THE NEWS WRAP: Coles records 15th consecutive quarter of same-store sales growth

Wesfarmers-owned retail giant Coles has recorded its 15th consecutive quarter of same-store sales growth, along with a 5% growth in second quarter sales to $7.71 billion. The retail group, which also includes Liquorland, Bunnings, Kmart, Target and Officeworks, recorded same-store food and liquor sales growth of 3.9% for the second quarter, while analysts predict […]

Andrew Sadauskas 30 January, 2013

Wesfarmers-owned retail giant Coles has recorded its 15^th consecutive quarter of same-store sales growth, along with a 5% growth in second quarter sales to $7.71 billion.

The retail group, which also includes Liquorland, Bunnings, Kmart, Target and Officeworks, recorded same-store food and liquor sales growth of 3.9% for the second quarter, while analysts predict rival Woolworths will only deliver 5% growth.

Total food and liquor sales for the first half rose 5% to $14.3 billion.

Business leaders warn of long federal election campaign risks

Several leading business figures, including Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox, Wesfarmers managing director Richard Goyder and Australian National Retailers Association chief executive Margy Osmond, have warned about the business risks associated with an extended federal election campaign.

”There is typically a bit of a lull in what consumers do in the lead-up to an election, which is usually in the four to six weeks before an election. I hope not – time will tell – in some ways it seems to me there has been an election campaign going on for the last two years in this country,” Goyder told Fairfax.

The news comes after Prime Minister Gillard yesterday called a federal election for February 14.

BlackBerry 10 unveiled

Troubled smartphone maker BlackBerry, previously known as Research in Motion, has unveiled its new BlackBerry 10 smartphone platform, along with the first two smartphones running on the platform.

Overnight the smartphone maker announced the BlackBerry 10Q, which features a traditional Blackberry keyboard, along with the BlackBerry 10Z, which features a full-screen touch display similar to the Apple iPhone.

Despite its first-mover advantage, the Canadian smartphone maker has struggled in recent years to maintain its share of the smartphone market in the face of intense competition from the Apple iPhone and Samsung’s Android-based Galaxy S3 devices.