Warning from Harvey Norman

Retail Giant in Australia Warns of Massive Price Deflation and Falling Sales, "Hardest Christmas in Retailer Lives" Coming Up

This news is coming from across the “Ditch” and from Harvey Norman.

Business Insider

30 August 2011

The CEO of Harvey Norman, Australia's largest electrical and furniture chain, warns of massive price cuts and a Christmas Retail Shocker.

"Retailers will have the hardest Christmas in their lives," said the boss of the country's biggest electrical and furniture chain . 

"I see unemployment going up, small businesses going under, manufacturing under huge duress and tourism hit very badly. I don't think the outlook will improve." 

He said Harvey Norman would crank up its online strategy in October, but he didn't expect it to return profits. 

"Our sales in technology, computers and television have been hit badly because of price deflation," he said." Televisions were the biggest offender. 

"Prices have dropped by so much we have to sell three times as many TVs to get the same revenue. 

"The same goes for computers -- they are half their price of a year ago -- and we have to sell twice as much to stand still. 

"Even whitegoods and washing machines are 10 per cent cheaper today.

Quite how this equates with today's article from the New Zealand Herald I don't know.

Australian economy doing better than expected

NZ Herald, 

September 1, 2011

Australia's economy is performing slightly better than expected, with a small pick-up in retail sales in July and strong growth in business investment plans for capital expenditure.

Retail sales rose half a per cent in July, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said today.

That was above economists' forecasts of an 0.3 per cent rise.

For article GO HERE