Published on 30/06/2018 by Any Business.Com.Au

Minding your business: June

Welcome to the first edition of

'Minding your business',

a regular end of month blog from AnyBusiness.com.au that will explore 3 'big ticket items' that have occurred in Australian business throughout the preceding 4 weeks.

June has been a huge month for big brands grabbing headlines - today we look at:

  • The collapse of the Toys 'R' Us empire

  • Optus' World (Cup) of pain

  • New Sunday penalty rates to begin

Toys 'R' Us to Close Down Across the Country

Following months of speculation, administrators announced that Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us stores around Australia would be closed, with an estimated 700 people to become unemployed as a result.

Administrators failed to secure a buyer for the chain of 44 toys and baby goods stores, which have been trading since entering voluntary administration in May.

Stock will now be liquidated through sales at existing stores before they close in coming weeks.

It follows the collapse of United States Toys 'R' Us stores in March, when it announced it was preparing to sell or close all 735 stores in the country, putting 33,000 jobs at risk.

The toy retailer's UK stores were also slated to close, with joint administrators for the retailer unable to find a buyer for all or part of the business.

Optus' World Cup trash a treasure for SBS

Thousands of fans were left screaming for all the wrong reasons throughout June as Optus' streaming service failed to broadcast matches from this year's football World Cup.

Optus obtained the rights to 64 matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in May, with 39 of the matches intended to be exclusive to the telecommunications company.

As the tournament began, streaming issues caused disruption for soccer fans trying to watch the games, resulting in a huge public outcry via social media.

This resulted in Optus Sport agreeing to let public broadcaster SBS show World Cup matches for the remainder of the tournament.

It is understood Optus has fixed the issue that caused the streaming problem, but there are concerns customers' expectations about streaming are more advanced than the technology available.

Employee Sunday penalty rates to kick in tomorrow (1st July)

New changes to penalty rates for some retail, hospitality and pharmacy workers will come into effect tomorrow (1st July).

According to the SDA, the Union for Retail, Fast Food and Warehousing workers, the changes will affect around 700,000 workers.

The extent of the changes depend on the industry, with penalties to be reduced by 10 or 15 per cent.

The United Voice union estimates that it will mean people on an award wage who complete a shift this Sunday will earn about $16 less than they did last week.

The changes have come about following a Fair Work determination made last year.

Fair Work said that penalties for some industries should be reduced each July, with changes starting last year and continuing until 2020.

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AnyBusiness.com.au

Curtis is a leading expert in the business-for-sale industry, serving as a senior content creator at anybusiness.com.au.

With a career spanning over fifteen years, Curtis has accumulated extensive knowledge in the domain of business sales, acquisitions, and valuations. His deep understanding of market dynamics and his ability to translate complex industry jargon into accessible insights make him a trusted resource for entrepreneurs and business owners looking to buy or sell businesses.

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