Retail Jobs
To Go.
NBC News is
reporting that the death of retail could result in mass graves as retail
workers in their thousands are replaced by robots with cashiers being the first
to go. With the closure of many stores in the US (Sears are up to 200 store
closures) and the rationalising of other operations, robots could replace up to
7.5m jobs over the next 10 years.
Topshop
Joins List Of Struggling Retailers.
A
comparative newcomer to the Australian retail scene has called in the
administrators as the Australian arm of Topshop struggles in a competitive
fashion market. Topshop/Topman has 760 employees and annual sales of around
$90m. They operate 9 stores and 17 Myer concessions. The UK Topshop entity has
indicated it will assist to keep the brand operating in Australia.
Amazon
Opens First Brick’N’Mortar store in New York.
The store —
which sells mostly books and some electronics, like the Amazon Echo — doesn’t
have traditional price tags, and it only stocks books that have earned an
average rating of 4.5 stars or above online.
Pop-ups Become
More Mainstream In US
A report
from the US says that growing retail vacancies mean that more landlords are
prepared to negotiate short term “pop-up” leasing arrangements with many real
estate companies now actively listing “pop-up” opportunities.
CBD
Vacancies Rise
Knights
Frank have reported that Melbourne CBD shop vacancies are on the rise while shopping
centre vacancies have actually fallen as landlords offer incentives to
tenants. Apparently the overall CBD
retail vacancy rose from 2.45% in June 2016 to 2.7% in 2017. Vacancies in
arcades have risen to 4.75% the highest in 10 years.
April
Retail Sales Good For Food But Not Much Else.
April
retail sales were up 3.08% on last year in seasonally adjusted terms with food
retailing up 4.29%, liquor 7.31%, takeaway food 6.16%, and cafes & restaurants
up 4.19%. However discretionary spending categories like household goods,
hardware, and electrical goods continue to struggle.