Retail

ASX-listed Vicinity Centres has announced it will invest about $20 million across three Perth shopping centres as part of the second stage of its national solar power project.

Cash Converters International has posted a $22.5 million profit for the 2018 financial year, while also announcing the resignation of chief executive Mark Reid.

Wesfarmers has struck a deal to sell its Kmart Tyre and Auto Service (KTAS) business to German company Continental AG for $350 million.

Collins Foods, Australia's biggest KFC franchisee, has lifted full-year profit by 16 per cent, buoyed by the addition of new stores to its network, and despite the Western Australian market being an under-performer.

Customers of local whitegoods and home appliance retailers Kambo’s and Liebe + Haus have been told they will need to wait several days before finding out if their credit purchases are still valid after the two jointly-owned businesses were placed into administration on Friday.

Wesfarmers has sold its struggling Homebase business for a nominal sum, with managing director Rob Scott confirming the UK hardware company has cost the conglomerate about $1.3 billion.

Two shopping centres in Perth’s north have been included in a $28 million solar power project being undertaken by ASX-listed Vicinity Centres, which is forecasting the creation of about 40 local jobs.

Perth-based kitchen appliances firm Thermomix has been ordered to pay $4.6 million in penalties after the Federal Court of Australia found that the company misled customers when its products were found to be dangerously faulty.

The market for modest fashion in South-East Asia is attracting attention as a potential export destination for a range of local designers, with dramatic growth expected in the next decade.