Special Reports

In the midst of Western Australia’s escalating property prices, Jenelle Carter spoke to a number of prominent WA property figures to find out if and when the bubble will burst.

Brands with distant owners have come under the spotlight as poor performers in WA Business News’ fifth annual branding survey, with BankWest highlighted for its lack of local focus.

A rugby club and a brewery may have some obvious synergies from a social viewpoint, but what do they both have in common with an energy utility?

Expressing a clear brand personality and a top-down acceptance of the importance of branding are key issues that need to be addressed, according to many of those who responded to the WA Business News survey.

The departure of Michael Chaney last year has done little to halt the Wesfarmers juggernaut, with the industry giant named as the top Western Australian corporate brand in this year’s WA Business News survey, ahead of Woodside and Alinta.

It is one thing to develop an emerging brand in a booming economy but another altogether to maintain the brand into the long term.

Western Australia’s dominant health insurance player HBF has shot up the ranks from fifth position last year to capture the prized number one spot in the WA Business News list of our state’s most recognised brands.

Competition among advertising agencies in the design market and the failure of local resource companies to invest in design services were two of the many hurdles facing the sector in Western Australia, according to John Emery, principal creative director

Geoff Warn believes change is inevitable, it is just a matter of when.

In the 18 months since his appointment as the state’s government architect, Professor Geoffrey London has played a major role in the commissioning of a number of public building projects – some of them attracting considerable controversy among Perth’s arc

The proposed Treasury Building development is not the only civic building courting controversy in Perth, following the announcement by Culture and the Arts Minister Sheila McHale of a $42 million performing arts venue to be built on the corner of Roe and

With a boom-fuelled surplus, Perth architects want the state government to take the bull by the horns and provide some vision for the city.

Independent urban think-tank, City Vision, may have reached its 20th year in Perth, but the group has not lost any of its zeal.

Western Australia’s buoyant economy has improved local companies’ strike rate in accessing support through AusIndustry’s competitive grants programs.

When communications company Motorola selected Perth as the site for a major software engineering centre, it was hailed as a breakthrough that would support the development of new industry in Western Australia.

A small number of big companies, including Motorola, Westpac and defence contractor Raytheon, have received multi-million dollar incentives from the state government to establish or expand their Western Australian operations.

The Court and Gallop governments offered nearly $10 million in financial assistance to four call centre operators in Western Australia with a success rate of just 50 per cent.

Australia’s largest towel manufacturer, Canning Vale Weaving Mills, plans to close its manufacturing operations in Perth and lay-off 140 staff, despite having received $20 million in state and federal government assistance over the past eight years.

Evans & Tate CEO Martin Johnson is optimistic about the winemaker’s future.

The glare of the markets can sometimes be a costly distraction for companies.

China offers enormous potential for WA in terms of tourist numbers. But has the state missed the boat?

The role of the banks in Australia’s small business sector is crucial and will remain so. No single topic generated more discussion at the recent WA Business News SME forum than the big banks, their service, or lack of it, relationships with them and thei

Running a small business can take a horrendous toll on family and private life.

Operators of small businesses are looking increasingly to vital communications solutions outside of the big telcos, Telstra and Optus.

Cash flow is the major concern facing small business enterprises, according to two major national surveys.

Facing of a range of issues beyond their control, small businesses are having a tough time. And there appears to be no silver bullet, other than the continuing innovation, drive and determination demonstrated at a recent WA Business News forum.

The inability to attract and retain good staff, and the combination of rapidly escalating commercial rents and a shortage of warehouse and office space, are hurting small business in Western Australia.

The Western Australian government has called on its federal counterpart to beef up its Trade Practices Act (TPA) to help protect small business against predatory pricing by big business.

Small business accounts for 97 per cent of all businesses in Western Australia, but an estimated 40 per cent do not have a strategic business plan.

Indian sandalwood company TFS Corporation has announced that revenue sales from its 2006 Indian sandalwood project in Kununurra totalled $19.8 million, up 62 per cent on last year’s sales of $12.25 million.

Adelaide-based Futuris Corporation Ltd this week announced its intention to compulsorily acquire West-Perth based company Integrated Tree Cropping Ltd, after attaining a relevant interest in 93 per cent of the company.

Just as one battle ends, it may well be that another is beginning. Last week, Australian Tax Commissioner Michael D’Ascenzo made a submission to a federal parliamentary inquiry into tax issues, stating that 98 per cent of some 42,000 cases involving tax-