Decline of Clothing Wholesalers – a recent report by Ibis
World suggested that there was negative growth in the clothing wholesaling
category in Australia as retailers increasingly go direct to manufacturers in
places like China and Vietnam. However bypassing the wholesaler requires a
certain volume of sales which may not be achievable by individual small
retailers like market traders.
Retail Rents Continue Decline – in the real estate industry
they call it negative re-leasing spreads as new leases are signed off at lower
rents than the outgoing retailer was paying. The trends are consistent across department stores and chains as well as small independant retailers. Declines of 6-10% are being
recorded in major shopping centres. However, the pattern is variable according
to product category. Clothing and accessories is suffering a well documented
decline while food service rents are showing a rise.