78TH ANNUAL GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS
Red carpet, E! 121, 9am; ceremony, Fox Arena 111, 11am
In this year’s film category, David Fincher’s Mank leads the nominations with six nods. On the TV side, Netflix juggernaut The Crown looks like the one to beat with nominations for best series, drama and acting nods for Olivia Colman (pictured) as Queen Elizabeth and Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles. Closer to home, Nicole Kidman (The Undoing), Cate Blanchett (Mrs America) and Sia (Music) will fly the Aussie flag on the night. Expect drama, surprises and upsets when Tina Fey and Amy Poehler take to the virtual stage – from opposite sides of the US – to host this star-studded affair. Presenters on the night will include Kyra Sedgwick, Sterling K. Brown, Michael Douglas, Joaquin Phoenix, Kristen
Wiig, Renee Zellweger and Australia’s own Margot Robbie. You can catch all the glitz and glamour of the red carpet from
10am on E! (121).
WHILE his father’s travel empire is struggling with global border closures, Matt Turner’s 99 Bikes is expanding as people look to two wheels to get about during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Turner, the son of Flight Centre co-founder Graham “Skroo” Turner, has ambitious expansion plans for the Brisbane-based retailer that sold 20,000 bikes in January alone, double the same time last year.
“The pandemic is still having an impact on bike demand,” Mr Turner said.
“People are wanting to avoid public transport and also seeking an outlet for recreation.”
He said the surge in global demand for bicycles during the pandemic had meant sourcing products was challenging for retailers.
“Global supply chains have been struggling because demand for bikes has been so high,” he said.
“We get a lot of our bikes from factories in Taiwan and China and have been better on the supply side than others.”
Mr Turner founded 99 Bikes in 2007 from a single shop in the Brisbane suburb of Milton. The company’s name is drawn from the fact the outlet only had room for 99 bikes, with the one room tripling as a workshop, office and stockroom.
The stellar performance of 99 Bikes is in stark contrast to Flight Centre, which remains its major financial backer.
Flight Centre last year recorded its first loss since it was founded in 1982, with large numbers of its workforce stood down or made redundant and half its global stores closed.
On Thursday, it delivered a $317.3m headline loss for the December half but noted 99 Bikes continued to trade strongly, with sales more than doubling. Flight Centre holds an almost 47 per cent stake in Pedal Group, which owns 99 Bikes and bicycle distribution business Advance Traders. The balance is held by Matt and Graham Turner and staff.
In the half-year accounts, Flight Centre boosted its share of profit from Pedal to $8.9m, up from $1.8m a year ago.
99 Bikes has 51 stores across the country and five outlets in New Zealand. There are plans to open another 13 stores over the next few years.
The number of employees has grown to almost 1000, with another 100-150 positions expected to be created as more stores open.
Mr Turner said there had been strong demand across all states in the past 12 months, with particular growth in areas where the pandemic lockdowns were the longest.
“Victoria has emerged as a strong market because it was in lockdown longer than other states,” he said. “People want to go outside.”
Other bike retailers in Melbourne also reported their busiest periods in a decade.
Mr Turner said e-bikes and mountain bikes were emerging as popular choices.