Woolworths (Australia) record loss

[Tandy]

Somewhat off topic but as Woolworths used to own Dick Smith I thought some might be interested to see how Woolworths has reported a record annual loss of A$1.2bn
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/37181955

[Towger]

Woolworths Ireland went bust back in the mid 80's, lived on (just about) in the UK until 09.  Amazing to still see it going...

[Tac Eht Xilef]

Totally different company. There were I think 3 - the original US "F.W. Woolworth" which also owned the Ireland & UK "Woolworths" businesses; the Australian Woolworths, which is unrelated (although allegedly named after the US company on a dare ); and the South African Woolworths, again unrelated to either (but again, named after the US original) - which, confusingly, owns the Australian David Jones (no, the other one...)

[b_force]

Most upsetting is that Woolworths is a terrible word to pronounce for non-native speakers 

_{(ironically, during my traveling I found out that the Dutch translation for 'terrible' = verschrikkelijk, is the most difficult word)}

Woolworths Ireland went bust back in the mid 80's, lived on (just about) in the UK until 09.  Amazing to still see it going...

Countdown (in NZ) is also owned by Woolworths, so it is still going.

[GEuser]

Yep they got big competition here now , they sort of had a monopoly in a sense (not really true as there was only one other so both had a duopoly , Coles) and these last few years others have entered the market which has been real good for the prices but at their cost (woolies/coles) and imo they deserved it too the thieving stinking pilfering tight parasitic GITS .

For instance> POP's , poor old pensioners , on the off pay week prices went down and more "specials" but pops had no or little money by then , then on pay week (fortnightly) prices went up more so and less "specials" and the continual cycle for the last who the ^%#$ knows but its +20 years at least , parasites .

And it was all normal .

[EEVblog]

Most upsetting is that Woolworths is a terrible word to pronounce for non-native speakers 

We just call it Woolies here.
Like McDonald's is Maccas

[Tandy]

The British Woolworths was also known as Woolies here.

[rdl]

Most upsetting is that Woolworths is a terrible word to pronounce for non-native speakers 

We just call it Woolies here.
Like McDonald's is Maccas

I don't think Woolworth stores exist in the US anymore, but I remember them from when I was a kid.
We like to call McDonald's MickyD's

edit: Macdonalds

[diyaudio]

Woolworths is massive here in South Africa, they make the best coffee as well. generally targeted at medium class to upper class.

[edy]

Years ago in Canada we had Woolco...



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolco

They all went bust and were turned into Zellers, then a few years later they became either Winners or Wal-Mart. I don't even know if all went through the same transition but I remember the one way back in the day in our neighbourhood. They were, as the Wikipedia article states, "a discount retail chain".

[RGB255_0_0]

Most upsetting is that Woolworths is a terrible word to pronounce for non-native speakers 

We just call it Woolies here.
Like McDonald's is Maccas

I don't think Woolworth stores exist in the US anymore, but I remember them from when I was a kid.
We like to call McDonald's MickyD's

edit: Macdonalds

I call it a mix between that and Dave's; MaccyD's.

[dannyf]

One part of Woolworth survived and lived on to become a public company today in the US.

[rrinker]

 I remember the US Woolworths from when I was a kid. We had one nearby that we visited frequently. They originally still had a lunch counter, but it was removed not long after my memory starts. That one closed and became a Service Merchandise store, but another remained open for a few more years at a local mall.
 The whole idea that the Australian Woolworths was named that strictly on a dare - I dunno, that just sounds EXACTLY what Australians would do.

[dannyf]

The decline of tradition department stores like Sears, penny, Kmart, and macys and the proliferation of discount retailers like Walmart is a sign of something far worse: the demise of the middle class.

[raptor1956]

The decline of tradition department stores like Sears, penny, Kmart, and macys and the proliferation of discount retailers like Walmart is a sign of something far worse: the demise of the middle class.

Yes it is!

Of course, the brick and mortar stores are all feeling the hit from online sources like Amazon. Bezos has a net worth now at over $66B.

So, the effect of the online sources clouds the issue but the relative success of Wal*Mart makes it clear that online alone doesn't explain the decline in the traditional retail sector.  When I was a young boy in the early 60's I remember shopping at a retail outlet that was housed in an old WWII quanset hut style building with spare decorations and a warehouse type feel to it.  The cheaply made toys were -- from Japan.  By the late 60's the Mall thing began and that appears to have reached its zenith by the early 80's and has been in decline since then -- long before the internet came along in a meaningful way.

So, now many people are shopping in warehouse style establishments and we're back to where we were in the early 60's.


Brian

[rrinker]

 "the internet" is often cited as the reason for the demise of the hobby shop in the US. However, there are two (soon to be 1, 1 is closing due to the owner wanting to retire) which have only gotten bigger. Why? Because they jumped early on the internet bandwagon and managed to become both a serious online source as well as maintain their existing brick and mortar stores. The ones that disappeared were almost always complete dinosaurs that sold for full MSRP, no discounts, and pooh-pooh'd the idea of selling online. Though there is one near where I grew up, super crowded (needed more inventory room, jsut add more shelves at the expense of the aisles, aisles don;t generate revenue!), sells everything at MSRP, even stock that has been there for years - I can go and look and I am sure I will find kits on the shelves that have been there for more than 5 years, or worse - still dusty from a previous move. Yet somehow they still do enough business to stay open. Helps I guess that the owner got the land for free (on his father's farm) and pretty much put up the building himself, so overhead is low.

[Towger]

On a side note Harvey Norman Ireland actually managed to turn a profit this year.  Still a long way from covering their loses.

http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2016/0901/813368-harvey-norman-ireland/

[dannyf]

"the internet" is often cited as the reason for the demise of the hobby shop in the US.

Internet made price discovery so much easier and that killed those businesses that offered no real value-add.

The other factor is globalization. Manufacturing advances, low cost manufacturing overseas, and efficient transportation lowered the prices to a point where hobbying makes no economic sense.

One of the studies I have seen cited a negative inflation rate for lower-income folks since the 1990s, thanks to globalization.

But that gravy train is going to come to a stop very soon: the economic paradigm over the last 50 years is effectively other countries holding onto US dollars, by selling goods into the US inexpensively. That was / is necessary due to the power of the US and thus USD.

Once the superpower status of the US is challenged, you will likely see a sell-off of USD and the prices of imported goods will go through the roof. That's why the US is so heavily invested in its military.

It also speaks volume about the long-term damage of deficit spending and taxation: the fundamental issue with the US economy is its lack of competitiveness, caused by high taxation and regulation.

Unfortunately, communicating such a message to the voters is a political suicide so neither Clinton nor Trump is doing anything about it. Clinton will continue to push for TPP (in spite of her being against it after her being for it), and Trump is only blaming globalization for the demise of blue collar jobs.

Capitalism is in big trouble in western countries. It could have done so much more for citizens everywhere, just look at Europe in the 1800s, the US in the 1800s - mid 1900s, the tigers in the 1960 - 1990s, and China since the 1990s.

Mao was absolutely right when he said that "things evolve to their opposite". Spot on.

[VK3DRB]

The other factor is globalization. Manufacturing advances, low cost manufacturing overseas, and efficient transportation lowered the prices to a point where hobbying makes no economic sense.

Low cost manufacturing overseas... facilitated by western consumers who turn a blind eye to their fellow citizen go without a job whilst they get more stuff more cheap. The solution is high import tariffs. You cannot buy an Australian flag made in Australia. They are all made in China. I see that as outrageous, but most people don't give a stuff as long as its cheap.

One of the studies I have seen cited a negative inflation rate for lower-income folks since the 1990s, thanks to globalization.

Try telling that to a young Australian trying to buy their first home in Sydney or Melbourne. These cities have been swamped by greedy investors and Chinese Buyers creating excessive demand on properties - all facilitated by policies created by Australian politicians who do not represent lower-income earners. Being big property investors themselves, they love rising house prices. One reason too why the number of homeless is escalating in Melbourne.

It also speaks volume about the long-term damage of deficit spending and taxation: the fundamental issue with the US economy is its lack of competitiveness, caused by high taxation and regulation.

Regulation is needed and so is fair taxation. It is the super rich avoiding their tax and the lack of sharing wealth with the poor which is the fundamental issue. As a simplistic illustration, a super rich man only needs 2 new pairs of jeans a year. But if he is forced to share some of his wealth with 10,000 poor workers who can then afford to buy two pairs of jeans per year, then the demand is 20,000 pairs of jeans per year rather than 2. The rich hogging all the wealth stagnates the economy. In both the USA and Australia, some companies are screwing the poor. In Australia it is 7-Eleven, rampant underpaying their poor workers (illegally), many of them immigrant students struggling to make ends meet, whilst the fat cat owners of the 7-Eleven company are wallowing in money. So maybe more to the point, social and economic justice is possibly the biggest issue.

Consider dodgy companies like Apple who paid $50 tax out to the Irish people of every $1,000,000 in profit. Chevron over here borrowed money from their head office in the US at ridiculously high "interest rates", so they can transfer millions back to the US without paying tax in our country. In my opinion, Chevron should be booted out of Australia and all their assets seized, but our politicians here are a weak bunch. The government here fines the little man for a slightest offence (easy pickings), but allows dodgy companies to steal money from the country. In contrast the EU gets a gold star for standing up to the likes of Apple. I hope Apple being forced to pay back 13 billion Euro sends a strong message to other rogue companies who are heavily involved in tax avoidance.

Everyone should pay their FAIR share of tax. It is up to government to facilitate that. Unfortunately in Australia and the USA, the politicians have done an appalling job in ensuring a FAIR taxation system.

[jonovid]

you know all that Doom and Gloom from 2015, saying that mother of all financial crisis will hit the world at 2015 years end, well what do you know, its this year.  when people with money as Gold & silver on paper, ask to see the real thing, that is- physical gold, the banks will say we can not show you that.  because the west's bankers do Not have it.  only derivatives on paper as gold. but the derivatives are highly leveraged up to 100 times the True value. leveraged paper is worthless if their is no physical gold & silver to back it up.  so the will be a run on the banks in the EU where  many banks are over leveraged to the Max. as all banks are linked this growing crisis in derivatives will spread like the black plague.  as the financial crisis in 2008 never ended. by kicking the debt can down the road.  both China & Russia have physical gold to back-up their currency 100% but not the west. as derivatives are worthless if the market fails.  links http://www.jsmineset.com/  and http://www.trunews.com/  and  https://www.rt.com/business/358033-us-recession-consumer-support/ and also   http://www.drudgereport.com/

[dannyf]

both China & Russia have physical gold to back-up their currency 100% but not the west.

that statement is definitely false for china. Probably the single biggest mistake they made over the last 30 years.

as derivatives are worthless if the market fails.

You may want to take some econ classes in your local college. You will benefit a lot.

[VK3DRB]

This sounds like an Irish joke, but its real... http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-03/ireland-joins-apple-to-fight-tax-ruling/7811238

[jonovid]

that statement is definitely false for china. Probably the single biggest mistake they made over the last 30 years.

if i'm wrong about the Great Depression of 2017  All is Good  but IF its True? then its the greatest of all time western news media cover up, of Just how bad the big Banks financial problems are.

[VK3DRB]

that statement is definitely false for china. Probably the single biggest mistake they made over the last 30 years.

if i'm wrong about the Great Depression of 2017  All is Good  but IF its True? then its the greatest of all time western news media cover up, of Just how bad the big Banks financial problems are.

The Illuminati believers are getting fired again as they predict a total world financial collapse in October 2016. Just today an ex-electronics engineer I know sold his house in Melbourne after buying one up in the bush with 30 acres so they can live off the land as the Illuminati step up their evil plans to wipe out 90% of the world's population. He gave away electronics years ago as he succumbed to the forces of Illuminati conspiracy theories. Another Illuminati believer I know told me  he would not be surprised if  George W. Bush and the Illuminati were behind the terrorist attacks in Paris recently.  Both these Illuminati conspiracy theorists are unemployed or unemployable, living on the margins of society and their life is full of irrational and bad financial decisions.

I think conspiracy theorists are in more exact technical terms, just wankers.

[dannyf]

if i'm wrong about the Great Depression of 2017 

I only said that you are wrong regarding your statement about China's foreign reserves.

All is Good  but IF its True?

If you were correct (that China is holding most of its reserves in gold), you would have seen a considerably different monetary policy regime in place right now.

One can argue if the Chinese are making a mistake - and the debate is out there, ranging from "they are totally foolish" to "they are incredibly smart" - but it is foolish to argue that they are holding most of their reserves in gold when that's factually untrue.

[VK3DRB]

There was an economist Herbert Stein who coined the phrase "If something cannot go on forever, it will stop." That sounds perfectly reasonable to me.

So I probably lean to the doomsayer side but not based on any economic theories.

Speaking of Australia, and this is true of other places to some degree too, income levels are rising at historically low rates, but houshold debt is rising at a rate which cannot be sustained. Mostly it is high mortgage debt but also credit card debt. It has to stop sometime. The question is when. The next time it happens the standard response of lowering interest rates won't be available. Will printing even more money help? I'm skeptical. It doesn't seem to be working in Japan and Europe. Australia certainly can't afford to engage the US in a money printing war.

So what are you going to do? Hope the politicians and their economic advisers have an answer? Good luck with that.
The only rational response is to deleverage your houshold finances as fast as you can. But that is what leads to an economic slowdown. Which is just what you don't want if you want your home or investment property to continue to increase in value.

Head for the hills is not such a bad sounding option.

Printing more money will fix all our financial problems according to Pauline Hanson. How such a dingbat can become a Senator beats me. The worse thing that can happen is a massive solar flare wipes us out. The Internet stops. No food, no petrol, no money, power cutouts, no nothing. When your kids cannot eat, the gloves are off - its every man for himself. The person heading for the hills will be swamped, unless he headed out of reach from the nearest city. We have relied far too much on the Internet with no form of backup.

I agree there is far too much debt - govt and private. Both are primarily due to reckless government policies, not due to the Illuminati frogshit. If things got real bad, the government will simply raid people's Superannuation. The Cypriot government literally stole billions our of user's bank accounts. An ex-IBM colleague of mine ran a successful IT business in Zimbabwe, but Robert Mugabe and his henchmen stole ALL the money out of his business and private bank accounts overnight.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveforbes/2013/03/25/can-a-cyprus-like-seizure-of-your-money-happen-here/#258a50464fa4

Evenso, it is worth staying on the side of optimism, but be careful. What people forget is today we have instant communications of information, something the world did not have in 1930. Those communications stopped the end of the world in 1962 and probably several times since.