Your weekly pulse on retail in Australia and New Zealand. Each week, The Retail Rundown delivers a sharp, insightful recap of the biggest headlines shaping the industry.....
🛒 Leadership Change at Woolworths Supermarkets: Spencer Sonn, Managing Director of Woolworths NZ, has resigned leaving in March to join WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS LIMITED in SA. His tenure coincided with increasing regulatory scrutiny, including the Comm Comm to file criminal charges over pricing errors. A new MD will be announced in Feb.
🍃The Body Shop NZ to Close After Failing to Find a Buyer: The Body Shop NZ will close all 16 stores, marking the end of its 35-year presence in NZ. Liquidators have been appointed & the retailer will begin winding-down, with stores remaining open in "sale mode". The UK-based parent collapsed in Feb, but NZ was excluded from the international sale. The closure impacts 70 full-time employees.
🚨 Retail Surveillance Under Scrutiny in ANZ: Retailers in ANZ are increasingly using Auror, a crime intelligence platform that logs shoplifting and retail theft incidents, allowing police access. The system, used by major supermarkets and stores, has come under scrutiny with privacy advocates questioning the extent of surveillance, how long data is stored, and whether retailers should have the power to track individuals outside the legal system.
🩳 Rivers to close resulting in 650 job losses: Aussie clothing and footwear retailer Rivers will close all 136 stores by mid-April 2025, resulting in approx 650 job losses. This follows the collapse of parent company, Mosaic Brands Ltd, which entered voluntary administration in late 2024 with debts nearing $250m. Despite efforts by receivers to find a buyer, a sale could not be achieved.
🛍️ MYER and Premier Investments Shareholders Approve Major Merger: Shareholders of both MYER and Premier Investments have approved Myer's acquisition of Premier's apparel brands; Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Portmans, Dotti, and Jacqui E. The merger will expand Myer's footprint to over 780 stores and add more than 17,000 employees across ANZ. This strategic move aims to create a leading omni-channel retail platform in the region.
📢 Catch to shut citing rising competition from global E-Commerce giants: Aussie online retailer Catch will cease operations on April 30, 2025, resulting in approx 190 job losses. Parent Wesfarmers, acquired Catch for $230m in 2019, cited intensifying competition from e-commerce giants like Temu, SHEIN, and Amazon as key factors in the decision. Despite efforts to integrate into its retail ecosystem, Wesfarmers says that closing the platform was in the best interests of shareholders.
🛍 NZ Govt to crack down on retail monopolies: The NZ government, led by Minister Nicola Willis, is intensifying efforts to address retail monopolies beyond the supermarket sector. With the Commerce Commission, this aims to scrutinise large retailers to promote fair competition and protect consumer interests.
