Cafés, restaurants and takeaway stores (C/R/TS) recorded their worst monthly sales performance of the year, along with general food retailing – which includes grocers, bakeries, fishmongers and butchers. On seasonally adjusted figures, the ABS saw both divisions falter, with food retail down 0.7 per cent on May figures and the C/R/TS sector declining 1.7 per cent month-on-month. It was the second time this year that the sectors had recorded a fall in sales, however the declines can largely... ...Read more »

New findings from research house Mintel have dissected current trends for three of the hottest food and drink markets in the US: ice cream, coffee-houses and alcoholic beverages. Ice cream preferences Mintel discovered seven out of every 10 men prefer plain ice cream flavours, such as chocolate or vanilla, while 74% of women seek out those containing chocolate or candy pieces. Still, each gender seems to enjoy the other’s taste preferences: 66% of women say they also look for plain ice cream,... ...Read more »

Retail turnover declined in the month of February in all sectors, after rises in the previous two months as retail sales defied the downturn with the help of a robust food sector. Retail industry body, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), believes the negative two per cent growth in retail turnover for February is reflective of a traditionally difficult time of year for retailers. ARA Executive Director Richard Evans said the retail sector has been retracting since coming off the peak of the... ...Read more »

The latest ABS data has indicated that restaurants, cafés and take-away outlets have begun to regain some of the customers they may have lost last year, while food retail continues to record robust results. The seasonally adjusted estimate of retail trade surprisingly increased by 0.2% in January 2009, following increases of 3.8% in December and 0.4% in November 2008. In original terms, Australian turnover decreased by 23.0% in January 2009 compared with December 2008 as sales declined in the month... ...Read more »

The rate of trend growth for food retailing increased again in the December quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics advised today. It represented the third straight quarter of the trend growth rate rising, with a 1.8% increase for the food retail sector. However, the ABS noted that the rate of growth was more greatly influenced by price hikes than by volume increases. Restaurants, cafes and restaurants saw a 0.6% decline in trend growth, the fourth straight decline for the sector as consumers... ...Read more »

The latest ABS retail data has shown food retailers had their best ever festive season, with this year’s December sales 7.7 per cent higher than corresponding figures last year. Cafés, restaurants and take-away stores were not as fortunate, however, with a meagre 0.06% rise on sales figures from last December. It continues the trend of food retailing, which includes supermarkets and specialty food stores, far outstripping the sales growth of the restaurant, café and take-away sector as predictions... ...Read more »

Peak retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has advised against an overreaction to the low 0.1 percent increase in November 2008 retail trade trends and remained optimistic growth would begin to return to the sector by April 2009, with significant recovery expected through the September 2009 quarter. The data beat expectations, with food retail again leading the way. ARA Executive Director Richard Evans said retail trade growth for November (NSW – 0.2%, Vic 0.6%, Qld... ...Read more »

Research identifying greater concerns for the restaurant industry, as a result of a downturn in consumer spending, compared to other food industry sectors, appears to be on the mark. The latest retail trade statistics from the ABS highlight the strain any further consumer cost cutting could put on restaurants. Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services represented the worst performed industry sector in the September quarter, with a 0.6% drop in the trend. Food retailing, meanwhile, had the largest... ...Read more »

The Workplace Ombudsman has today released a new list of businesses it will target in the lead-up to Christmas to ensure workers are properly paid.The workplace watchdog’s latest “hit-list” includes bakeries, butchers, dairy producers, coffee shops and take-away food outlets. Also in the sights of inspectors will be grocers, smallgoods stores and both retail and wholesale suppliers of poultry and seafood. Federal Workplace Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson advised that the national food... ...Read more »

Chadstone Shopping Centre – Australia’s largest shopping centre – will officially open its new Fresh Food precinct comprising 12,600m2 of retail space tomorrow (Friday 31 October). Chadstone, in Melbourne’s south-east, is now home to 55 new food retailers including Simon Johnson, Tangelo Fine Foods, jones the grocer and Oriental Tea House, and prominent supermarket retailers Woolworths and Aldi. The array of quality food available is expected to see consumers flock to the... ...Read more »