Inside Retail reports that a survey by research firm Roy Morgan has revealed that German supermarket giant Aldi has claimed the mantle of Australia’s most trusted brand. Aldi outperformed local rivals Coles and Woolworths, neither of which placed in the top 10 due to low trust ratings. Aldi also outperformed the likes of Qantas, Bendigo Bank, Bunnings Australia and Kmart. Roy Morgan's CEO echoed the sentiments we have long held about the grocery sector stating, “Aldi’s ability to excel at its core competencies has built a level of trust in the Australian market without at the same time attracting the degree of distrust seen by its rivals.”

The Washington Post published comments about a Bloomberg report, reflecting on specialty apparel and department store stocks being battered in recent years, as a steady stream of store closings and online competition put their future in doubt.  Recently, this trend has been shifting and analyst now started to rank some of the retail stocks as 'buy'.  According to Bloomberg, many big names in the clothing business have better days ahead because they’ve made some "underappreciated progress in solving some important problems", such as ... getting better at inventory control and shortening merchandise buying cycles.  Such measures make sense, but what we don't understand is why did this qualify as news?  Effective buying and accurate inventory control are retail 101.  Anyway, it is good to hear that not everything within the retail industry is doom and gloom.

Nikkei Asian Review commented on the international expansion of Japanese retailers - around 14% have operations outside  Japan.  They target mainly Chinese and the US markets; only about 20% of the expanding companies look at SE Asia.  Around 70% of the Japanese retailers who operate internationally are pleased, or at least comfortable with their results.  The biggest challenges encountered relate to finding regional partners and adopting local management styles.  We can imagine how hard the latter must be for Japanese corporations.

The AFR reports that 99-year-old Godfreys owner John Johnston has instructed CEO John Hardy to take the fight for the business's resurgence to social media and beyond. The retailer will stop trading on the ASX at the close of today, as it ends an awkward chapter after nearly four years as a listed company. The newly restructured company will take a more aggressive and progressive position in the market, already launching an advertising blitz, which generated some positive momentum. It will be intriguing to see if the limping business can be turned around.

The Wall Street Journal reports that shopping malls in the US are the emptiest they have been in six years, with a vacancy rate of 8.6% in the second quarter. According to research from Reis Inc, the high vacancy rate is due to more consumers shifting to online shopping. Retailers such as Bon Ton, Sears, J.C. Penney and Toys “R” Us have all announced store closures this year. But, the main reason is not that Americans have abandoned brick-and-mortar for online merchants. The US simply has far too much retail space per capita - one of the highest globally. Stores still play a major role, with many pureplay retailers now recognising that having a brick-and-mortar presence reinforces their online efforts, including Amazon.com.

An article in the AFR details the latest retail sales figures in Australia. Amid all the metrics mentioned, we were again disappointed with the way the data is represented. Retail sales statistics compared to the month before makes no sense and distort the real story. In retail, the only material measure is year-on-year corresponding period comparison.  In this light, the only meaningful figure noted in the report was the sales data for May, which shows a lukewarm rise of 2.4% from the same period in 2017.

The $1.8 billion automotive parts group, Bapcor is a front-runner to acquire Kmart Tyre & Auto from Westfarmers according to an article in today's AFR. Kmart Tyre & Auto, which operates 250 outlets, is expected to fetch approximately $300 million. According to Bapcor CEO Darryl Abotomey, the business is approaching the opportunity from a clinical viewpoint. Another potential buyer for Kmart Tyre & Auto is GPC Asia Pacific, the parent company of Repco. The AFR reported on 3 July that 3 bids were due for the retailer by end-July.

Times are seriously tough for grocery wholesaler Metcash, according to an AFR report. The article outlines the details of a $125 million off-market buyback, which will reduce the business's issue capital by about 5.3%. The move comes after supermarket chain Drakes' announcement in May that it will leave the Metcash supply chain, the growing strength of Aldi in key markets, and continued fierce competition from Woolworths and Coles. Fund managers warn that Metcash faces serious strife over the next 5 years. Across grocery and pharmacy, there is an interesting wholesaling shake up down under.

The AFR reports that Afterpay founder Nicholas Molnar has become one of Australia's ten wealthiest self-made individuals, with a $200 million fortune fuelled by the rapid growth of the buy now pay later service. Afterpay boasts more than 1.8 million customers and is growing at around 3,300 new customers per day. The business has 14,000 retailers on its books, flights on Jetstar are next, and it has now cracked the US market after cutting a deal with Urban Outfitters. AfterPay shares have enjoyed a bullish rally of 220% over the past year. Despite a few regulatory headwinds, the growth trend looks set to continue with Goldman Sachs analysts believing that the risks for a material change to its business model are minimal.  

The Herald Sun reports that supermarkets are cashing in big time on the newly enforced plastic bag ban. The 15 cent charge for multi-use heavy duty bags has generated $71 million in profit. Additionally, grocers are saving $170 million annually on the cost of giving away free plastic bags. All this gain for supermarkets' bottom line, while experience from other countries clearly shows that switching to multi-use bags does not help the environment. Makes you wonder...

The Herald Sun reports that a review of Food and Grocery Code of Conduct has found that while relations between Woolworths, Coles and Aldi and their suppliers have significantly improved, instances of troubling behaviour persist. For example, the report notes that suppliers have been threatened with cuts to their product ranges or shelf space unless they lower prices, but savings have not been passed on to shoppers. According to the review, supermarkets have also refused to accept price increases driven by rising costs such as electricity, only to then jack up the shelf prices and pocket the extra cash. The report calls for more effective legislation to be put in place to curb the distortion, however with supermarkets also looking to increase their private label offering over the next several years, suppliers are being punished from all angles - without any benefit delivered to the consumer.

The AFR commented that if Australia follows the same e-commerce trends as the US, the demand for new industrial property here will surge. According to Colliers International, "Australia's e-commerce sector is at an eight-year lag to the US.  Applying the same annual growth rate in the share of US online retail sales between 2009 and 2017 to Australia, Australia's retail online share should increase to 9.9% by 2025." The total floor space in property lease deals that occurred in 2017 related to the e-commerce was around 150,000 sq. metres, compared with around 50,000 sq. metres in 2013.  Remembering that everything is one of a kind, we think that comparisons between regions can be misleading. Australian e-commerce faces a range of unique logistical challenges.  It is unlikely that the trend down under will be the same as in the US.