Retail

Coca Cola-Amatil has suffered a double blow, losing a contract with Australia's largest pizza chain to its rival and failing to get its latest no sugar offering on the shelves of supermarket giant Woolworths.

Fifty years after Ronald and Valerie Frank started a camera repair business from their home, their two sons oversee a fast-growing business that combines a new bricks-and-mortar store with an expanding online presence.

ANALYSIS: The business sector's view of the future and that of consumers are heading in different directions.

The Perth-based distributor of the Thermomix kitchen appliances in Australia is being taken to court by the consumer watchdog for allegedly misleading customers when the products were found to be dangerously faulty.

Australia's food and grocery prices have to come down further because they are "crazy" compared to the rest of the world, Coles managing director John Durkan says.

New car sales in Western Australia grew on a monthly basis for the first time in four years in May, but the upswing still falls well short of the slide in sales for the year to date.

Business News sat down to lunch at Julio's with Michael Chaney to discuss his career at Wesfarmers and beyond.

The salary package for Wesfarmers' new managing director acknowledges the reality that many large companies pay big annual bonuses every year.

Amazon poses the biggest threat to Wesfarmers' discount department stores Kmart and Target rather than specialty retailers like JB Hi-Fi, investment bank Morgan Stanley warns.

Nuheara has entered into a retail partnership with Widex Australia for its IQbuds to be sold in Bloom Hearing clinics in Australia.

Payday lender Cash Converters is overhauling its management as it works to improve lending practices and arrest a sharp slide in its share price.

ANALYSIS: The point of no return may have already been reached for bricks-and-mortar retailers struggling to compete with the online experience.

Poultry giant Ingham's will continue to be Woolworths' main chicken meat supplier after the pair extended their national agreement.

Finance director Terry Bowen will become the third top Wesfarmers executive to retire from the Perth-based conglomerate in the space of 12 months, with the group announcing three senior appointments along with details of incoming managing director Rob Scott's remuneration package.

Shareholders in failed consumer electronics retailer Dick Smith are a step closer to taking class action against the business on the grounds they were misled about the company's profitability.

Perth-based Automotive Holdings Group will incur a $35 million write-down hit from the closure of some of its underperforming businesses, in response to the weak market for car retailers combined with recent regulatory changes by the corporate watchdog.

The company operating Topshop's Australian stores has entered voluntary administration, becoming the latest in a list of retailers to stumble amid sluggish consumer spending.

Aldi, JB Hi-fi and Harris Scarfe will anchor a $100 million extension of Midland Gate Shopping Centre, with construction to begin later this month.

Wesfarmers has decided against spinning-off its Officeworks stores via an initial public offering due to the market's current dim view of retail stocks.

Retail spending has slowed for a second consecutive month, official figures have shown, as consumers tighten their purse strings amid low wages growth.

North Fremantle-based fashion label Empire Rose is one of three local brands to have secured deals in China in recent weeks, following the Fashion Council WA's partnership with its Chinese counterpart.

Department store Harris Scarfe is back in Western Australia, ending more than 15 years' absence from the state's retail sector.

Western Australian car retailers will be hoping for better May numbers after new vehicle sales fell 12.7 per cent in April.

Retail giant Woolworths has delivered strong comparable food sales for the third quarter in a sign it has wrested customers from arch-rival Coles.

Jetstar has lashed out at a passenger survey that ranked the Qantas-owned budget carrier one of the worst airlines in the world.

Qantas today launched ticket sales for its new 17.5-hour, non-stop Perth-to-London service.

Shares in Wesfarmers have fallen after the company unveiled a mostly weak third quarter for its retail businesses, including softer growth from its supermarket giant, Coles.

Woolworths can press ahead with the sale of Masters' property assets after winning a stoush with former US joint venture partner Lowe's.

E-commerce giant Amazon has confirmed it will launch its full retail offering in Australia and is inviting local retailers to sign up.

Myer has saved troubled luxury clothing labels Marcs and David Lawrence from extinction two months after the Australian brands hit financial strife.

Retail giant Woolworths could face a $100 million shareholder class action for allegedly failing to properly inform investors it would not meet its profit growth forecasts in the 2014-15 financial year.

Logistics and car retailer Automotive Holdings Group has acquired two dealerships in Victoria for $8.5 million plus stock and assets, in the same precinct where it is building a new Jaguar and Land Rover dealership.