How long will the consumer spending party last?
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Passports are sitting idle but delivery trucks and vans ferrying goods to households are not.
The $60 billion-plus that Australians usually spend on overseas trips and travelling interstate without the handbrake of sudden border closures is being diverted to electronics items, household appliances, cars and renovations.
The spend-up is gathering momentum with the prospect of vaccination programs bringing extra confidence that the beginning of the end of the pandemic might be in sight. It comes amid a backdrop of ultra-low interest rates and dizzying amounts of taxpayer funds injected into the economy such as the federal $90 billion JobKeeper program earmarked to finish at the end of March.
Prime Minster Welcomes Businesses Repaying JobKeeper
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has praised the Super Retail Group’s decision to voluntarily return $1.7 million worth of JobKeeper subsidies after posting a record half-year profit.
The move by Super Retail, which owns Supercheap Auto, Rebel Sports, BCF, and Macpac, was made public by the company in its trading update (pdf) on Jan 18, after it posted profits of over $170 million during the first half of the 2021 financial year.
It also comes only one week after Toyota announced it would return $18 million in Jobkeeper payments following an unexpectedly strong sales result for 2020.
Speaking to 2GB radio on Wednesday Morrison said that this demonstrates that Australians know when they need financial support, but that they will not take advantage of it.
McInnes to leave Premier on a high note
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Solomon Lew s Premier Investments is on the hunt for a new chief executive after long-serving Mark McInnes said he would step down in a year s time.
There is no doubt that the pair are two of Australia s best rag traders, and Mr McInnes eventual departure is a major blow to the specialty retailer.
Mr McInnes – who also runs Premier Retail which owns a suite of retail brands including Just Jeans, Dotti and Smiggle, Peter Alexander, Portmans, Jacqui E, and Jay Jays chains – will have been in the top job for a decade at the completion of his 12-month notice period.