Advertisement
Australia markets closed
  • ALL ORDS

    8,153.70
    +80.10 (+0.99%)
     
  • ASX 200

    7,896.90
    +77.30 (+0.99%)
     
  • AUD/USD

    0.6515
    -0.0021 (-0.32%)
     
  • OIL

    82.43
    +1.08 (+1.33%)
     
  • GOLD

    2,227.00
    +14.30 (+0.65%)
     
  • Bitcoin AUD

    108,632.05
    +3,176.57 (+3.01%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • AUD/EUR

    0.6027
    -0.0003 (-0.06%)
     
  • AUD/NZD

    1.0895
    +0.0015 (+0.14%)
     
  • NZX 50

    12,105.29
    +94.63 (+0.79%)
     
  • NASDAQ

    18,263.34
    -17.51 (-0.10%)
     
  • FTSE

    7,960.72
    +28.74 (+0.36%)
     
  • Dow Jones

    39,763.84
    +3.76 (+0.01%)
     
  • DAX

    18,496.06
    +18.97 (+0.10%)
     
  • Hang Seng

    16,541.42
    +148.58 (+0.91%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     

Are Australian retail businesses in trouble?

Images: Getty, AAP
Images: Getty, AAP

As more international brands enter our retail market and competition continues to heat up, yet another Aussie business has waved a white flag.

Aussie fashion chain Sussan – the brand behind popular names like Sussan, Sportsgirl and Suzanne Grae – is the latest to in a long line of troubled retailers, having hired an asset manager to assist in finding a buyer, The Australian reports.

Also read: Small business owners beware: your access to credit is under threat

Fallen businesses

It’s a long list.

Plus-sized retailer Maggie T entered administration in January this year, following luxury handbag retailer Oroton in late 2017.

ADVERTISEMENT

Chocaholics’ favourite, Max Brenner has also had a tumultuous few months, entering administration only to have its sale fall through.

The Reject Shop has suffered an extreme profit slump.

Also read: 7 apps you need to run a business from your phone

Major brands like Dick Smith and Top Shop have also been having some tough conversations, and Roger David, a brand with a 76-year history also shut down.

International brands taking over?

The administrators for Roger David, KordaMentha’s Craig Shepard and Leeanne Chesser put the company’s collapse down to the boiling levels of competition.

“Roger David, like many other fashion retailers, has been buffeted by global competition, stagnant sales and rising fixed costs,” Shepard said.

The situation has even got the Reserve Bank of Australia paying attention.

Also read: Eight weirdest jobs in the world

“Retailers are facing a challenging environment of increased competition, slow growth in consumer spending and changing consumer preferences,” the RBA financial stability department’s Gabriela Araujo and Timoth de Atholia said in September.

They said international retailers tend to have lower costs and the economic benefits that come with size, while online retailers are continuing their market share creep.

At the same time, Aussie consumers’ preferences are changing. They prefer to spend their money on services like restaurant or cafe meals than goods.

Also read: Coles sues ATO for $40 million for ‘disappearing’ fuel

However, while the RBA acknowledged the “high-profile failures”, the analysts argued these have been isolated, with most retailers in good financial health.

Make your money work with Yahoo Finance’s daily newsletter. Sign up here and stay on top of the latest money, news and tech news.