% rise in first-half profit
Grocery wholesaler Metcash posted a 36.5% rise in first-half profit, with chief executive Andrew Rietzer describing its grocery alliance business IGA as a “powerhouse” that is performing well against the competition.“The trading environment is strong. However, low price inflation continues to hamper trading opportunities across all of our business pillars,” ...
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Harvey Norman posts a 40% increase in pre-tax profit for the first half
Electricals retailer Harvey Norman posted a 40% increase in pre-tax profit for the first half.Current trading is being driven by strong franchise store sales growth and increased confidence among consumers as the impact of the global financial crisis begins to ebb.Sales for the period jumped 7.7% to AUS$1.93bn (£1.02bn), while ...
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Woolworths and Lowe’s win final approval to jointly set up hardware stores in Australia
Woolworths and Lowe’s, the US’s second largest home improvement chain, have won final approval to jointly set up big hardware stores in Australia, acquiring domestic hardware wholesaler Danks Holdings to act as their supplier.The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it allowed the takeover to go ahead after Woolworths and ...
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Coles posts better than expected results
Coles posted better than expected results for its first quarter to September 27, thanks to rising food and alcohol sales.The grocer’s food and alcohol sales rose 7.3% compared with the same period a year earlier, and were up 6.1% on a same-store basis. Fuel and convenience sales climbed 6.5% and ...
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Aldi records £39m profit in Australia
Aldi’s discount store network in Australia delivered a profit of AUD72.6m (£39.19m) last year, on total Australian sales of AUD1.85bn (£998.6m).Aldi, which entered Australia in January 2001 and recently opened its 200th store there, has been profitable for the past three years. ”We have strong expansion plans for Australia ...
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AnalysisLowe’s curtails expansion as it braces for tough 2010
DIY retailer Lowe’s has followed in the footsteps of rival Home Depot by scaling back its expansion plans.