Retail

Tight equity markets have opened the door to WA companies raising funds in other ways.

Woolworths' home improvement business has hit troubled waters, with the retailer warning of a blowout in losses.

David Jones boss Paul Zahra has quit the department store chain, to be replaced by Country Road head Ian Nairn.

Shares in electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi have plunged in early trade amid disappointment at its latest trading update.

A possible move by Coles and Woolworths into the home loan market could benefit consumers by forcing the big banks to offer cheaper products, a former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chief says.

Wesfarmers subsidiary Coles has recruited one of its fiercest critics, former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett, to help sort out disputes with the supermarket giant's suppliers.

New vehicle sales in Western Australia have fallen 8.1 per cent year on year, according to a report from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.

Wesfarmers boss Richard Goyder believes US online retailing giant Amazon is the biggest threat to his company.

Businesses confidence has hit its highest level in 11 years, as the services sector and retailers become more optimistic about their sales outlook.

Retail spending is picking up as Australian consumers shake off the federal budget blues.

Retail veteran Solomon Lew has accepted a $210 million offer for his stake in Country Road, ending his long standoff with the new owner of David Jones.

The $2.2 billion foreign takeover of David Jones will go ahead, after the Federal Court approved the sale of Australia's oldest department store to South Africa's Woolworths.

Consumer confidence has bounced back to levels not seen since before the federal government's tough budget was released in May.

Supermarket giant Coles is taking on the big four banks by offering customers the ability to pick up loans and other personal finance products at the same time as their groceries.

More than 176 years after its first store opened in Sydney, David Jones is passing into foreign hands after shareholders overwhelmingly backed a $2.2 billion takeover.

Former Toll Group executive Paul Ebsworth has been appointed chief operating officer of the Perth-grown auto retailer and logistics firm Automotive Holdings Group.

If all goes to plan, David Jones, Australia's oldest department store, will shift into foreign hands on Monday.

Wesfarmers is facing a $774 million hit to its bottom line from its struggling Target chain and the restructure of its liquor business.

The future of 2,500 jobs at discount retailers Crazy Clarks and Sam's Warehouse is uncertain after their owner fell into receivership.

The share price of Perth industrial parts and services provider Coventry Group has risen 14 per cent following the announcement of a $21 million return to shareholder

Long-time Perth retailer Rick Hart has sold his four-year-old Kitchen Headquarters business to Sydney based Winning Group for an undisclosed sum.

Electronics retailer Dick Smith says its sales have grown in recent months, in stark contrast to several other major retailers who have been hit by falling consumer confidence linked to May's feder

The tough federal budget has exacerbated already difficult market conditions for grocery wholesaler Metcash.

JB Hi-Fi is on track to lift its profit this financial year by about 10 per cent despite winding back its sales expectations.

South African retailer Woolworths has moved closer to seizing control of David Jones after its shareholders approved a $2.2 billion takeover of the department store chain.

Government policy is forcing a shift in thinking for shopping centre developers.

Home loan approval numbers were flat in April, just shy of the 0.2 per cent rise the market had expected, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show.

Kresta Holdings’ major shareholder, China-based Aplus, has outlined plans to acquire the Malaga-based company just six months after buying a large interest in the group.

It’s hard to not admire Frank Lowy, either as founder and major shareholder of the Westfield retail property group or for the $6 billion personal fortune he has amassed after arriving in Australia as an impoverished European migrant in 1952.

Westfield Retail Trust (WRT) has warned its shareholders will be worse off if they reject a controversial merger plan with Westfield Group's Australian assets.

Westfield Retail Trust is in court to seek approval to conclude an investor vote on a controversial proposed merger with the Australasian business of Westfield Group.

Retail spending is growing at a sluggish pace not helped by weakening consumer confidence, with the latest figures again coming in below forecasts.