RUOk?

Posted on Tuesday, September 17, 2019
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Food industry: innovate or die

Posted on Tuesday, September 10, 2019
You might think that with the rise of app-based food delivery services like Uber Eats and Deliveroo that business would be booming for the hospitality industry. But that’s not always the case. Despite the staggering numbers – Australians spent $2.6 billion on food delivery last year – these digital disruptors are causing some serious damage to the food industry. How? By eating away at margins. Profit margins in restaurants are usually less than 30%. Big take-aways like McDonalds make around 22% profit, while casual dining restaurants operate on a 5-10% margin, while fine dining restaurants make about 4-6% and most of that is on alcohol sales. And the alcohol sales – or more importantly, the in-house dining experience – is what they’re losing thanks to the food delivery apps. This is compounded by the fees charged to the restaurants by the delivery apps, which can be up to a 30-35% commission. So whatever margin the establishment was making, gets eaten up even further. ... Read the rest of entry »

Spring has sprung!

Posted on Monday, September 2, 2019
Spring has sprung, which means it’s time for the annual spring clean to begin. And I’m not talking about weeding the garden – September is the perfect time to do a financial spring clean! Guru tip 1 – in this falling interest rate environment, there’s never been a better time to get a better home loan deal from your bank. Ask for a better rate or a discount, and maybe even suggest a valuer pays a visit to re-value your property, now that the market is on the up. Beware however, interest rate shopping and switching banks has become difficult since the Banking Royal Commission, so to quote Cat Stevens, “it’s not time to make a change”. Guru tip 2 – a clever way to get a discount on your home and contents insurance is to install a cheap but effective CCTV system. While you might need to outlay a few hundred dollars now, your insurance company will love it and you’ll recoup the outlay within a couple of years through insurance premium reductions. Gur ... Read the rest of entry »

The businesses bucking the retail recession

Posted on Monday, August 26, 2019
Last week I wrote about the changing buyer behaviours that are leading a downturn for Australia’s retailers. This week we’re going to talk about some retailers bucking the trend – and you might be surprised about who has come out on top this reporting season. One big surprise-packet is JB Hifi. They’ve reported 7.1% growth in the face of stiff competition from online retailers, an all-time high. The others ticking along nicely are Coles and Woolies, the duopoly everybody loves to hate, but still shops there anyway. Why are these big businesses going so nicely? I see three possible explanations: 1. Big budgets. They say you’ve got to spend money to make money, and if you can afford to plaster the entire world (TV, radio, online, social media) with ads about your ridiculous Little Shop toys, you’re also likely to reap the rewards. 2. Clever investment. In the case of JB Hifi, they bought a distressed asset in The Good Guys and turned it around with TGG reporting 4% grow ... Read the rest of entry »

There are four types of shopper - which are you?

Posted on Monday, August 19, 2019
The retail landscape has changed remarkably over the last few years, and the way we shop has naturally changed with it, but not necessarily in the way retailers might have expected. The conversation has come from an article written by Mark Bouris, which argues that Australia’s major retailers are in recession due to these changing shopping trends, and that small businesses have the most to gain from the swing away from the Coles and Woolies of this world. I think four distinct buyer types have emerged, when it comes to the regular weekly household shop: The bulk buyer: loves Costco and Aldi, does a massive shop as rarely as possible and will seek out these big discount retailers in order to save some coin. The online buyer: hates shopping centres and the hassle that comes along with them – traffic, parking, crowds. As a result, does their weekly shop online and avoids the shops at all costs. The local shopper: will do the weekly shop at the supermarket in order to secure the bes ... Read the rest of entry »