Specialty Fashion Group to close shops but Townsville may… Dodge the jobs axe
THE group behind Katies, Millers, Rivers and Crossroads is yet to reveal which of its more than 300 stores they will close in Australia but there are suggestions cuts will focus on loss- making outlets in centres with high rents and where lease agreements are expiring.
Specialty Fashion Group, whose stable of brands also includes City Chic and Autograph, has announced plans to focus on closures during 2018 as international competition, online shopping and subdued consumer spending takes its toll.
One retail source said cut- backs had already occurred in Townsville and there were unlikely to be more.
“We are not at all cerned,” the source said.
Staff at the Townsville stores of Katies, Millers and Rivers directed inquiries to SFG’s Sydney head office but a spokesman for the group could not be contacted for comment.
“We don’t know much about what’s going on but we are pretty much fine,” one staff member said.
Small business consultant Michael Kopittke said small business was clearly doing it tough with rising costs and no growth in retail spending.
Research by Kantar TNS con- found Queenslanders were paying 35 per cent more on housing, power, insurance and other regular costs than they were two years ago, while average household income had risen only 19 per cent.
“When there are 1.3 million Queenslanders who are overwhelmed with 35 per cent increases in household expenses, that’s a good reason to explain why those retailers are having a tough time,” Mr Kopittke said.
Townsville Chamber of Commerce has urged consumers to spend with local businesses.
Chamber deputy president Michele Falconieri said the retail sector was an important economic driver for the region, employing 8500 people in Townsville.
“It just makes it more important for every dollar to count and where possible see if it can go back into our local businesses,” Mr Falconieri said.
“Every dollar spent exchanges hands about 13 times.
“If local shoppers consider where their hard- earned can make the biggest difference for our local retailers this Christmas, we stand to benefit in this and every new year to come.”
SFG chairwoman Anne McDonald told its annual meeting this week their immediate focus was on closing loss- making stores on “holdover” leases – tenancies where lease agreements had expired – and “significant reduction” would be completed during 2018.