This Month
Frustration gives birth to ‘the Mecca of the baby world’
Phoebe Simmonds and Kate Casey saw customers embrace big changes in the beauty world. So they brought them to the baby industry.
- Lauren Sams
Amazon’s Temu copycat to fuel mindless Australian consumerism
The e-tailing giant’s “Haul” shopfront – an answer to cheap marketplaces that’s now on a US trial – is feeding a growing subculture of over-shopping.
- Vanessa Friedman
Amazon is quietly turning into a major rival for Coles and Woolworths
Goldman Sachs estimates it is now the second-largest online retailer in Australia, but sales are still a fraction of the big supermarkets. Will that change?
- Updated
- Carrie LaFrenz
November
CBA prepares for AI to transform banking, with dozens of uses
The country’s biggest bank is already using AI to resolve 15,000 payment disputes every day. And its chief executive, Matt Comyn, says many more uses are on the way.
- James Eyers and Lucas Baird
Fashion retailer The Iconic plots recovery, one Samba at a time
The boss of the popular fashion app is aiming to restore sales growth and shrink its net loss after a tough 12 months. But the field is getting crowded.
- Updated
- Carrie LaFrenz
Bronzed Bali Body seeks capital injection to fund growth spurt
The founders of the self tanner and skincare company are hoping to catch a wave of offshore interest from international buyers.
- Carrie LaFrenz
- Updated
- Supermarket wars
Coles says focusing only on low prices sent customers away
Appearing at a competition inquiry, chief executive Leah Weckert says experience has shown shoppers want more than just cheap products.
- Updated
- Carrie LaFrenz
Woolworths suppliers put on ‘holiday’ for price pushback, ACCC hears
The competition regulator’s public hearings have been told some producers did not receive any orders from the supermarket if they refused to drop prices.
- Carrie LaFrenz
Small retailers give a ‘hard no’ to Black Friday and the big sales
Dr Dough Donuts boss Kristy Bannister says discount blitzes like Black Friday do more harm than good for smaller retailers by creating “unsustainable” expectations.
- Gus McCubbing
Milkrun founder Milham returns to his roots at Koala
Koala co-founder Dany Milham will return to the chief executive role at the online furniture retailer he created in 2015, as it booked an annual profit.
- Paul Smith
October
Zip banks on interest rate cuts as transaction volumes soar
The buy now, pay later group has endured a difficult two years and returned to growth, particularly in the US, where the majority of sales are processed.
- James Eyers
Temple & Webster sales growth slows
The online furniture retailer is the latest to show sales momentum is slowing this half.
- Carrie LaFrenz
Ebay struggle’s to stay relevant
It’s become just another online marketplace, as the auctions that once added to the thrill of the chase now make up a small fraction of transactions.
- Ben East
Foot Locker goes all in on basketball with new Melbourne mega-store
The American sporting giant is hoping to grab the attention of a generation of shoppers who have more choices than ever for where to buy their sneakers.
- Carrie LaFrenz
Ex-tradies go from zero to $6m by swinging for young golfers
Online retailer Golf Gods takes the “Happy Gilmore” approach to its line of offbeat clothing that aims to take the stuffiness out of the game.
- Simon Evans
JPMorgan enters Australian payments as competition heats up
The world’s largest bank said it would start offering “merchant acquiring” services in Australia, in the latest threat to major banks’ payments margins.
- James Eyers
September
Google to test its artificial intelligence-powered search in Australia
Known as AI Overviews, the change is the biggest to the platform in years. But news publishers and e-commerce sites fear it could leave them out in the cold.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
Nick Scali wants to conquer Britain. Does it stand a chance?
The ASX-listed furniture retailer has made a big bet on the United Kingdom, where plenty of big Australian companies have come unstuck.
- Hans van Leeuwen and Carrie LaFrenz
What this exec has learnt from becoming a CEO at 29
In 2022, Rajneen Arora was the GM of Best Gift Group when the hospitality gift card company fielded a buyout offer. The deal was contingent on Arora becoming its chief executive.
- Sally Patten
Cettire’s Dean Mintz rewards the faithful
Not much is known about reclusive Cettire founder Dean Mintz. But it’s clear the man reads his reviews.
- Myriam Robin
