Taking care of (retail) business is tough love!

(Saturday’s Australian article ascribed to Craig Emerson ‘Taking care of (small business) is tough love’ - REALLY?

Don’t expect the 1000’s of small retailers’ and their staff to support the Rudd Government at the next election if comments in the article are true.

UPDATE

In our article last week we said that it was understood that the heading of the article ‘Taking care of business is tough love’ was the heading given by the Australian’s reporter not that of the Minister.

We indicated that we appreciated the huge task ahead for the current Minister for Competition and Small Business Craig Emerson in re-balancing Australia’s retail sector – but some of the assumptions arrived at the Saturday’s Australian article ‘Taking care of business is tough love….’ if reported correctly and in context are wrong - hopefully misreported, had to be questioned.

· The RETAiL Alert Group is awaiting a formal response from the Minister Emerson on the points raised.

It is true that the real world of small retail business retailing in Australia in 2009 is summed up perfectly in our article dated 22^nd June - ‘Retail Elephants are Dancing and Small Retail Ants are Dying’.

The small retail ants, including Australia’s specialty chains, medium and SME retailers are the Minister’s constituency and are looking for answers?

The number of concerned Australian’s writing to the newspapers on this issue is growing – letters to the editor on issues such as this are like pebbles thrown into a pond, the ripples spread wide.

· The statement under the picture of the Minister leaning on a supermarket trolley saying ‘ competition is healthy in small business’ – belies the fact that competition within small business although healthy between small businesses is sick and being crippled by uncompetitive practices of the combined power of the Australian Shopping Centre Industry in bed with Australia’s Giant Retailers.

· The article stated that ‘….his focus is on the consumer’ – so it is for the small retail sector also, they live or die by providing products and services to the consumer.

· The statement that the reasons for dropping ‘unfair contracts’ in the proposed national consumer law reform because ‘…there could be unintended consequences by increasing the banks’ perception of risk when lending to small business’ is so far from the real world of retailing and therefore their bankers’ it cannot be a correctly reported statement and further from the truth.

Unfair contract provisions for business to business transactions will counter the inadequacy of ‘unconscionable conduct’ provisions particularly in relation to retail tenancy – the most serious business risk concern for thousands of Australian small to medium size retailers in 2009.

Craig Emerson’s statement that ‘…..small business does best in an open competitive environment’ is correct.

The reporters conclusion that ‘ (CE) would seek a pro-competition approach that relies on less than more regulation’ hopefully means that the Minister will support Harmonised Retail Legislation as being proposed by COAG including Gross Leases – this is the minimum the Australian specialty chains, medium and SME retailers will expect prior to the next election.

The other major issue facing Australia’s small retail sector for which the Minister is responsible is Harmonised Trading Hours and Awards, another de-regulation and small sector efficiency opportunity.

It is hoped that the reporter’s conclusion that ‘(CE’s) …reluctance to embrace Creeping Acquisitions and (Obligation to Divest) powers for the ACCC’ must be incorrect.

· It is hoped that the statement ‘…..small business does best in an open competitive environment’ does not assume that the Minister seriously believes that with the known Shopping Centre Oligopoly and the known Giant Retail Duopoly of Woolworths and Wesfarmers that an open competitive environment exists – it plainly doesn’t.

As this has been perceived as a form of policy announcement on the small retail sector we will be asking the Minister for a response to the concerns raised by our readers.

We have also contacted the relevant retail sector industry associations, the Opposition and Minor Parties for comment.

Don’t expect the 1000’s of small retailers’ and their staff to support the Rudd Government at the next election if all the statements in this article are true.

As we said last week.

· The track record of the Rudd government based on retail sector commitments made at the last election is already in tatters.

Those promises gave the Rudd government substantial votes – if the Rudd government goes into the next election without major reforms to the retail sector’s competition environment it is the view of The RETAiL Alert Group there will a substantial loss of votes not only from retailers but also voting consumers.

Qualifying our comment we are aware Ministers’ such as the Minister for Competition and Small Business rely heavily on advice given by departmental officers.

· We are recommending to the Minister that he and his departmental officers meets with a quorum of retailers’ organised by The RETAiL Alert Group setting the path delivering that open, competitive, de-regulated, consumer benefited Australian market place the Minister is looking for.

We are looking forward to receiving an invitation.

As said at the commencement of this article we appreciate the huge task ahead for the current Minister for Competition and Small Business Craig Emerson in re-balancing Australia’s retail sector, way long overdue – it is hoped that some of the comments in last Saturday’s Australian article ‘Taking care of business is tough love….’ if reported correctly and in context were wrong and misinterpreted.

We concluded last week’s article by saying that The RETAiL Alert Group’s objective is to work with all sides of politics – the only aim to deliver a competitive Australian retail sector serving the best interests of Australia’s long suffering consumer.

We will update readers on progress based on the response received.

To comment on Australian Retail Sector Reforms email Australian Retail Sector Reforms.

Tony Standley

Principal
The RETAiL Alert Group (Australia)
Mobile +61 (0)41 924 0497
e-mail info@adsass.com.au
Fax +61 (0)2 9987 0633
Website http://www.retailalert.com.au

THE PEOPLE WHO GET RESULTS.................