In a recent report the Productivity Commission says the Government should help the retail
sector where 27% of businesses are running at a loss.
The Government has been asked to loosen regulations that result in
Australian retailers continuing “to operate under several regulatory
regimes – such as those relating to trading hours, and planning and zoning –
that unnecessarily inflate their costs and restrict their ability to
innovate".
The Commission also found that there
were many cost pressures facing retailers were market driven and required
commercial decisions to correct. They found that "labour costs and rent as a share of revenue appear higher in
Australia relative to the United Kingdom and the United States". "The
retail sector is operating in an increasingly dynamic and globalised
environment, competing on different platforms and across borders," the
report finds. "This has delivered
better outcomes for consumers and, combined with shifts in consumer spending,
has created a challenging trading environment for many retailers."
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