Australia's Christmas Spend To Reach $51 Billion; Catch Group Posts Strong Top-Line Growth for Q1; Magazines Enjoy Significant Rise in Readership Reports Roy Morgan; Asia/Pacific Now Accounts for A Third of De-Stressing Beauty Products; and Snippets from the Wires.
Australia's Christmas Spend To Reach $51 Billion
The Christmas trading period is rightly known as the Golden Quarter. The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and Roy Morgan Research predict Aussie shoppers will fork out over $51 billion in retail sales in the six week period from November 9 to December 24. With consumer spending on the rise, as noted in September's retail figures, the ARA and Roy Morgan are confident that this year's Christmas sales will remain strong during the festive season, with a 3.67 per cent total year-on year growth across the retail sector, says Russell Zimmermann, Executive Director for the ARA.
Food, of course, is predicted to be the big winner with estimated sales of $21 billion. Fashion and apparel and household goods are also expected to enjoy big upticks. Sales of clothing, footwear and accessories are on track to increase 3.1 per cent to $4 billion. While the prediction for household goods envisages a 2 per cent rise to $9 billion.
Nationally, the strongest predicted growth will be experienced in Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. "As the online retail market continues to expand, the ARA are also predicting online gift purchases to increase by 2.7 per cent with Australian shopperes expected to purchase many of their gifts online this year", notes Zimmermann.
Catch Group Posts Strong Top-Line Growth for Q1
With over 1.2 million active customers, the Catch Group is widely rumoured to be considering an IPO (Initial Public Offering) next year. The online retailer announced a 72.9 per cent increase on overall gross transaction value (GTV) for the first quarter of the 2019 financial year to $99.39 million - up from $57.49 million for the same period 12 months earlier. The major driver of the buoyant results was the group's marketplace which racked up sales of $33.85 million from July to September.
The Catch marketplace boasts 1.9 million SKUs from close to 950 third-party sellers. Sales from its core business and end-of-line ranges from major brands sold at deep discounts jumped 21.6 per cent year-on-year to $65.54 million. Many of the biggest names in beauty are sold on the marketplace from Estée Lauder through Revlon, L'Oreal Paris and Maybelline New York in an ever-exanding cosmetics and fragrance offering.
In October, the Catch Group opened a new 22,000 square metre warehouse in Melbourne in preparation for the next five years of expected growth. "With over 100 million annual website and app visits, the addition of a new warehouse will allow us to continue to capitalise on this potential growth", says Nati Harpaz, CEO and Managing Director of the Catch Group.
Magazines Enjoy Significant Rise in Readership Reports Roy Morgan
Nearly 75 per cent of Australians - 15,117,000 aged 14 and over - read magazines through various platforms - print, online or through an app. Nine out of Australia's top 15 magazine titles increased their readership in the 12 months to September 2018, reports Roy Morgan Research. The five most-read categories are: food and entertainment ( 32.6% of magazine readers), general interest (23.1 %), mass women's (16.7%), home and garden ( 14.1%) and business, financial and airline ( 7.9%).
The food and entertainment category saw an 8.8 per cent increase to an overall readership of 6.64 million. The free Coles and Woolworths magazines enjoyed stellar growth of 16.2 per cent and 7.7 per cent , respectively, to readerships of 4.61 million and 4.124 million.
The mass women's category increased one per cent to capture the attention of 3.39 million readers. The Australian Women's Weekly remains the leading title with a 4 per cent increase in readership to 1.539 milion, ahead of Woman's Day at 1.246 million. The new Take 5 monthly magazine was hot out of the starting gates to build a readership of 736,000 to become the ninth most widely-read magazine in the country. Other titles with major readerships include New Idea (1.038 million), That's Life (621,000) and Take 5 weekly (500,000).
Seven of the 11 magazines in the home and garden category enjoyed readership increases over the past year, led by Australian House & Garden (up 3.6% to 540,000). Better Homes and Gardens remained the sector leader in spite of a 6.1 per cent fall in readership to 1.623 million. Other titles to enjoy increased readership include Home Design (up 53.9% to 117,000), Real Living (up 11.5% to 97,000), Home Beautiful (up 1.9% to 322,000) and Belle (up 1% to 102,000).
On the glossy front, Vogue Australia saw an uptick of 8.2 per cent and Harper's Bazaar boosted its readership by 36.9 per cent to 152,000. Of the nation's leading 10 magazines by cross-platform audience, the Australian Women's Weekly was a standout performer with a 7.8 per cent jump in total cross-platform readership to 2.45 million.
Asia/Pacific Now Accounts for A Third of De-Stressing Beauty Products
Spa services and facials have long held centre stage as a fast track to relaxation. But consumers in Asia are increasingly looking to de-stress via a jar or tube. According to Mintel, the Asia/Pacific region (APAC) accounted for 33 per cent of new global beauty and personal care products with de-stressing and relaxation claims over the first nine months of the year.
The percentage is a major increase from 2015, when APAC accounted for 26 per cent of new global launches in the category. The rapid urbanisation and increased speed of life in Asia have left consumers feeling tired and emotionally drained, says Sharon Kwek, Senior Innovation and Insights Analyst, Beauty and Personal Care at Mintel. "For Asian female consumers, in particular, it is becoming common knowledge that daily lifestyle habits can have an impact on the skin. In the years ahead, beauty brands and companies in the region will stand to benefit from launching innovative products that address consumers' mental wellness".
Snippets from the Wires
- Shiseido enjoyed strong growth in the first nine months of the year with net sales surging to 805.8 billion yen (AUD$9.79 billion) - an increase of 100 billion yen (AUD$1.21 billion) over the same period in 2017.
- The global anti-ageing market is expected to climb to US$66.2 billion over the next five years, reveals a new report from Lucintel. Skincare is the largest sector followed by haircare. Major drivers include the rising demand for natural and organic ingredients and multi-benefit products.
- Sales of prestige night serums and moisturisers have risen 7 per cent in the UK over the past year to AUD$77.17 million. Revenues from night-time eye treatments were up 14 per cent, followed by facial gels (+12%) and facial oils (+4%).
- Zara, the world's biggest fashion retailer, has expanded online sales by 106 more countries - mainly in Africa - to increase its e-commerce offering to 202 countries. By 2020, parent company Inditex plans to make all its brands, including Zara, Massimo Dutti and Bershka, available online worldwide. Online sales now represent 10 per cent of group net sales - up 41 per cent on 2017.
