Small retailers are pushing it up hill big time.

With online shopping gaining strength and the apparent unchecked onslaught from the big boys, I am afraid the writing is on the wall.

Now there are those who simply say, when one falls another will take their place.

Well that proves you have not been in small retail recently.

Gone are the days of a simple two page rental agreement, replaced by a 50 page legal document that many lawyers can't even get their heads around.

Meanwhile, our governments sit back and watch the relentless rise and rise of the big two.

I saw the light and pulled the pin after 23 years, pity, had I done that six years earlier I would be half a million better off, but that's life, it's only money I say.

But from an industry experts point of view, I can assure you, if we don't start supporting these small retailers, they will be gone for ever, as compliance issues alone will make it too hard to return.

I say, support them, or loose them, the choice is ours.

Emotional point of view Rechtub.
And some what biased, why do people become small business men and women.
I did early in life for satisfaction, but profit most of all.
My 3 basics, sell the best quality at the best price, never take orders you could not fill within a few weeks.
Is it the duty of the customer or the business to provide the profits.
Some of my many customers put mark ups of 350% on my product, others 125% and sold out much faster.
The market place is not compulsory, for one side or the other.
Both want value for money and quality, so it will always be online is here to stay.
Small business still in a different shop front.

Yes I agree rehctub, we are loosing them at a rate of knots around here. The big 2 have got the thing under control, & will eliminate most competition in time.

Of course we get what we deserve. If we are too lazy, or busy to shop around, they will take advantage of us every time.

I used to take a couple of eskies when shopping, so I could buy stuff over the longer time it takes to go from shop to shop. As walking too far, & climbing in & out of cars has become harder, I have succumbed to the one shop fits all syndrome.

I know I get better meat from the butcher. I know the fruit shop has better, & fresher fruit, & the people at the chemist down the road are really nice, but it is easy to park once, do a quick circuit of one shop, & get the hell out of town as quickly as possible.

So I will have no one but myself to blame, when we have no small retailers to "keep the bastards honest" as the saying goes.

Dear rehctub,

I agree with you - we definitely need to support
small retailers. I notice the difference in quality
when I buy fruit from my local green-grocer. When
I buy meat from my local butcher (a pork scotch or
beef tenderloin is divine) or when I go to my
local deli - for cold cuts (superb), and home-made
sausages that the man specialises in (yum). Even
certain home-made breads (sour dough et cetera) don't
taste like cardboard when bought from my special
bakery. Of course shopping takes longer - and probably
is more expensive - but quality-wise it certainly is
worth it - as my family testifies. There is a big
difference in taste. And I've got to say - you can't beat
locally grown produce - especially in fruit and veg.

Retail has just had its best 3 months for quite a while. Except qld.
Online shopping is not going to go away.
That is the way it is.
Butchers are selling direct, vegetables direct from farmers markets.
It's a cost cutting exercise.
Small time strip shopping is in decline, people prefer to go to the malls to get the lot without moving your car.
Retailers will not be supported, just like people will not support bye AU, its a matter of cost.

Rehctub, just because somebody hangs their shingle out, does not
mean that they are worthy of support. Don't blame me if they are
overpaying for rent etc, perhaps they need a new marketing model.

So I support any small retailers who are worth supporting. Those
that give me good service, value for money and don't try to rip
me off with huge margins.

Cutting overheads is crucial in business and according to your model,
you seem to think that consumers should just wear bad retailing.

Sorry, Coles provide a much better deal and even send me a dividend
cheque.

Dear Yabby,

I find things rather difficult to find in
our local Coles store. It's far too large -
with items all over the place - and they
keep moving some of the merchandise from
week to week - making it even more difficult
to find things.

We shop at our local Safeway for many items -
(still called Safeway), we know where everything
is. They don't move things around and we save a
lot of time - because we know where things are.

Dear Lexi,

If the Safeway store suits you better, that is clearly the place for
you to shop. Coles are indeed reorganising alot of their stores, for
all sorts of reasons. The numbers speak for themselves, they have
picked up alot of business. When Coles was taken over a few years
ago, they were a basket case. It just shows what good management
can do.Ian Mcleod is actually trying to get a better deal for
consumers and clearly consumers notice.

I have a dishwasher and used to buy what was available for around
6-7$ a container. Then the manufacturers claimed to have doubled
the strength of the active ingredient and charged 11$ or so.So
a couple of weeks ago I bought a packet of the Coles Smartbuy
dishwashing powder to try it. Works just as well for 2.50$.

Unlike Aldi and Costco, Coles is Australian owned and most people
would have an interest in it, through their Super Fund.

One good reason to choose a small local shop over supermarkets is that in the supermarkets they bombard your ear with their idea of "music", no escape - perhaps they do it because they don't want you to hear your own thoughts, preventing you from thinking twice about what you buy, or perhaps they are simply sadist: just run as fast as you can, pick the items you need and out the door ASAP.

I know just what you are talking about Lexi.

I have 4 different towns all about 25Km from home, which have Coles & Woolworths. One has an Aldi, & 3 other towns a similar distance from home have independent supermarkets.

I have different reasons to go to a number of these towns, like farm equipment, doctor, & car parts, so I try to combine my shopping with other necessary trips. It is frustrating when you can't find something you want.

I find the difference in prices depending on the socioeconomic flavour of these towns quite marked. I know it is foolish, but I tend to shop at the only one of these places that was here when I came.

I think they must profit from this behaviour in many, as they tend to be the dearest of all. At least I can still find what I want, so I suppose they have trained me well.

Rechtub some rather nice supportive replies.
A look at non suburban reality living may be different.
Just 40 ks away from tourist Mecca is a bit different.
Corner small business charges 8 cents a liter more for fuel, 160% of the price for a gas bottle.
Bread $2 more!
As customers flee, and they do, prices rise, so tourists passing by pay more still.
We are talking small business getting smaller.
All those telling us we should buy there tell me why?
My butcher is giving me the best at the best price, I am loyal to those who are loyal to me.

The problem with small Retail is their costs.

As for larger malls, they will soon suffer as the rents they need to charge, just to subsidize the large retailers are simply becoming unaffordable.

I can only speak for QLD, but can assure you the days are numbered for many.

We even have the likes of Westfeild charging shoppers to park, if they stay for more than three hours.

So gone are the days of catching a movie then do lunch, then shop.

These retailers are being screwed and, considering that paid parking was introduced mid lease, it's simply not fair.

Once this lot run their leases out, many will not renew.

And Yabby, I know you love your Coles, but, once the comp it gone, do you think they will continue to look after you?

Just look at the price difference in produce, between a centre with a green grocer, or ome without.

Of cause, the government finally stepped in, too little too late of cause.

*These retailers are being screwed and, considering that paid parking was introduced mid lease, it's simply not fair.*

Well yes Rehctub, I agree, some of those rents are extreme. But
screwing the consumer to solve it, is not the answer. Today there
are other answers, like home deliveries, internet etc.

*once the comp it gone, do you think they will continue to look after you?*

So Rehctub, if Coles was not there to create competition, who would
look after you then? McCleod is reviewing his whole supply chain
and that starts with some of the major suppliers, companies which
operate globally like Nestle, Unilever, Kraft, etc. They charge
Australians more then in other parts of the world, because in the
past they could. That is now changing, thanks to him, consumers
are winners.

Coles keeps small butchers honest, that is not a bad thing.For
its not the price paid to the farmer that is the problem, but
margins between farmer and consumer. I was quoted an example the
other day, 59.95 for loin chops in a mall. Coles charge 18$.

I agree with much of rechtub's comments on this issue.
And I definitely hold malls to be part of the problem, (just one of many ways that malls hurt us as a society and as a community).
I recently returned from a trip that included a period in the UK.
My sense is that there, small retailers are doing a bit better than here. They're certainly struggling too, but I think for different reasons.
Part of the reasons they're doing a bit better is, I think, to do with the 'High Streets'.
So many people in the UK, rather than living in shopless suburbs as we do here, live in villages that still have a High Street. There's usually good bus access and reasonable prking.
It - along with the village pubs - seem to create more of a sense of community, and people seem more inclined to support their local businesses, even at a bit higher cost. And I definitely heard people say that they put a high value on the convenience of smaller shops within walking distance or a short bus trip.
I have no data to support this, but that is the impression I've come away with on this and previous trips there.
Anthony
http://www.observationpoint.com.au

Don't think you can blame online shopping for the decline with food businesses. Sure, some do but the VAST majority still like to see their meat before they buy it.

The decline is right across the board. Have a look around you. People are holding on to their money and it's affecting EVERYONE.

I deliver bulk freight for a living. We haven't been busy since the floods in Qld last year and my company is one of the three biggest. We all can sit around blaming everyone else for our woes but in the end we're all in more trouble than most realise.

I'm have no idea what's causing it but things haven't been this bad in my life time.

Supermarkets are well and good for certain items.
However as I stated earlier my preference when
quality matters is to go for the specialist shops -
like meat, deli, fruit and veg. Also time is
important to me - and I prefer supermarkets where
things are easy to find - not where you're forced
to view products that you won't be buying from them
anyway - but they use that ploy - making it longer
for you to do your shopping. That's a turn-off.

Supermarkets have to re-think their strategies at
times. Overkill can hurt:

A new Aldi supermarket opened in Toowoomba recently.
It has an automatic water mister to keep the produce
fresh. Just before it goes on, you hear the distant
sound of thunder and the smell of fresh rain.

When you pass the milk cases, you hear cows mooing and
you experience the scent of freshly cut hay.

In the meat department there is the aroma of charcoal-
grilled steaks and bratwurst.

When you approach the egg cases, you hear hens clack and
cackle and the air is filled with the pleasing aroma of
bacon and eggs frying.

The bread department features the tantalising smell of
freshly baked bread and cakes.

I don't buy toilet paper there anymore!

<<I don't buy toilet paper there anymore!>>

So how do you manage instead? Steal it?

Dear Yuyutsu,

To develop your sense of humour -
get a book of jokes and study them.

Cheers.

Lexi,

Re: the dunny rolls. LOL Think that went over Yuyu's head by a long shot.

And guess where he can sit and study them.
Anthony
http://www.observationpoint.com.au

*not where you're forced
to view products that you won't be buying from them
anyway - but they use that ploy - making it longer
for you to do your shopping.*

Believe me Lexi, this stuff is researched to death in modern
supermarketing and people overwhelmingly want choice and value
for money.

So larger supermarkets, offering more choice are winners.

But I understand, oldies like you maybe can't cope walking
around a supermarket, its all a bit much :)

I'm curious, Yabby.
How did you construe Lexi's age from her posts?
Or was it just a wild guess? demonstrating perhaps, the impetuosity of youth.
Anthony
http://www.observationpoint.com.au

Dear Yabby,

Walking stick? Ah, Yabster - You must be getting
confused with my baton. And I prefer
roller blades - they're more fun
(and efficient). Be daring - if
your legs can stand it - give it a go.

Dear Anthonyve,

Yabby posts the way he does because he's
compensating for something.

Hi Lexi,
I'm sure you're right.
And I suspect that at least one thing Yabby is compensating for is an absence of facts.
Cheers,
Anthony
http://www.observationpoint.com.au

Well clearly this one went over Anthony's head by a long shot.
So Yuyutsu is not alone.

In Canada a decade ago Walmart was running everyone out of buisness until Canada's version of the ACCC came up with and policed this view of the legislation.

"The Bureau considers predatory pricing to be a firm deliberately setting prices to incur losses for a sufficiently long period of time to eliminate, discipline, or deter entry by a competitor, in the expectation that the firm will subsequently be able to recoup its losses by charging prices above the level that would have prevailed in the absence of the impugned conduct, with the effect that competition would be substantially lessened or prevented."

They did police it and small business returned, it seems there is a place for both as long as the government has the will. Our ACCC has the will, a will given to them from Woolies and Wesfarmers, not to mention the oil companies and power suppliers....a will to see them flourish and the INDIVIDUAL fail.

>>Yabby-So Rehctub, if Coles was not there to create competition, who would look after you then?<

Still spouting empty vessel words then Yabby?
I recall you telling me that the banks were poor and that they did not collude...1% profit you spouted from memory, such rubbish from you my token fiscal dynamo. Your vision still does not pass the farm gate. When you have an economy where 80% of weekly consumables come from two corporations Yabby you have monopoly whether the plebs superfund’s invest in the corporations or not. You should have been a banker Yabby, the clothes fit you perfectly, and you already know the spiel.

The problem with the likes of the ACCC, is that this they are policing, are usually much smarter and much better resorced.

Their latest (Coles, wollies) is a promo that earns a discount of fuel when certain items are purchased.

The other strong HO,d they posses, is strength in numbers, as they sell everything and have many fingers in many pies, which, apart from other things, helps to spread their risks.

GovernmentS for years have been toothless tigers and small retailers are now paying for decades of neglect.

At the end of the day, governments simply don't want small retailers as they can't keep an eye on them, so I doubt little will change.

*I recall you telling me that the banks were poor and that they did not collude...1% profit you spouted from memory*

I certainly never claimed that banks were poor, Sonofgloin, so
your imagination or flawed memory are the real problem. My claim
indeed was that banks earned around 1% of gross assets, I stand
by that claim. Return on equity capital is of course higher, as it
should be, but not as high as other Australian companies, such as
some miners and some manufacturers.

*Yabby you have monopoly whether the plebs superfund’s invest in the corporations or not*

Let me see, Coles has 741 stores, Aldi about 270. Aldi outdiscounts
everyone else by a long shot and the profits go to some of Germany's
richest families. So now you want to help Aldi become even richer
and cut out hundreds of thousands of Australians who have an interest
in Coles, plus millions of super fund investors.

Sonofgloin, with people like you, we can only be described as
the lucky but dumb country! The Germans will be laughing all the way
to their megabank.Australia does not need enemies, Sonofgloin is
right here to do the damage.

Good to talk to you again Yabby.