Retail

Coles will pay $11.25 million in fines and costs but could end up paying more than double that refunding its suppliers, after a court agreed to the supermarket giant's settlement with the competition watchdog.

Supermarket giant Coles has apologised and offered refunds to suppliers after admitting it crossed the line with many of them.

Retail spending has risen for the fifth consecutive month, helped by solid gains in the household goods and department stores category.

Woolworths has won the exclusive rights to distribute the famous Hills brand of clotheslines and garden products.

Shares in grocery wholesaler Metcash have dived 13 per cent after the IGA Supermarkets brand owner flagged a slide of more than 20 per cent in its full-year earnings.

Twenty years after Wesfarmers bought Bunnings in a contentious takeover, we reflect on the family that started one of Australia's biggest retail successes.

Cash Converters International says it plans to raise $45 million to help terminate commissions to development agents on its rapidly growing personal loans business.

Electronics retailer Dick Smith is on track to lift half year sales by about 10 per cent.

Retail giant Woolworths is on track to lift its annual profit by up to 7 per cent despite softer-than-expected first quarter sales.

Harvey Norman shareholders have overwhelmingly rejected founder and chairman Gerry Harvey's salary, but he says nothing is going to change.

Wesfarmers has donated $5 million to the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research to help recruit a leader for what will be the first centre in Western Australia to focus on women’s cancers.

Wesfarmers has reported direct community investment of $44.6 million for the 2013-14 financial year, with social welfare and health the largest areas of expenditure.

Property investor BWP Trust has announced plans to purchase a site in Australind, near Bunbury, where associated company Bunnings Group intends to build a new warehouse store.

Myer chairman Paul McClintock has again taken a swipe at GST laws, saying they are unfair and harming trade.

Wesfarmers attracted a record 1,700 shareholders to its annual meeting today, where it marked 100 years in the business, but it was also the subject of protests and criticism.

The competition regulator is allowing struggling clothing maker Pacific Brands to sell its workwear business to Wesfarmers.

Western Australian jeweller Linneys has launched an online store to complement its bricks and mortar showrooms, making its high-end products available to a global audience for the first time.

Myer sees gloomy shoppers as a challenge after posting a disappointing flat first quarter result and losing womenswear sales.

A Perth market operator has embraced Perth’s enthusiasm for ‘pop-up’ vendors by convincing the City of Subiaco to allow temporary shopfronts at a new event next month.

Western Australians are more likely to go online to find the best deal and be influenced by user reviews when shopping online than any other state, according to new research by Bankwest.

Westfield's shopping centres owner Scentre Group has sold Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC a 49 per cent stake in five New Zealand centres worth a total $NZ2.1 billion ($A1.96 billion).

Wesfarmers has appointed Maya vanden Driesen to the position of group general counsel, putting her in charge of a national team of 42 in-house lawyers.

Sales at Westfield shopping centres in Australia and New Zealand have increased.

Shares in supermarket giant Woolworths have fallen in the wake of disappointing first quarter sales.

A solid lift in sales at Coles supermarkets and hardware chain Bunnings have pushed Wesfarmers' latest quarterly retail sales above $13.5 billion.

Cash Converters International is considering more acquisitions after an increase in personal loans and sales in its company-owned pawnbroking stores helped lift the quarterly revenue by more than a quarter.

Automotive Holdings Group has walked away from a potential sale of its Covs Parts business to Burson Group, which hoped to use the 25 stores as an entry into the WA market.

The owner of the successful Cannington shopping centre has made its development a priority as part of a $3 billion expansion push.

Wesfarmers says it will raise about $864 million through a bond issue under its Euro Medium Term Note program.

Retail property players say international fashion brands are only the beginning of the global onslaught.

After 10 years of limited development, Perth’s major shopping centres are expanding and evolving.

Retailers are increasingly trying to find a balance between having an online presence and getting shoppers through the door of traditional stores.