| Global retail industry news |  | | |  | - Inditex to launch first Zara store in South Africa
Zara's entry in South Africa is not expected to have a significant effect on local retailers, including Edgars, Truworths and Foschini, as their prime retail spaces give them a competitive edge, industry insiders say. "The prices will not be cheap and it will more or less be in line with the fashion of Truworths' ranges," said Stuart Gottschalk, deputy chairman of the Clothing and Textile Services Centre. "The company is only going to open one store to start off with which will give customers more choice, so I doubt that it would affect other retailers adversely." Business Report (South Africa) (04 Oct.)      - Australian retailers say rate rise would hurt Christmas results
Economists expect that the Reserve Bank of Australia will increase interest rates when it meets this week. Retailers are raising concerns that a rate increase will hurt Christmas sales. "We are heading into a peak trading area -- both the Spring Racing Carnival time and running into Christmas trading -- and we are concerned that this will slow down retailing at a time when retailers just do not need that to occur," said Russell Zimmerman, executive director at the Australian Retailers Association. ABC (Australia) (04 Oct.)  | In any industry, operational excellence revolves around key business outcomes including productivity, cost control, and quality of service. For retailers, all of these outcomes are highly, if not entirely, dependent on the quality of the workforce and how it is managed. Find out what challenges retailers are facing, and what a workforce management solution can do for your bottom line. |
 - IKEA discloses earnings for first time in company history
IKEA is striving to shed its secretive image by disclosing full-year earnings figures. The Swedish company reported €2.58 billion in annual profit for the year that ended 31 Aug., 2009. IKEA is making a major shift with the disclosure as it has kept its accounts private since it was founded in 1943. "We decided to do this because we've noticed that the interest for IKEA has increased over the years, and our intention is to be as transparent as possible," said IKEA CEO Mikael Ohlsson. The Wall Street Journal (01 Oct.)  | Facebook marketing for small businesses
Inc. magazine's blue-collar millionaire and successful restaurateur Nick Sarillo shares how he & his staff made Facebook marketing a valuable part of their promotional strategy. Discover Nick's proven tactics and learn from 21 other experts during October's Facebook Success Summit. Register now! |
 - Indian apparel retailers strive to lure more global brands
Arvind Brands, S. Kumars Nationwide, Reliance Brands and other apparel retailers in India are working to expand their portfolios by attracting more international brands. "As the retail sector is opening up, more foreign brands are looking up to the Indian market. They are looking for local partners here," said Amod Choudhary, an executive at Arvind Lifestyle Brands. "We are aggressively looking to bring in more global brands. By the end of next financial year, we will have more brands in our portfolio." LiveMint.com/The Wall Street Journal (India) (03 Oct.) - Indonesia's tax refund programme for foreigners adds more retailers
Indonesia's Directorate General of Taxation successfully tested a Value Added Tax refund programme for visitors earlier this year. Now almost two dozen retailers are being added to the programme. "We have received many positive responses both from tourists and retail outlets in providing facilities for VAT refunds for tourists," said Robert Pakpahan of the Directorate General of Taxation. The Jakarta Post (Indonesia) (04 Oct.)  | Do People Trust Your Brand?
Business-to-Business companies increasingly recognize how critical building trusted online relationships has become to their financial success. Download this white paper to learn how companies can align trust, credibility, and privacy processes within their organizations to grow revenues and mitigate risk. |
 - What makes a successful e-commerce operation?
 Online retailing has been "coming together" with bricks-and-mortar retailing for the past several years, according to CROSSMARK CEO Kevin Moore. Moore says he has delved into several different models, finding that a number of key elements are common to successful online offerings. For example, he says companies that are successful online are able to transfer the look and feel of their stores to their website. Moore also said successful enterprises provide the same range and pricing online as in their traditional stores. SmartCompany.com.au (Australia)/Retail trends blog (04 Oct.)  | What New CEOs Need to Know, 3rd edition
Being a CEO is fundamentally a paradox: Complete responsibility and incomplete control. This collection of Harvard Business Review articles provides a crash course for the new CEO to set the right strategy, focus efforts, and get things done the right ways. Order here in print or PDF. |
 | Spotlight on Mass Merchandise |  | | | - Bidding war heats up for Carrefour's Southeast Asian assets
Carrefour is looking to divest itself of 43 hypermarkets in Thailand, 23 in Malaysia and two in Singapore after failing to grab a dominant position in Southeast Asia. "They did not succeed in achieving their goal and getting themselves in a dominant position," said one European banker, but "there is every indication that the market is promising because there are many contenders" to acquire the assets. Potential suitors are lining up with a second round of bidding expected to take place next month. Google/Agence France-Presse (03 Oct.) | NRF News | | | | - Get a glimpse into the future of shopping
Want to know what the not-so-distant future of shopping looks like? Resource Interactive shared a powerful, three-minute video at Shop.org's Summit demonstrating how shopping as we know it is changing. Some of these statistics will truly amaze you. Watch the video.
| SmartQuote | | | |  | Sound character provides the power with which a person may ride the emergencies of life instead of being overwhelmed by them. Failure is ... the highway to success."
--Og Mandino,
American author  |
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