American consumers are balancing the need to save money on consumer packaged goods with the need to conserve petrol, so they are turning to major shopping centres to make fewer and larger shopping trips. Information Resources, Inc.’s (IRI) latest research, ‘Times & Trends: Channel Migration 2008′, reveals that shopping centres were the only store type to achieve sales gains across six key grocery retail department areas during the last year, while traditional grocery... ...Read more »

Peak retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has today welcomed the recommendations in the Productivity Commission’s Market for Retail Tenancy Leases final report, but is concerned about the Commission’s silence on the required disclosure of tenants’ turnover figures. ARA’s Executive Director Richard Evans said the release of the Productivity Commission’s report on retail leasing has recommendations welcomed by retailers, including nationally... ...Read more »

Former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Chairman, Allan Fels has warned that town planning laws are currently a “tragedy for consumers” and suggests that action needs to be taken to ensure preferential treatment is not given to the leading retailers. “The planning laws restrict competition -they protect the big shopping centres,” Professor Fels said. Professor Fels made his comments at an Urban Taskforce luncheon - just a week before the ACCC finalises... ...Read more »

Victoria’s largest consumers of energy and water are expected to make big resource savings through the Brumby Government’s new Environment and Resource Efficiency Plans (EREP) program. The companies involved include a host of key food industry players. Victoria’s Environment and Climate Change Minister, Gavin Jennings, said EREP is the first program of its type in Australia and more than 250 sites across Victoria had answered the call to reduce energy and greenhouse gases, water... ...Read more »