Don’t mention ‘doom and gloom’ to NRA CEO, Trevor Evans.
“Negative commentary never helps consumer confidence and retail spending,” Evans told his members last week, adduing that recent high profile closures, like Dick Smith, Masters and Laura Ashley have obscured some decent results and trends.
“Retail is a big and broad sector and it’s not unusual to see closures in the first few months of the year. Now is the time when some retailers will take stock of their performance and consider the year ahead.”
Consumer sentiment remains critical in the retail picture and Evans is confident with most forecasts suggesting that the industry is on the right track business should continue to head in the right direction through 2016.
He also offered some advice to retailers: “Embrace innovation, think outside the box and invest in your most valuable resource – your people.”
Meanwhile, Evans has emerged as the favourite to gain LNP preselection to run against Labor challenger Pat O’Neill, following the decision by sitting LNP member Terese Gambaro not to contest the next election.