the blame game.

There has been a war brewing in the Australian Fashion Retailers Industry for some time. Although there have been no reports of stiletto stabbings (yet) it seems there is a rivalry between standalone retailers versus online stores.

Australia is in the midst of a 50 year retail slump. Retailers are feeling the pressure of poor sales and are pointing the finger to international online stores that offer low prices, current styles and have the added benefit of being ‘open’ 24/7. In an industry where the colour wheel extends beyond several shades of beige, it can be assumed that this rift in the fashion industry is a story told not just in black & white.

1233 ABC Newcastle reports that although the retail industry is blaming its recent woes on the rise in offshore online shopping they are partly to blame as they are not adapting to the new technologies and the embracing the fact that online shopping is here to stay.
Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten said that "the large retailers in particular have been put on notice by this draft report that some of the prices they're setting are very high and the profits they're seeking are very high”.

I found that Tim Lohmans online article from News Computer World to be particularly interesting and more in-depth than the abc.net.au report. Lohmans article also supports the ideas of Shorten but goes in to a lot more detail about other queries and problems larger retailers have/face when deciding to start their own online store. In particular I found the below statement to be accurate in understanding the current mind frame and thought process of retailers Myers and David Jones, because it brought up memories of myself as a prepubescent thirteen year old girl browsing through the David Jones website.

Longham says “An attitude among larger retailers that the purpose of websites was to [promote retail sales rather than facilitate online sales was also an issue.
“While department stores such as Myer and David Jones and large retailers such as Harvey Norman have had an online presence for some time, their websites appeared designed more to provide information on the range and specifications of goods they sell rather than to aggressively pursue online sales,” the report reads.

Both these articles were a great source into understanding the problems faced by standalone store retailers, but I found that the ComputerWorld article gave far more examples and a deeper level of research and understanding into the reasons and retailer psyche.

It can be noted that perhaps the reason for the short but direct online article from the abc.net.au website was because the main quotes were coming from Bill Shorten, a member of the commission.

Both these articles were up to date.
To view the whole article please visit

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-05/shorten-tells-retailers-to-pick-up-their-act/2825262/?site=newcastle
5th August 2011

and

http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=51AEDCEE-1A64-6A71-CE2EA8E1DAACED71
7th August 2011