Retail confidence low thanks to credit crunch

The US credit crisis is having ramifications for local retail outlets with retailers such as JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman predicting consumer spending will be put on hold…

The US credit crisis is having ramifications for local retail outlets with retailers such as JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman predicting consumer spending will be put on hold…

Speaking with The Australian, Richard Uechtritz, managing director of JB said:
“People will be running for cover in the next few days. Anything that hurts consumer sentiment and drives down employment is bad for retailers. And when there’s uncertainty, people will hold back and not spend. There’s a lot of uncertainty about right now,” he said.

Nonetheless, Uechritz said JB HiFi is doing well. “We are happy where we are at, as we are not feeling the effects of the negative sentiment as much as other retailers,” he said.

Meanwhile Gerry Harvey – executive chair of Harvey Norman predicted that unless the US financial crisis could be halted we could be heading for another Great Depression…

Yesterday Harvey Norman reported an 18.3 per cent fall in unaudited, pre-tax profit for July and August to $47.7 million — down from $58.3 million for the corresponding period. The company’s profits were also impacted by their expansion in to Ireland – where the compnay has been said to be trading very poorly. Said Harvey: “Operations in Ireland are testing our ability as a retailer and we cannot fail.”

Source: The Australian