clint ' s crazy bargains
you couldn’t go near an australian retail strip in the 1990s without walking past a clint’s crazy bargains outlet .
the man who founded former bargain powerhouse clint’s crazy bargains has warned the days of the humble $ 2 shop are over .
the sale of clint’s crazy bargains’ 115 stores to new zealand company the warehouse in 2000 marked the beginning of a series of high - profile collapses of australian discount retailers .
in australia the main variety stores now consist of the reject shop, daiso, and a variety of smaller chains and independent shops. former chains include crazy clark' s, homeart, sam' s warehouse, clint' s crazy bargains, go - lo and chickenfeed .
the new zealand - based retailer is selling its troubled australian discount variety stores, having struggled since entering that market in 2000 through the acquisition of the clint' s crazy bargains and silly solly' s chains .
no matter what you are looking for, from kitchenware to pets, just crazy bargains has what you need .
as revealed by the business herald in march, it has set in place its main growth strategy for the next decade, striking a deal to take over australian discount chains clint' s crazy bargains and silly solly' s .
“it was heartbreaking for us, and obviously devastating for the warehouse, ” clint’s crazy bargains co - founder dave rickards told news. com. au. “we were just a family business that grew too big .
chairman kevin smith told the warehouse agm this morning that sales at the new acquisitions - clint' s crazy bargains and silly solly' s - are running below plan, and that christmas trading is expected to be difficult for the australian retail sector .
the australian stores will gradually be renamed solly' s warehouse and clint' s warehouse as they are refurbished and expanded .
foreign direct investment is a tried and true strategy for silicon valley companies to speed their growth, such as cisco systems, which bought 55 companies last year, elliott said. that’s in contrast to new zealand firms, who tend to be shy of fdi in the face of failed forays such as warehouse group’s purchase of the clint’s crazy bargains and silly solly’s retail chains in 2000 .
the yellow sheds, which had formerly been clint’s, became sam’s. the sam’s warehouse stores now sat under the newly formed australian discount retail group, which met a messy end just three years later .
ms cameron rescued 143 sam’s warehouse and crazy clark’s stores from the administrators for $ 59 million, forming her new, and equally ill - fated discount superstores group .
the warehouse entered australia with the $ a118 million acquisition of over 117 crazy clints and silly solly' s stores in 2000 .
go lo, silly solly' s, crazy clark' s, clint' s crazy bargains, cheap as chips. according to liz johnson in the australian financial review' the names say it all'. who hasn' t scrounged through their overflowing bins looking for a bargain or a bargain priced brand? these stores offer not only low prices but also budget retail therapy for shoppers who like to consume but whose credit cards couldn' t handle a foray through the upmarket boutiques in the queen victoria building in sydney .
within a decade, sales exceeded nz $ 100 million and the first ‘blue shed’ warehouse stationery outlet was opened. in 1994, the warehouse listed on the new zealand stock exchange in a public float. in 2000, it acquired clint’s crazy bargains and silly solly’s retail chains in australia – with stores in new south wales, victoria, queensland and canberra – which have become its ‘yellow sheds’ .
the 59 - year - old bought retail adventures – which includes 236 sam' s warehouse and crazy clark' s stores – out of receivership for about $ a85 million in 2009 .
to enhance your shopping experience with us, we are pleased to provide our new web site for your to peruse. we are still adding more content but for the time being, you can get all the details of our stores with locations and contact details for all of our just crazy bargains and fair dinkum bargains stores .
f. w. woolworth and s. s. kresge stores on lackawanna avenue, in downtown
mr rickards, who founded clint’s in 1978 with his wife kerry and married couple norm and sue o’neill, also believes the discount variety sector as a whole is dying .
between 1986 to 2000, clint’s went from three stores to 117, and the wholesale business went from next to nothing to being a major supplier to 400 stores around australia .
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it’s hard to imagine life without bunnings and masters, but australia’s home hardware scene wasn’t always dominated by superstores .
just six years after rebranding clint’s stores as yellow sheds, the warehouse was forced into an embarrassing retreat from the local market, selling the loss - making australian assets to private equity .
i take a total and full responsibility along with the members of the board in the decision we made in 2000 in embarking on the purchase of clint' s and solly' s ,
mr tindall told shareholders in auckland on friday .
and you couldn’t go near a tv without hearing the variety store’s nauseatingly memorable advertising catch - cry, “it’s craaaaazy” .
melbourne central’s japanese owner kumagai gum sold most of the retail precinct to australia’s gpt group for $ 408 million in 1999 .
the warehouse group ltd' s founder stephen tindall says he takes responsibility for the failure of the retailer' s australian venture .
the warehouse has been a company synonymous with growth and success in new zealand since stephen tindall founded the company in 1982. by 1999, the warehouse had become the largest retailer in new zealand and had continued to steam ahead since. in early 2001, incoming ceo greg muir faced a real challenge in transferring that success across the tasman into australia. in august 2000, the warehouse had acquired the clint' s crazy bargains / silly solly' s chain of 115 discount variety stores in australia. could the warehouse implement their format in australia and would it be as successful as in new zealand ?
“going out and buying things doesn’t have the same attraction that it used to have, so in that sense it’s a terribly hard business. it’s a tough industry and it’s getting harder by the moment. ”
australian consumers make an annual 32 million visits to crazy clark' s and go lo stores in nsw and queensland, spending an average of $ 8. 50 per visit. perhaps these figures help explain why miller' s retail limited, owner of miller' s fashion club, purchased these two chains, in addition to katies (purchased from coles myer in november) in 2000 .
having studied a number of growth options, the board viewed the australian acquisition as providing our best source for significant growth and value in the medium to long term. this value will be built on sharing the warehouse expertise in logistics, property management, information technology and merchandising with clint' s and solly' s .
brash’s was one of the biggest names in australian music retail in the 1980s .
john' s bargain store (john' s, 512 e. 14th st. between ave. a and ave. b (1986) )
the two acquisitions helped speed up the company’s technological innovation, says chief executive john wikstrom. it’s called “r & d; by m & a. ; ”
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stores are chock - a - block, subliminally communicating economies of scale to consumers - we buy lots, get it cheap and sell it low. or as cowboy bob, the eldest of the crazy clark brothers says,' pile it high and watch it fly'. space is at a premium so items that don' t sell are deep discounted until they do. promotion is often by way of catalogues - crazy clark' s published almost 15 million in 1999 - or television advertising blitzes .
one of mccall’s key objectives will be to drive increased use of information from the data warehouse. “there’s always room for improvement in the way we use data to drive decisions that can optimise the business. ”
don' t let chase auckland' s place near the top of the early nz cup markets fool you .
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electronic goods chain dick smith is tumbling into administration, but it’s not the first famous retailer to meet a sad end .
hayward, walter sumner; and percival albert frederick white; chapters by john s. fleek and hugh macintyre (1922) .
sam' s warehouse – formerly owned by the warehouse new zealand – was founded in 2008 after the warehouse sold its australian operations .
' s model to reduce store overheads by simplifying the duties of sales clerks. they may now be found all over the world .
technically, this is only mccall’s second job. after leaving university in 1985, he went straight to deloitte as an assistant auditor .
what' s the story behind the story? our special feature audio offers a mix of comment from journalists, experts and panel discussions .
the business began with a single store on melbourne’s elizabeth st in 1862 and grew to become the largest music retailer in new south wales, with a fleet of stores that included prime space at 244 pitt st in sydney’s cbd, which is now the site of the anz tower .
please improve the article by adding more descriptive text and removing less pertinent examples. see wikipedia' s guide to writing better articles for further suggestions .
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long before shops like sanity and jb hi - fi became the go - to destinations for recorded music, brashs was the pick of australia’s cd outlets .
the transition in ceo coincided with the transition of the warehouse from a company focused solely on the new zealand market to one focused on australasia. on august 1 2000, the warehouse took possession of their first australian outlets. the company acquired a 115store australian discount retail chain that operated as glint' s crazy bargains in new south wales, act, and victoria, and as silly solly' s in queensland. the australian stores represented a major challenge for the warehouse. they were less than a third of the size of the average warehouse store in new zealand and were supported by relatively immature logistics and it. stephen tindall had described the australian stores as being in a similar state to the warehouse seven years ago (management magazine 2000, p. 28). moreover, the warehouse had no experience in acquisitions - let alone international acquisitions. entering the australian market meant competing against large, entrenched competitors with a history of retaliation against newcomers. however, while there were risks in the australian expansion, the warehouse had a history of setting and achieving bold challenges .
adr was placed into administration in 2009, to be snapped up by kathmandu founder jan cameron’s own ill - fated retail adventures, which itself went under in 2012 .
the joint venture will also buy the discount variety division of australian retailer miller' s retail ltd for $ a120 million, with a view to merging the businesses .
for example, its work with fc barcelona’s tour experience at camp nou, europe’s largest stadium, allows fans of the football club to go behind the scenes, visit the player tunnels, the press box and the club museum. each fan gets a photographic box that incorporates personalised photos of their visit, along with club souvenirs .
some of australia’s most well - known stores once occupied the cream of our commercial buildings before falling off the radar and being replaced by the current crop of retail giants .
the warehouse group launched from a concrete - floored shed in 1982 and is now one of the country’s fastest growing merchandise chains. new it boss owen mccall takes stock .
pricing many items at prices that are higher than regular retailers. these goods are commonly bought by consumers who perceive them to be bargains based on the heavy discounts on other items in the store. in the case of fixed price - point retailers, this can be achieved by reducing the size of the package to one that is smaller than what is found in other retail outlets. [ 2 ] [ 3 ]
“increasing discretionary incomes and the rise of internet shopping for niche goods mean that the industry’s two competitive advantages are being squeezed from both ends, ” ibisworld analyst lauren magner writes .
what didn’t survive was the brand’s name or the face of the franchise – the paper shopping bag puppet that blurted out specials on australian tv ads for more than 20 years .
, and the company' s name has been officially changed to foot locker to reflect the new focus of the business. beginning around the 1960s, others tried the larger
‘if they’re not going to make progress, if it’s going to sit there at 19% , then we might have to start thinking about ways government can incentivise them. ’
new zealand' s biggest retailer, the warehouse group, is believed to have bought a bargain across the tasman, confirming yesterday that it plans to buy two australian discount chains .
“i want to see more synergy between the brands, and there’s been some excellent examples of where we’ve been able to leverage each other including telecommunications and desktop standards, ” says mccall .
the chains, which between them have 115 stores in new south wales, queensland, victoria and act, will add to the warehouse' s 92 stores on this side of the tasman .
the acquisition of centryc follows a two - year working relationship at village roadshow’s wet’n’wild sydney theme park. metag’s applications are wider than just theme parks though. it can be used to give attendees at conferences a tag that identifies them and the sessions they plan on attending. married with the story photobook, it gives corporate organisers a way of recognising valued customers, while building loyalty through social media .
and he’s not calling in the consultants or the big outsourcers to help – this exercise will test the mettle of existing staff and, in the end, hopefully give them a sense of achievement. “it’s an exercise i want to complete with in - house resources; partly because of the experience and the learning involved and because i want the business and the it organisation to own the result. ”
daimaru opened amid much fanfare, and the store’s original contract would have expired this year – 25 years after it opened – if not for the financial struggles that forced the company to abandon the lease in 2002 .
“it’s a sunset industry for sure, ” he said. “consumption patterns have changed enormously. people spend their money on technological products now, their phones, their ipads, social media stuff, all the rest of it .
“when you’re a public company and you’re investing a huge amount of money in buying someone else’s business, you’re obliged to get in some pretty heavyweight financial advisers — goldman sachs, jbwere, ernst & young, ” he said .
mccall’s assessment after three months in the job is that the systems are pretty solid. “they do what we expect them to, as far as functionality goes, although they’re not leading edge or world - class any more. ”
the warehouse uses microsoft outlook’s web access interface, exchange 2003 at server level and is piloting it at the desktop. this enables support staff and buyers to easily access outlook from anywhere in the world, and includes secure email checking .
entrepreneur tindall founded the warehouse discount retail chain in 1982 with nz $ 40, 000 capital and began operating out of a small building with a concrete floor on auckland’s north shore – on opening day it took nz $ 4490 in sales .
in today’s interconnected world, mccall says you need to understand the impact these two have upon each other and balance this against emerging technologies, understanding the gaps and prioritising those into a critical path. “i like road - mapping as an analogy. ”
woolworth' s opened its first store in the united kingdom in 1909, when they were also colloquially known as
threepenny and sixpenny
stores ,
3 d and 6d
being displayed on the shops' frontages. [ 17 ] [ 18 ]
with a combined turnover of $ a300 million ($ 381 million), the australian stores are much smaller than new zealand' s big red sheds and blue stationery barns, which now soak up more than $ 1 billion of consumer spending each year .
while the warehouse believes there is significant room for growth in the reasonably buoyant australian market, managing director stephen tindall was typically cautious yesterday, describing the buy as a
gently, gently move
which should not overly concern australia' s retail giants .
politicians have beef with air new zealand over its promotion of a meat substitute' impossible burger.' acting prime minister winston peters said he would not eat a burger with lab - made meat, particularly if there' s one with the real thing available .
how can they sell so low? the buyers for these stores purchase the stock other retailers like woolworths, coles myer and david jones don' t want to buy or want to offload - called' opportunity buys' by the trade - including end - of - packaging lines, discontinued lines, branded products closer to sell by dates than desired by the major retailers and products sourced at auctions and liquidation sales around the world. interestingly, branded items aimed at teens such as billabong and mambo branded clothing is one area where crazy clark and his colleagues chose not to compete .
they got bought out by a nz company called' the warehouse'. a slow transition made them' clints the warehouse' for a while before just the warehouse. then it was sold to the australian retail group and is now' sam' s the warehouse'
warehouse group ceo stephen tindall insists he can take 10 per cent of australia’s discount retail sector, or about nz $ 1 billion in sales, within four years – despite being forced to slash 20 per cent off its annual profit forecasts through poor performance across the tasman .
the new it supremo at the warehouse group is knee - deep in a review aimed at promoting greater synergies between the trans - tasman operations of its chain of discount sheds. owen mccall has some major decisions ahead, as he backgrounds himself and conducts an evaluation of current capabilities, market pressures and repositioning technology to prepare for future competitive challenges. as new group chief information officer, he is responsible for smartening up the technology operations of the warehouse’s ‘red sheds’ and warehouse stationery’s ‘blue sheds’ in new zealand, as well as the australian - based ‘yellow sheds’ .
in november 2000, the warehouse group was named new zealand' s company of the year at the annual business awards organised by deloitte' s and management magazine. the award came on the heels of the warehouse' s annual meeting where the company was able to announce sales in excess of a billion dollars for the first time. profits too were soaring, up almost 30% on the previous year. excellent results, however, were not new to warehouse shareholders. stephen tindall, the founder of the company, had built the warehouse into a phenomenal success, with an average return on equity of 37% and compound sales growth of 29% over the last decade. the 2000 annual meeting did more than reflect on an excellent year, however. the meeting also served to publicly signal the succession of stephen tindall as ceo by greg muir in january 2001 .
meanwhile, the falling australian dollar is tipped to put even greater pressure on the sector’s already squeezed margins. the main factor keeping bargain stores afloat over the past five years has been a relatively high aussie dollar, which has allowed retailers to purchase chinese goods more cheaply and pass the savings onto customers .
the queenstown - based company bought centryc solutions, the sydney - based developer of metag, for an undisclosed price. metag’s cloud - based technology lets theme park operators interact with visitors even before they come through the gates, tracks what they do and allows real - time communications and social media interactions .
in china, ¥ 2 (or ¥3, depending on the area' s economic prosperity) shops have become a common sight in most cities. in hong kong, major department stores have opened their own $ 10 shops (us $ 1. 28) to compete in the market, and there are now
$ 8 shops
( us $ 1. 02) and even
$ 2 shops
( us $ 0. 26) competing at lower prices, especially in poorer communities. low prices are helped by hong kong' s lack of a sales tax and its proximity to china .
“my job these days is to go out and find a place where there’s a great need, find a facility that has a capacity to do something about it, then negotiate a deal to get the problem attended to in the most cost - effective and efficient manner that we can, ” he said .
from its earliest days, the warehouse invested heavily (75 per cent of the initial capital) in computer systems and software to help identify fast and slow moving products. it attributes its success to its ability to prejudge buying trends; track sales; keep the lowest number of items in its inventory and to know what margins it needs to sell at to retain profitability. the chain’s preference is for a “buy local” policy but it accesses goods from markets across the globe to find the lowest priced quality items for its stores; whether they be ceramics, confectionery or cds. clothing is one of its fastest moving stock items and it is new zealand’s best selling music outlet .
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“my wife and i were a couple of hippies at university, we used to go to paddy’s markets to supplement our scholarship allowance. one thing led to another and we turned out to be very good at trading and enjoyed it immensely. we still had social ideals — we were a people - first type business and we looked after the people that worked for us .
“we’re looking into electronic collaboration and considering how much forecast information we can and should share with our suppliers, ” says mccall. “it’s imperative to keep the stock at the right level and to know how much can be sold, determine buying levels and track this in detail, so you know how the business is doing against projections. b2b collaboration may well be the way forward. ”
then, within 12 months, he moved into its consulting practice, where he remained “through many name changes” for 17 years. at deloitte he was involved in a range of it work, from strategy to implementing packaged applications and managing development projects in the us, japan and australia. in his last role he was based in melbourne, with responsibility for the company’s outsourcing operations in australia and new zealand .
some have been developed in - house or are proprietary. while this reflects the age and maturity of those systems, mccall says that doesn’t necessarily mean the company is locked in. business priorities and how it can support and make those happen are driving the review. “we need to appropriately discharge our it governance issues on behalf of the board and the chief executive. it’s a combination of direction from them, but guidance from me. ”
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red, blue and yellow have their own it groups but now he is taking the big view. it could take as long as four months to determine priorities and begin practical work on what will be a three to five - year plan. “the more you can get away from big one - off strategy exercises, the better you are, ” says mccall. “there’s always a time to pause and reflect, but you need to have a rolling view. ”
the warehouse faced direct competition from department stores deka, farmers, kmart and briscoes at a national level. table 1 shows a comparison between these national competitors. at a regional level, department stores such as arthur barnett' s (dunedin) and furlongs (hamilton) also competed. further competition was also provided by specialty stores - some national such as glassons / hallensteins (clothes), whitcoulls (books) and hannahs (shoes) - but predominantly localised. market share information for department stores is provided in figure 1 .
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later in the twentieth century the price range expanded; originally woolworths did a strictly
five - and - ten cent
business, but in the spring of 1932, a 20 - cent line of merchandise was added. on 13 november 1935, the company' s directors decided to discontinue selling price limits altogether. [ 12 ] inflation eventually dictated that the stores were no longer able to sell any items for five or ten cents, and were then referred to as
variety stores
or more commonly
dollar stores .
using the historical consumer price index for january 1913 (9. 8) and january 2009 (211. 143), the rate of inflation is 2. 067% . therefore, an item costing $ 0. 05 in january 1913 would cost $ 1. 08 in january 2009 dollars, all other things being equal. [ 13 ]
she should stump up and pay the creditors, many of whom are small businesses that will be seriously effected by large losses being faced. i can' t see how she is
struggling to hold on to the business
as she is the main secured creditor and by going into administration can dump the stores she doesn' t want and not pay all the suppliers she has ordered from after waiting until the bulk of xmas shipments have been supplied. how could you not come out of that ok? why doesn' t she do the right thing just put in more funds, mortgage the house if she has to, just like many are going to have to do because of her poor managment? come on jan, face up and stump up instead of hiding behind australian administration. why would anyone support you after this appalling blatant move to secure your personal position at everyone else' s expense. true colours coming out !
australian - domiciled national business review rich lister jan cameron is pleading with suppliers to stay on board as she tries to restructure her collapsed retail adventures discount chain in australia .
ms cameron, who lives in triabunna, tasmania, is competing with eight others who have expressions of interest for retail adventures, according to the australian financial review .
she has written to suppliers and landlords explaining how she will restructure the business and invest $ a50 million to keep the stores trading during administration .
the business, which has a turnover of $ a648 million, went into voluntary administration in october .
she claimed when she bought retail adventures that
it would be difficult for a company like this to lose money
.
but the business has since lost $ a70 million and more than 50 stores have been closed .
ms cameron has loaned the business $ a80 million out of her personal funds to prop up the business .
ms cameron – who founded the kathmandu chain and remains the biggest shareholder in postie plus – is ranked 27th on the nbr rich list with an estimated worth of $ nz350 million .
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at its height, prior to selling its stores to new zealand firm the warehouse for $ 103 million in 2000, the business employed 3000 people .
“by the year 2000, we had 3000 staff. the business was far too big for our management capability. we had a classic succession issue to confront .
“the warehouse, who were also a people - first company with a wonderful and similar history to ours, only far more successful, they courted us. we thought it would be a marriage made in heaven. ”
so what went wrong? mr rickards pins most of the blame on the suits .
kathmandu founder jan cameron is estimated to have lost $ 200 million in the collapse of discount superstores group .
“those advisers of course are all from the big end of town. we were a grassroots, western suburbs organisation. our culture did not reflect the expectations or values of the big end of town, even though we shared values with the people that bought us. ”
mr rickards tells one anecdote which he believes encapsulates the problems that ultimately sunk the company .
“we used to feed all the staff at the main warehouse in sydney, ” he said. “three hundred people, all the executives, the truck drivers, the storemen, we would all eat together and the company paid for lunch. it was a tradition that had gone on since there were three of us .
“someone came along and said, our [ price - to - earnings ratio ] is 18. all we have to do is cut out free lunches and that will put $ 9 million into the capitalisation of the company. so they did, soon after taking over. ”
at a time when sensitivity between new and old was at its greatest, the demands of shareholders trumped culture. “the financial advisers that came in to facilitate the process, they destroyed a lot of the intellectual and cultural capital of the business, ” mr rickards said .
following substantial financial difficulty, dsg holdings spectacularly bit the dust in july 2014. after failed attempts to find a buyer for the discount chain, all remaining stores were closed by the end of august. ms cameron is estimated to have lost $ 200 million in the collapse .
norm and sue o’neill, left, with david and kerry rickards in 2001. picture: gary ede
industry analysts ibisworld believe the $ 2. 4 billion discount variety retail sector, today dominated by the reject shop with an estimated 30. 6 per cent market share, is in a state of structural decline .
profit margins have declined over the past five years as fierce competition has forced stores to lower prices. the sector grew at an annualised rate of just 0. 8 per cent over the five years to 2014 - 15, while employment declined by 0. 4 per cent over the same period .
the industry is struggling with the rise of the internet, which has eroded its competitive advantage by providing similar niche goods at low price points, while wesfarmers - owned kmart and woolworths - owned big w are increasing their market share through strong supply chains .
“if the australian dollar falls by a significant amount, it could be the catalyst that forces a number of struggling firms to exit the industry, ” ms magner writes .
matt simpson, senior market analyst with thinkforex, said speculators were already shorting the aussie dollar in anticipation of a weaker economy .
“whichever way you cut the mustard, the australian dollar is poised to go lower next year with potential for it to test the 60 - cent mark, and possibly beyond, ” he said .
mr rickards, who in 1986 - 87 was one the first australian retailers to source merchandise directly from chinese factories rather than through an import - export corporation, believes he rode the wave in a golden era of aussie retailing .
“we went through magic times, ” he said. “back in 1988 to 1995, we were the kings of the industry. we were so far ahead we had people who were paying us for the goods in advance, and sometimes without even being told what they were going to receive, because we had so much credibility and price advantage. ”
today, mr rickards applies his retailing nous to humanitarian work in developing countries through the dak foundation, which facilitates projects including eyesight restoration surgery, birth injury repair and medical equipment delivery and training .
“we do the same thing we’ve always done, only we measure our achievement not in terms of the profit we make, but in terms of the outputs we get. we’re still in the bargain store business. ”
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we unfortunately underestimated the competitive response, we underestimated what structure retail took in australia - and for that i would like to stand up and personally apologise .
shareholder derek curran asked for a
ball park figure
on the cost of the australian venture and said they would all feel better if they had someone to blame .
mr tindall said if they needed someone to blame, to blame him, but he would probably make the same decision in the future if he was faced with same set of facts as back in 2000 .
i think taking risks for growth is the right thing to do .
chairman keith smith said the five - year venture cost the company around $ 250 million .
( in) 20 / 20 hindsight we' re disappointed it didn' t work out. (but) we never put at risk the main business of this company .
the warehouse on thursday announced the sale of its troubled australian business for $ a92 million ($ nz99 million) to a joint venture of australian private equity firms - catalyst investment managers and castle harlan australian mezzanine partners .
the new combined discount variety business will have over 450 stores and revenue in excess of $ a1 billion .
mr tindall opened up to the shareholders and said he had considered stepping down as a director after an independent review this year that outlined areas he needed
to sharpen up on
.
i soul searched for at least three months, but i felt that i could add a lot more to this business going forward than i could if i was outside the boardroom ,
he said .
the sale of the australian business is expected to be completed in early 2006 and will result in a pre - tax expense of between $ nz80 - 90 million for the warehouse .
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inflation killed $ 2 shops, just like it killed the 5c worth of mixed lollies from my childhood & $ 1 drinks specials from my young adulthood .
hogwash. then because of inflation why didn' t they just become $ 3 dollar shops? like daiso... the japanese $ 2. 80 shop .
we can buy cheap shit made in china for even cheaper online now. no need for these stores .
so the parasitic lawyers started eroding the company culture and they had expanded too quickly without the management structure for the larger size sorted out .
i would' ve put your 2nd point first and your first point second, but basically, yeah .
i dunno - end up with staff pissed off will doom you. people turn up to work just to bitch about the place and basically drag it down .
a dusty corner on the internet where you can chew the fat about australia and australians .
we take a look at the once - mighty stores you might have forgotten .
sale of the century host tony barber became the brashs’ advertising face during the 1980s and ‘90s, but the company fell into receivership in 1998, forcing the closure of all 105 stores .
technically, tuckerbag supermarkets live on today, but in foodworks guise after being swallowed up by the larger chain in 1999 .
the variety chain grew from three stores to well over 100 between 1986 and 2000, before being sold to new zealand company the warehouse for $ 103 million .
but after rebranding the stores as yellow sheds the business took a dive and was eventually forced to sell off its assets .
if you thought the local launches of overseas retailers like h & m in recent years were big, cast your mind back to 1991, when japanase department store daimaru became the anchor tenant at the new melbourne central shopping centre .
mcewans was one of the biggest names in australian hardware retailing for most of its 140 years from 1852 to 1993, when bunnings snapped up the last of its stores, keeping only the best - performing sites and rebranding them under its own label .
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popular: trivia, history, america, television, tv, usa, world, geography, ... more
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please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. statements consisting only of original research should be removed .
a variety store (also pound shop, dollar store, and other names) is a retail store that sells a wide range of inexpensive household goods. [ 1 ]
variety stores often have product lines including food and drink, personal hygiene products, small home and garden tools, office supplies, decorations, electronics, garden plants, toys, pet supplies, remaindered books, recorded media, and motor and bike consumables. larger stores may sell frozen foods and fresh produce .
a variety store often sells all goods at a single price, in which case it may be called a price - point retailer. the name of the store often reflects this, and in different markets it may be called a dollar store, pound shop, euro store and so on .
some items are offered at a considerable discount over other retailers, whereas others are at much the same price point as conventional retail establishments. there are two ways variety stores make a profit :
buying and selling huge amounts of goods at heavily discounted prices provides a small profit margin that is multiplied by the volume of sales .
generic brands or private labels, often specially manufactured using cheaper materials and processes than usual. [ 2 ] [ 3 ]
not all variety stores are
single price - point
stores, even if their names imply it. for example, in the united states, dollar general and family dollar sell items at more or less than a dollar. some stores also sell goods priced at multiples of the named price and, conversely, multiple items for the price. the discrepancy with the nominal price is also compounded if sales tax is added at the point of sale .
in many countries, stock can be imported from others with lower variable costs, because of differences in wages, resource costs or taxation .
another source of stock is overruns, surplus items and out - of - date food products. real deals, a regional dollar store in the syracuse, new york area, is stocked almost entirely with surplus goods such as these. [ 4 ] the legality of selling out - of - date goods varies between jurisdictions: in general, most items (with a few exceptions, particularly certain perishable food items depending on the state) can be sold in the united states regardless of their sell - by date, [ 5 ] but in the united kingdom it is illegal to sell goods after their
use by
date. [ 6 ]
may link variety stores with low - income areas, this is not always true. for example ,
has a variety store within its city limits, even though it has a median household income of nearly $ 185, 000 a year .
relevant discussion may be found on talk: variety store. please help to ensure that disputed statements are reliably sourced .
and some features of higo variety store, an independent japanese - american five and ten .
( 10 cents), a store offering a wide assortment of inexpensive items for personal and household use .
the originators of the concept were the woolworth bros. , in july 1879 .
. frank soon brought his brother charles sumner
sum
woolworth into the business. together they opened a second store in
before they started their own stores, the woolworth brothers worked for augsbury and moore, a dry goods store in watertown, new york. it was they who trained the woolworth brothers and lent frank $ 300 in goods. frank settled his debt by the time he opened the lancaster store. frank experimented with a 10¢ table in lancaster, and similarly to his experiment of a 5¢ table at augsbury and moore, it was a success. sum managed the harrisburg store, crammed it with goods, hired clerks, and also added a table with a ten - cent line of goods. once again, the approach was a huge success .
because of a rent dispute, sum soon moved the harrisburg store to york, pennsylvania, and on 6 november 1880, he opened the store in downtown scranton, pennsylvania, and formally called it a
5¢ & 10¢ store
. there, he developed and fully established the nickel - and - dime concept into american culture. frank spent time opening more stores, working the back end of the business, buying in bulk for all affiliates and
friendly rivals ,
and buying from manufacturers to keep prices low. meanwhile, sum used his store to train new managers and develop many of the woolworth concepts which included bright lighting, a polished high - luster floor, glass showcases, mahogany counters, and goods people could touch. before this, clerks had to work with each customer individually, handing them goods from cases or shelves. this required more clerks, with greater knowledge, and so cost more .
before woolworth, the prevailing thought was an entire store could not maintain itself with all low - priced goods. the woolworth bros. and their affiliated partner stores originally featured goods priced at only five cents and ten cents. many other people tried to copy their lead. [ 11 ]
in japan, 100 - yen shops (hyaku - en shoppu or hyakkin) have been proliferating since around 2001. this is considered an after - effect of a decade - long recession of the japanese economy. [ 19 ] despite the emphasis on value, however, some items, such as chocolate bars, may be priced higher than they are at other stores.
clint 's crazy bargains was established in november 1978 , as a partnership between david and kerry rickards , and norm and sue o'neill . it was a retailer of discount variety merchandise including gifts , cosmetics , clothing , books , craft goods , hardware , stationery , toys , jewellery , kitchenware , caneware , haberdashery , manchester , small electrical goods , luggage and furniture . 
clint's crazy bargains was established in november 1978, as a partnership between david and kerry rickards, and norm and sue o'neill. it was a retailer of discount variety merchandise including gifts, cosmetics, clothing, books, craft goods, hardware, stationery, toys, jewellery, kitchenware, caneware, haberdashery, manchester, small electrical goods, luggage and furniture.
clint's crazy bargains was established in november 1978, as a partnership between david and kerry rickards, and norm and sue o'neill. it was a retailer of discount variety merchandise including gifts, cosmetics, clothing, books, craft goods, hardware, stationery, toys, jewellery, kitchenware, caneware, haberdashery, manchester, small electrical goods, luggage and furniture.