Lively NSW Industry Meeting

3rd October 2011

Issue 35/2011

Newsline

Lively NSW industry meeting

Over 100 responses have so far been received to the 2011 PMA Member survey.

Highlights for me were:

92% said annual PMA convention was "important to very important"

69% said regular State PMA meetings were "important to very important"

86% felt the Annual Aust.Consumer survey was "important to very Important"

81% stated ongoing phone and email support was "important to very important"

89% indicated Aust PMA newsline was "important to very important"

64% said a planned PMA educational consumer road show was "important to very important"

We will be reporting in Newsline, in coming weeks, details on other issues that were raised in this survey. (including some "brickbats") .

There were also many excellent suggestions made which will also be covered. We are planning to publish the full survey results during October.

For those who have not completed this survey (it only takes five minutes)

You can access the survey here

Lively NSW State Industry meeting

NSW PMA Chairman John Ralph arranged excellent speakers for last Tuesday nights PMA State Industry meeting.It was great to see over 40 industry members from all segments of the trade taking the time to attend.

PICA President, Dave Marshall announced the new name, and details of next years "The Digital Show"which is being held in Melbourne in May.Full details are included in this newsletter.

Selling product at the show,show name,retailer promotional funds,number of trade and public days,trade only areas,engagement of CE channel ,were all issues covered and discussed in detail. It was also announced by Dave that the new association, planned to replace PICA, is likely to become effective within a few months.As announced earlier the associations name will be IDEA (Imaging & Digital Entertainment Association).

Jason Mclean, Director Canon Consumer Imaging provided details of Canon's Online strategy and gave insights into how important Canon viewed the contact with consumers.Full details follow below.As would be expected, retailers in the room expressed their concerns and wanted to know if the current range of products offered was likely to expand.I am equally sure that competing importers would be watching this development with real interest!

PMA Australian Chairman Richard Robertson volunteered to join the meeting, following Johns invitation.As usual Robbo held no punches in his final remarks over dinner ,following the meeting.As was confirmed with Les Brenner during our visit to him that morning,Robbo is only the second Australian to receive a PMA "Lifetime Membership Award" (the other is Les!)

On behalf of PMA,John Ralph and our members, special thanks to Dave, Jason and Robbo for joining us.

Glynn Lavender will be writing the editorial whilst I am on leave during October.

Cheers

Peter Rose

In This Issue

Major changes ahead for I&E Expo

Phil Gresham tours UK stores

Small Retailers Lack Bargaining Power

Help shape the future of the business tax system

PMA Calendar 2011

Your PMA Australia Executive

National Chairperson-Richard Robertson
richardr@teds.com.au

DIMA International President

Phil Gresham

philip@fotofast.com.au

Eastern Region TVP

and NSW Chairperson

John Ralph

jrcamerahouse@bigpond.com

WA, SA, NT, QLD TVP

and QLD Chairperson

Andrew Mason

print@photocontinental.com.au

TAS Chairperson

Tim Jones

tim@perfectprints.com.au

VIC Chairperson

Jeff Crowley

jeff.crowley@fujifilm.com.au

SA Chairperson

Paul Atkins

paul@atkins.com.au

WA Chairperson

Murray Gibbs

murray@ggch.com.au

Director of Australian Activities

Peter Rose

prose@pmai.org

Australian Directors for PMA

John Paxton

jpaxton@paxtons.com.au

Len Sandler

len.sandler@starshots.com.au

PPFA Chairperson

Ormond Williams

osgood@bigpond.net.au

APCI Chairperson

Paul Atkins

paul@atkins.com.au

PSPA Chairperson

Paul Dawson

pd@hydrophotographics.com.au

PIEA Chairperson

Gale Spring

g.spring@rmit.edu.au

PMA Australia Office

02 9454 2444

pmaaustralia@pmai.org

Editor

Glynn Lavender

pmaaustralia@pmai.org

Major changes ahead for I&E Expo and Canon talk Online Sales

Dave Marshall and Jason McLean were guest speakers at the NSW Meeting of Members & Photographic Industry Second Quarterly Review, held at the North Ryde Function Centre on Tuesday 27th September.

Over 40 members of the Photographic Industry attended the meeting and were keen to find out more about the 2012 Trade Show in Melbourne, and Canon Australia's new online business.

Dave Marshall (PICA President) spoke about the 2012 Trade Show in Melbourne.

Traditionally the Show has been funded by the Suppliers and with some major brands falling away there is a need to engage the CE channel. Research with Suppliers has led to renaming of the Trade show "The Digital Show", steering away from "photographic" terminology which has in the past has been distanced from the CE channel.

PICA's aim is to extend a show name that will attract the horsepower that will drive businesses, and money to support our Industry, to the Show.

Paul Curtis will manage the 2012 Show for PICA, and then in 2013, a new General Manager will sell the Show (new and emerging technology) concepts to businesses.

The format of the Show will also change - there will be Trade Pass Only areas (like Photokina), & Business to Business lounges.

The first day of the Show will remain mostly a Trade Only day (very little consumer promotion), and the Saturday & Sunday will be heavily promoted to attract the public. The aim of the Show is for consumers to understand convergence of Audio - Imaging- Entertainment, be excited by it and to know how & where to purchase.

In terms of selling off the Show floor, DM says that as long as a company has right to supply, then they may have a stand. Sales can only be conducted in agreement with a Supplier. Currently major companies are being asked to sign on & commit to a period of 3 years with the Show, and PICA are offering incentives for early bird and long term commitment.

Jason Mclean, Director of Consumer Imaging, Canon Australia, spoke about Canon's online retailing and other plans. JM spoke about the rationale of developing an online sales business for Canon Australia and said that their business was all about the consumer, and how Canon could best meet their needs. Canon would like to ensure that the consumer keeps choosing Canon products, and the development of the online business was influenced by two key factors - the elimination of consumer nervousness from buying online and the aggressiveness of the retail market. JM said that the Consumer did not differentiate between Canon branches, but with the high cost of business when a product is purchased overseas and incompatible/faulty in Australia, the message is clear to "buy locally". The Canon Australia online channel is a distinct channel, whereby the pricing is comparative to retail pricing. JM says retailers have an advantage where they create an experience for the consumer, whereas online shopping is not exciting and has no support or excitement. Retailers can switch sell, whereas online shopping cannot. The Canon Australia model has now been open for five weeks and carries a restricted range, which will be expanded in the future. Richard Robertson noted that currently Canon product from Hong Kong is cheaper than Canon Australia products, and asked the question "When will pricing become transparent and managed globally?" JM responded that pricing needed to be kept viable for the local channel, to employ local people - the decisions on pricing are made locally & not to compete with Retailers.

NSW PMA Meeting Sept 2011

Phil Gresham tours stores in the UK with some interesting observations

Phil Gresham has been touring the US and the UK with his wife Caroline and, as any good retailer is want to do, he has spent a fair bit of time visiting photo stores and wholesalers looking for trends, ideas and money making opportunities and listening to how other retailers are dealing with the slow retail conditions.

As you can see by the images below a lot of the major retail outlets in the UK have terrific looking stores that are well merchandised, carry a broad range of products as well as easily accessible kiosks.

What you may also notice is that they are all lacking in any customers...

Exactly opposite to the Apple store in the same centre that was overrun with customers.

Other than product mix and marketing dollars between these two different types of retail models there was one BIG noticeable difference between the Apple stores and photo retail. Apple had staff on hand to help customers.

In nearly every one of the shots below Phil was able to walk around the store and take photos at will and was not approached by any staff to A: See if he needed help or B: To ask why he was taking pictures. In one store three staff stood chatting to each other and let Phil walk around and shoot without ever asking if he needed any help at all.

Try doing that in an Apple store!

Having staff on hand ready and willing to assist customers is one of the key differences between Apple and just about any other retailing outlet.

Walking past one Genius station a customer was paying the equivalent of $120 an hour to be shown how to sort her photos, categorise them and store them so she could find images she wanted later, be assured they were backed up and guess what... he even showed her how easy it was to turn those images into a book... Did I mention she PAID for the privilege?

We are not saying that the only way to be successful is to have 50 staff... but it certainly highlights the importance of having your staff and management customer facing and more importantly CUSTOMER ENGAGED at all times. Customers want to be engaged IF you are actually looked upon as being there to help provide a solution and not just sell something.

The Timpson store was a very interesting model to visit. A store that combines everything from studio portraits and photo printing to memorial park benches, engraving and locksmith services.

Whilst maybe not a retail model that immediately comes to mind as having a lot of congruency there is certainly a lot of synergy between engraving, personal photo products and the blending of these lines to make one continuous offering of personalised gifts and memory products.

Certainly food for thought and definitely shows the value of visiting other retailers when travelling.

Gresham Collage

Small Retailers Lack Bargaining Power - Connected

Retailers support McInnes' comments on excessive rent- Smaller retailers lack bargaining power

Peak retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) supported Premier Retail chief executive Mark McInnes' comments that shopping centre rents are excessive and said smaller retailers who have even less bargaining power at the tenancy negotiation table.

ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman said retailers are struggling with excessive tenancy costs as they contend with falling sales due to low consumer sentiment and they are often left defenseless at the negotiation table due to the imbalance of power between landlord and tenant.

"The Premier Retail has used the threat of closing stores as a tactic for negotiating a fairer lease. However, it would be unthinkable for a smaller retailer to use this same tool which leaves them with even less power to keep their rental costs manageable.

"Smaller retailers often have superannuation invested in their business and they risk losing their livelihood if they threaten to walk away from a retail tenancy. But if they stay and pay too much rent they may lose everything anyway. They really are caught in a catch-22 position.

"Rents are growing at a greater rate than retail turnover. Rent is typically based on CPI (Consumer Price Index) plus two percent, however retail trade figures are consistently showing either negative growth, or growth well below the current CPI.

"The oligopolistic nature of shopping centre ownership often means, especially for smaller retailers, signing leases which are unsustainable and cannot be absorbed through sales as already price sensitive consumers stay away from the shopping centre.

"The Productivity Commission's draft report acknowledged the need for review of zoning and property laws, giving retailers more flexibility in where they set up shop and therefore giving a bit more balance to the bargaining process.

"However, the ARA is still calling for reforms such as third party reporting of turnovers, first and last right of refusal, independent market rental valuation and national registration of leases to make for more transparency in the negotiation process and ensure retailers stay competitive and viable," Zimmerman said.

Help shape the future of the business tax system

This is your chance to air your suggestions for improvements to the business tax system in Australia.

Yes it takes time,yes we are busy,yet if we do not respond to these enquiries NOTHING HAPPENS!

Please forward to me and I will pass on to the ARA.

Dear members and retailers,

On 4 and 5 October, ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman will be representing the retail sector at the Federal Government Tax Summit in Canberra.

As part of our attendance, ARA has been asked to identify our priority reform issues for the tax and transfer systems. The Government has also asked us to look at how any such proposals would be funded as part of our submission.

From a business tax perspective the Government has highlighted a number of points for discussion, including:

· What is the appropriate business tax system for Australia to maintain business tax revenue and economic growth?

· Are there ways to reform the business tax system that can assist Australia to meet the challenges of the mining boom mark II and make the most of the opportunities from the shift in global economic weight from West to East?

· Should the company tax rate be lowered further, and if so, what other reforms within the business tax system might be used to fund this?

· Are there ways to further simplify business interactions with the tax system, especially for small business?

· Should there be more symmetrical treatment of tax losses?

· Should further consideration be given to potential longer term directions for the business tax system, such as deductions for equity financing?

· Are there unintended or inappropriate concessions in the business tax system that could be removed to help fund priorities elsewhere?

Click here for further information about the Tax Summit's discussion points.

ARA is requesting feedback from you, our members, to determine areas of reform ARA should raise at the Tax Summit.

Please feel free to email me with your suggestions which I will collate into a discussion paper for the Tax Summit.

Heath Michael
Policy Director, Australian Retailers Association

PMA Calendar 2011

Tue Oct 11: PMA VIC Meeting

Mon Oct 24: PMA at Nikon AIPP Event

Hilton Hotel, Adelaide

Tue Nov 8: PMA WA Golf Day

Burswood Golf Club, Perth

Tue Nov 29: PMA NSW Xmas Function

South Steyne Floating Restaurant, Darling Harbour

Wed Dec 7: PMA VIC Xmas Function

Carlton Brewhouse, Melbourne