So Borders & A&R are likely, not certain, to be liquidated with maybe 2500 jobs down the tube.
Two major reasons are 1. the parent carrying too much debt and 2. heavy internet buying fromo/s especially since the dollar rise.
But the third reason is worth considering.
The two supermarket giants, both directly and through their subs like Target, have been heavily discounting books.
Once again we see the predators squeezing the little bloke out and gobbling up the business. OK, Borders & A/R are not smallfry, but this is hurting all those little bookshops . . .just like what happened to the butchers, the fruit shops, the delicatessens and what will happen to the bread shops, unless the Asians are prepared to go back to an Asian standard of living.
And where is the government, where is the ACCC?
And I won't even get into the milk debate.

Coles have been recruiting like mad the last 3 quarters.

I know three guys who have taken roles there now, the $ they are offering is exceptional.

Financial Controller for one of their areas - they are offering $185k base + bonus + super, more than the market rate is that.

Coles are serious these days about grabbing market share.

They are not likely to allow little roadblocks to get in the way mate. Wesfarmers have given them carte blanche to get ahead of Woolworths.

Andrei.Hicks wrote on Feb 18^th, 2011 at 10:09am:

Coles have been recruiting like mad the last 3 quarters. I know three guys who have taken roles there now, the $ they are offering is exceptional. Financial Controller for one of their areas - they are offering $185k base + bonus + super, more than the market rate is that. Coles are serious these days about grabbing market share. They are not likely to allow little roadblocks to get in the way mate. Wesfarmers have given them carte blanche to get ahead of Woolworths.

I would be joyful andrei if that figure was on the floor as well where the real work and earnings takes place.. without those on the floor they wouldnt exsist. yet they get paid the least..I think the little butchers will be next in line.. and then watch the price of meat go through the roof.

I wonder when they will set their eyes on the likes of Aldi.

its wrong they are allowed to gobble up the little guys but hands off the bigger ones.

I am a supporter of the free market but I also believe in a level playing field. Which is why, strangely, I am against free trade, because there is no level playing field with WTO's and the like.
What these guys are doing to business in Australia is one thin line away from criminal.

bogarde73 wrote on Feb 18^th, 2011 at 9:34am:

So Borders & A&R are likely, not certain, to be liquidated with maybe 2500 jobs down the tube. Two major reasons are 1. the parent carrying too much debt and 2. heavy internet buying fromo/s especially since the dollar rise. But the third reason is worth considering. The two supermarket giants, both directly and through their subs like Target, have been heavily discounting books. Once again we see the predators squeezing the little bloke out and gobbling up the business. OK, Borders & A/R are not smallfry, but this is hurting all those little bookshops . . .just like what happened to the butchers, the fruit shops, the delicatessens and what will happen to the bread shops, unless the Asians are prepared to go back to an Asian standard of living. And where is the government, where is the ACCC? And I won't even get into the milk debate.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

:'( Not my borders.

Thats it, now it's getting personal....

These huge departments stores will have pharmaceutical dispensaries next... look what happened to Kodak express.

Corporate domination, market dominance, one shop for everything, Wall Mart!

I think I might move to the UK.

If you need me, you will find me curled up in a little ball grieving on Level 2, in the coffee club cafe Borders Rouse hill...next to the flower pot stand with a chai latte :-/

bogarde73 wrote on Feb 18^th, 2011 at 9:34am:

... and what will happen to the bread shops, unless the Asians are prepared to go back to an Asian standard of living.

WTF ?

mellie wrote on Feb 18^th, 2011 at 10:21am:

... look what happened to Kodak express.

The digital camera ?

<WTF>

What I am getting at, buzz, is that many if not most of the bread shops are run by Asians. Hardworking they are for sure, but if they are to survive the squeeze by the corporate duopoly and stay in business, they might be forced to sink to a third world standard of living.
Sorry to disappoint you but there was no racist meaning.

buzzanddidj wrote on Feb 18^th, 2011 at 10:41am:

mellie wrote on Feb 18th, 2011 at 10:21am: ... look what happened to Kodak express. The digital camera ?

I was referring to how they offer re-printing services in Big W, for half the price.

It's cheaper to take your digital camera to Big W than buy the expensive printing paper and print them off yourself.

I have a state of the art printer here at home, and even I don't bother.
(ps, I only bought it because I needed the fax and scanner)

If it's just the one pic I will print it off, but the papers really expensive so I just do it BigW.

That's one that slipped past me mellie, the little photo shops. . .zapped by Coles & Woollies.

cods wrote on Feb 18^th, 2011 at 10:16am:

Andrei.Hicks wrote on Feb 18th, 2011 at 10:09am: Coles have been recruiting like mad the last 3 quarters. I know three guys who have taken roles there now, the $ they are offering is exceptional. Financial Controller for one of their areas - they are offering $185k base + bonus + super, more than the market rate is that. Coles are serious these days about grabbing market share. They are not likely to allow little roadblocks to get in the way mate. Wesfarmers have given them carte blanche to get ahead of Woolworths. I would be joyful andrei if that figure was on the floor as well where the real work and earnings takes place.. without those on the floor they wouldnt exsist. yet they get paid the least..I think the little butchers will be next in line.. and then watch the price of meat go through the roof. I wonder when they will set their eyes on the likes of Aldi. its wrong they are allowed to gobble up the little guys but hands off the bigger ones.

I am just saying cods, that I noticed Coles are serious now about grabbing market share.

Wesfarmers have brought in the UK Asda team to ramp up their strategy and have got rid of a lot of dead wood across the board.

The $ they are offering for Finance roles even made me think of putting my CV forward.
They are offering $200k+ for middle management roles lately.

Not bad at all.


Hence my point is they are serious and not likely to allow some small obstacles to prevent the juggernault.

bogarde73 wrote on Feb 18^th, 2011 at 10:46am:

<WTF> What I am getting at, buzz, is that many if not most of the bread shops are run by Asians. Hardworking they are for sure, but if they are to survive the squeeze by the corporate duopoly and stay in business, they might be forced to sink to a third world standard of living. Sorry to disappoint you but there was no racist meaning.

Lol...not these Asian bread shop owners in our area, they too are merging, the same people own 4 local bread shops in our area...and the staff change over is huge...so the wages must be pretty crap.

::) None of them can speak English, so probably FOB's...and every time you go there, it's a new person serving you.

And Buzz, google Reverse discrimination, also known as positive discrimination/reveres racism.

Are you not guilty of having reverse discriminated against us?



8-) Because all people have rights, not just minorities.

Quote:

I wonder when they will set their eyes on the likes of Aldi.

I RELISH the thought

ALDI are an ENORMOUS 100% German owned multi-national

I only visited them once - and felt like I was shopping in cold war, eastern Europe

I'd rather give my money to Coles - who are 100% AUSTRALIAN owned

buzzanddidj wrote on Feb 18^th, 2011 at 10:57am:

I'd rather give my money to Coles - who are 100% AUSTRALIAN owned[/size]

With an entirely British senior management.

;D

We always have made the best foremen.....

Big W has some market share of printing but the real cause of the demise of the speciality camera shop as addressed in a letter to the SMH by an owner(some bias I admit) is none other then Mr internets killing my business Gerry Harvey.
The letter pointed out that whilst Mr Harvey was crying all hard done by he is offering 10 cent prints & absorbing the losses to get market share as they call it.
What it really is more like, is absorb the losses until competition is gone then reap the profits

As long as we get the best service - why would anyone care??

I want best service, for cheapest cost.

I don't care about country of origin, I don't care about where the net profit ends up.

Until you think along those lines you will encourage not having the best.

Andrei.Hicks wrote on Feb 18^th, 2011 at 11:04am:

As long as we get the best service - why would anyone care?? I want best service, for cheapest cost. I don't care about country of origin, I don't care about where the net profit ends up. Until you think along those lines you will encourage not having the best.

Missing the point Andrei
I agree best service for best price but once a market becomes a monopoly or duopoly then the service crashes & the cost goes up.

Dsmithy70 wrote on Feb 18^th, 2011 at 11:19am:

Andrei.Hicks wrote on Feb 18th, 2011 at 11:04am: As long as we get the best service - why would anyone care?? I want best service, for cheapest cost. I don't care about country of origin, I don't care about where the net profit ends up. Until you think along those lines you will encourage not having the best. Missing the point Andrei I agree best service for best price but once a market becomes a monopoly or duopoly then the service crashes & the cost goes up.

Agree.
Rather than small shops (I hardly ever use them anyway) - we need to encourage the likes of Wall Mart, Tesco, Sainsbury, Costco, Winn Dixie, Food Lion all to get into Australia.

I for one will be sad to see A & R in Townville go, although I can accept a small share of the responsibility.
Once our only local Ayr bookstore closed down two years ago and replaced by a bloody dress shop, I've been ordering books on line, and occasionally buying from A & R when in Townville.
But only if Big W didn't have a book I was after.
Looks like the market has spoken.
The flipside though is the other bookstores in Townsville like Dymocks for example will gain some business but for how long is anyones guess.
It's possible that internet ordering and the sneaky rapid growth of
E-books will see more bookstore closures.
Sign of the times I'm afraid.

Andrei.Hicks wrote on Feb 18^th, 2011 at 10:51am:

cods wrote on Feb 18th, 2011 at 10:16am: Andrei.Hicks wrote on Feb 18th, 2011 at 10:09am: Coles have been recruiting like mad the last 3 quarters. I know three guys who have taken roles there now, the $ they are offering is exceptional. Financial Controller for one of their areas - they are offering $185k base + bonus + super, more than the market rate is that. Coles are serious these days about grabbing market share. They are not likely to allow little roadblocks to get in the way mate. Wesfarmers have given them carte blanche to get ahead of Woolworths. I would be joyful andrei if that figure was on the floor as well where the real work and earnings takes place.. without those on the floor they wouldnt exsist. yet they get paid the least..I think the little butchers will be next in line.. and then watch the price of meat go through the roof. I wonder when they will set their eyes on the likes of Aldi. its wrong they are allowed to gobble up the little guys but hands off the bigger ones. I am just saying cods, that I noticed Coles are serious now about grabbing market share. Wesfarmers have brought in the UK Asda team to ramp up their strategy and have got rid of a lot of dead wood across the board. The $ they are offering for Finance roles even made me think of putting my CV forward. They are offering $200k+ for middle management roles lately. Not bad at all. Hence my point is they are serious and not likely to allow some small obstacles to prevent the juggernault.

andrei I did understand what you were saying.. a financial controller is hardly bending his back where it really counts on the floor where the real earnings take place.. no offence regarding the job and the pay i am sure they wouldnt pay it if the job wasnt worth it.. but when you think of where their money begins in the shops then I think they should also pass some of the good times and rewards to those people...

yes a juggernaut alright and its taking everything in its path.. is that really good for everyone?.. or just Westfarmers?..we have seen the demise of the corner store... now everyone needs a car to go and buy a carton of milk..we have watched them destroy the little sweet shops even bakeries and soon the butcher.btw we dont have a milko anymore either.

I know its called progress but I also call it monopoly.. and I am not convinced thats a great idea.. looking at what the Banks are capeable of.. I am not sure at all.

Andrei.Hicks wrote on Feb 18^th, 2011 at 11:04am:

As long as we get the best service - why would anyone care?? I want best service, for cheapest cost. I don't care about country of origin, I don't care about where the net profit ends up. Until you think along those lines you will encourage not having the best.

so when we start getting all our food stuff on line from overseas companies.. that will be alright as well I guess..its not so hard to imagine... if you think ten years ago you wouldnt have thought of buying books on the net.

so if all the profits end up in China you are ok with that andrei?

<ALDI are an ENORMOUS 100% German owned multi-national

I'd rather give my money to Coles - who are 100% AUSTRALIAN owned>

That's curious reasoning buzz.
One.Tel (and a host of other similar shonks) were 100% Australian owned. Would you have suggested we all give our phone business to them.
And by the way, it's a fiction that Coles or Woollies are 100% Australian-owned. They are owned principally by institutions who own them on behalf of various investors who are investing on behalf of various ultimate owners. The true beneficial ownership is almost impossible to ascertain.

IGA are Australian owned and supply more Australian brands than any of the others.  I am disgusted at Coles and Woolworths with their own brands filling the shelves, much of the content in these products is foreign,  whilst the other brand names are becoming extinct in theColes and Woolworth stores.




http://www.ethical.org.au/issues/?issue=16