Luxury retail giant Duty Free Shoppers closing New Zealand stores
The Hong Kong-headquartered company confirmed the closure of its Auckland, Queenstown and Sydney locations after three decades in the Oceania market.
Duty Free Shoppers (DFS) stores in New Zealand are
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
6 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
US 'will sell so much' beef to Australia after relaxed restrictions: Trump
The United States will sell "so much" beef to Australia, US President Donald Trump said today after Canberra relaxed import restrictions. He added that other countries that refused US beef products were on notice. Australia on Thursday said it would loosen biosecurity rules for US beef, something analysts predicted would not significantly increase US shipments because Australia is a major beef producer and exporter whose prices are much lower. "We are going to sell so much to Australia because this is undeniable and irrefutable Proof that US Beef is the Safest and Best in the entire World," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "The other Countries that refuse our magnificent Beef are ON NOTICE," the post continued. Trump has attempted to renegotiate trade deals with numerous countries he says have taken advantage of the United States – a characterisation many economists dispute. "For decades, Australia imposed unjustified barriers on US beef," US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement, calling Australia's decision a "major milestone in lowering trade barriers and securing market access for US farmers and ranchers." Australia is not a significant importer of beef, but the United States is, and a production slump is forcing it to step up purchases. Last year, Australia shipped almost 400,000 metric tons of beef worth $US2.9 billion ($NZ4.8 billion) to the United States, with just 269 tons of US product moving the other way. Australian officials say the relaxation of restrictions was not part of any trade negotiations but the result of a years-long assessment of US biosecurity practices. Canberra has restricted US beef imports since 2003 due to concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease. Since 2019, it has allowed in meat from animals born, raised and slaughtered in the US but few suppliers were able to prove that their cattle had not been in Canada and Mexico. On Wednesday, Australia's agriculture ministry said US cattle traceability and control systems had improved enough that Australia could accept beef from cattle born in Canada or Mexico and slaughtered in the United States. The decision has caused some concern in Australia, where biosecurity is seen as essential to prevent diseases and pests from ravaging the farm sector. "We need to know if [the government] is sacrificing our high biosecurity standards just so Prime Minister Anthony Albanese can obtain a meeting with US President Donald Trump," shadow agriculture minister David Littleproud said in a statement. Australia, which imports more from the US than it exports, faces a 10% across-the-board US tariff, as well 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium. Trump has also threatened to impose a 200% tariff on pharmaceuticals. Asked whether the change would help achieve a trade deal, Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell said: "I'm not too sure." "We haven't done this in order to entice the Americans into a trade agreement," he said. "We think that they should do that anyway."
NZ Herald
7 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Infratil and Ebos help drive NZ stocks higher
Late in the New Zealand trading day, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 43.10 points at 8,666.30. The index has lost 1.04% for the last five days, but sits just 1.25% below its 52-week high. The main influences on the local S&P/NZX50 index were infrastructure investor Infratil, up 26c or 2.3% at $11.45, and medical supplies distributor Ebos, up 41c at $41.17. On the downside, utilities software provider Gentrack dropped by 61c or 5.5% to $10.52 after announcing it had been informed by an Australian customer it was no longer in the frame for replacing the customer's current platform. 'Whilst the financial impact of this does not warrant disclosure, out of caution we are providing this update to our investors,' Gentrack said. Salt Funds managing director Matt Goodson said Gentrack had lost out to its main competitor, Kraken, which is part of Britain's Octopus Energy. 'It should not have come as a shock because it was suspected by some, but the actual confirmation of it has seen the stock fall,' Goodson said. Sky Network TV fell 8c to $3.06 after spiking higher earlier in the week on news it would buy the troubled Discovery NZ for $1. Among the minor issues, takeover target Metro Performance Glass, which has a market cap of $9m, gained 0.3 of a cent to 5c. Competitor Viridian NZ's 8c per share offer for Metro Glass is before the Commerce Commission, which today issued a 'Statement of Issues' relating to the application. 'The commission has identified potential adverse competitive effects arising from a loss of competition between Viridian and Metro in glass processing, supply and installation markets where they are close competitors,' it said. Goodson said the commission 'clearly has issues' with Viridian buying Metro Glass because they are the two major players in glass processing and installation. 'I guess the question then is if Viridian is not allowed, what becomes of Metro Glass, given their debt levels,' Goodson said. Looking ahead, annual meetings on Wednesday for Ryman Healthcare and Mainfreight should give investors some clues as to how the two leading stocks are tracking in the current financial year. Later in the week, second-quarter results from Apple, Amazon and Microsoft – part of America's so-called Magnificent Seven – are due out. In the big picture, the ongoing spat between US President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell continues to be a concern for the financial markets as investors worry about the US central bank's independence. Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets, the primary sector and energy. He joined the Herald in 2011.
NZ Herald
10 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Qantas cyber attack: Kiwis cannot join Aussie legal complaint but can complain in NZ, expert says
Shaw added: 'In New Zealand if people were impacted by the breach by Qantas they would make a complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.' He said the office would consider the complaint and ask: 'Is this an actionable privacy breach in New Zealand?' Shaw said a privacy breach in this context meant a person had access to or misused personal information without consent. 'Then the question from there is, if it's a privacy breach, what has somebody suffered effectively?' The Office of the Privacy Commissioner would try to resolve that issue and ask if mediation was possible. 'Ultimately the Human Rights Review Tribunal considers it.' The New Zealand process for data breaches has generated some criticism. Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy earlier this month said Qantas would face much stiffer penalties under Australian privacy regulations than it would if it were a New Zealand company. However, Shaw said the system in New Zealand could punish people or entities for data breaches. 'The system in New Zealand is good. The Privacy Commissioner and the act have real teeth. The criticism I would have is the delay, the delay in having the matter heard by the Human Rights Review Tribunal.' He said the tribunal could award substantial damages. Shaw said Lane Neave was not suing Qantas but New Zealand had some litigation funders and some no-win no-fee practitioners who might consider the case. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner has been approached for comment. Qantas said it was aware Maurice Blackburn in Australia had lodged a complaint on behalf of some affected customers in relation to the cyber incident. 'Our focus continues to be on supporting our customers and providing ongoing access to specialist identity protection advice and resources,' a Qantas spokesman said. 'In an effort to further protect our customers, Qantas has obtained an injunction in the New South Wales Supreme Court which prevents the stolen data from being accessed, viewed, released, used, transmitted or published by anyone, including by any third parties.' Maurice Blackburn said the complaint was made to the Australian privacy commissioner, who did not have jurisdiction over New Zealanders' personal information. Some 1.3 million residential or business addresses were among the affected Qantas data, including hotels for misplaced baggage delivery. Four million customer records stolen in the attack contained names, email addresses and Qantas Frequent Flyer numbers. John Weekes is a business journalist mostly covering aviation and courts. He has reported on Catholic Church abuse and the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry since 2019 and on Dilworth survivors since 2021.
