Latest news with #PatrickCoghlan
Perth Now
22-07-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Restaurants, building firm insolvencies remain high
Insolvencies remain trending higher among the food and beverage sector, CreditorWatch says. (Dan Peled/AAP PHOTOS) Insolvencies remain trending higher among the food and beverage sector, CreditorWatch says. (Dan Peled/AAP PHOTOS) Credit: AAP The level of Australian businesses going under appears to be stabilising, but firms are still becoming insolvent at record-high numbers. Restaurants and construction firms remain hardest hit in CreditorWatch's monthly Business Risk Index, which found more than 14,000 businesses went bust in the 2024-25 financial year. But income tax cuts and government cost of living measures have helped the rate of insolvencies plateau, CreditorWatch said. And with defaulted payments falling 6.5 per cent in June, there is some hope the overall health of businesses is on the up. "It's a promising signal business cash flow pressures may be easing, but with insolvencies still running 33 per cent above 2024/25 levels, and particularly elevated in hospitality and construction, I'm not getting too excited just yet," CreditorWatch CEO Patrick Coghlan said. "We'll continue to monitor for early signs of sustained recovery, but the next six months will be critical for determining whether insolvency rates begin to fall or remain stubbornly high." Businesses were struggling to stay afloat in typically stable sectors such as health care and education, showing the breadth of the economic strain, Mr Coghlan said. Hospitality businesses remain under the pump, with one in 10 closing in the year to June 2025. While insolvencies have plateaued generally, they remain trending higher among the food and beverage sector. Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association CEO Wes Lambert said it was no longer a case of if a hospitality business would close, but rather which one would shut it doors. "It's a real threat for many businesses in the hospitality industry, especially those in CBDs with work-from-home now fully enshrined into employment culture, and with tourism remaining at levels not seen since 2016," he told AAP. "Demand is low while wages, rents, utilities, insurance and other expenses are between 30 and 50 per cent higher than they were before COVID-19." Mr Lambert said Australia needed to attract more tourists, and needed genuine discussion about the cost pressures on industries such as hospitality. A quarter of all business that became insolvent in 2024/25 were in the construction sector. But given the large overall number of construction businesses, less than one per cent of all of them became insolvent. CreditorWatch labelled a rise in education and healthcare insolvencies "somewhat unusual" given both sectors are largely underpinned by government funding. Education was hit by immigration and foreign student policies, they found. The 14,716 business insolvencies recorded in 2024/25 was a massive 33 per cent jump year-on-year.
Sky News AU
14-07-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Country Road to close QVB store in Sydney
Iconic fashion retailer Country Road will close down stores across Sydney as slowing sales force its South African owners to scale back its retail front. The business's landmark store in central Sydney's Queen Victoria Building will be shut down as the company looks to lower costs. It will also close its sister brand Trenery in Sydney's affluent Mosman, while its Pitt Street Mall store will close in 2028 when the lease expires. Country Road's South African owners Woolworths previously announced weak sales coming from the Australian brand. Sales plummeted by 6.2 per cent in the first half of the 2024-25 financial year and a further 8 per cent in the 26 weeks to December 29 as operating profits dropped 71.7 per cent to just $14.2m. Country Road was founded in 1974, starting out as a smart-casual men's, women's and children's clothing store while also dabbling in homewares and accessories. It grew out into an Australian lifestyle brand known for high-quality apparel, accessories and homewares and became the first major Australian brand to move into the US. In 2014, Country Road and Trenery were bought by South African brand Woolworths. Country Road's recent falls are in line with the collapse of dozens of retailers. Retail giant Mosaic Brands – owner of Millers, Rivers, Crossroads, Katies, Noni B and Autograph – collapsed into voluntary administration in October 2024. In a notice to creditors delivered in February, Mosaic's total debt was tallied at more than $318m. Iconic retailer Jeanswest also said it was hit by a 'perfect storm' of factors as it closed its stores in March, with 600 workers out of a job. CreditorWatch's latest insolvency data shows tax cuts and interest-rate relief is slowly passing through to businesses' bottom line. CreditorWatch's May data shows an easing in two key measures of business stress, insolvencies and B2B payment defaults, suggesting the July 2024 tax cuts, recent interest-rate reductions, slower inflation and fiscal support measures are beginning to alleviate some pressures on Australian businesses. CreditorWatch chief executive Patrick Coghlan said the May data on defaults and insolvencies was encouraging but some sectors remained under pressure. 'This levelling off of insolvencies has been long awaited and is very welcome but we need to remember that several industries still face significant challenges, particularly those exposed to discretionary spending,' he said. 'Post-Covid, we've seen inflation hit 30-year highs. 'Those rapid price increases across the economy don't reverse when the inflation rate comes down again – the higher prices are locked in and remain as permanent pressures for businesses.' Originally published as Fashion retailer to close flagship stores, citing sales pressure
Perth Now
14-07-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Iconic fashion retailer shuts Aussie stores in major city
Iconic fashion retailer Country Road will close down stores across Sydney as slowing sales force its South African owners to scale back its retail front. The business's landmark store in central Sydney's Queen Victoria Building will be shut down as the company looks to lower costs. It will also close its sister brand Trenery in Sydney's affluent Mosman, while its Pitt Street Mall store will close in 2028 when the lease expires. Country Road's South African owners Woolworths previously announced weak sales coming from the Australian brand. Sales plummeted by 6.2 per cent in the first half of the 2024-25 financial year and a further 8 per cent in the 26 weeks to December 29 as operating profits dropped 71.7 per cent to just $14.2m. Country Road will close three of its Sydney stores. NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw Credit: News Corp Australia Country Road was founded in 1974, starting out as a smart-casual men's, women's and children's clothing store while also dabbling in homewares and accessories. It grew out into an Australian lifestyle brand known for high-quality apparel, accessories and homewares and became the first major Australian brand to move into the US. In 2014, Country Road and Trenery were bought by South African brand Woolworths. Country Road's recent falls are in line with the collapse of dozens of retailers. Retail giant Mosaic Brands – owner of Millers, Rivers, Crossroads, Katies, Noni B and Autograph – collapsed into voluntary administration in October 2024. In a notice to creditors delivered in February, Mosaic's total debt was tallied at more than $318m. Iconic retailer Jeanswest also said it was hit by a 'perfect storm' of factors as it closed its stores in March, with 600 workers out of a job. Country Road is just one of many retailers struggling with cost-of-living pressures. NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw Credit: News Corp Australia CreditorWatch's latest insolvency data shows tax cuts and interest-rate relief is slowly passing through to businesses' bottom line. CreditorWatch's May data shows an easing in two key measures of business stress, insolvencies and B2B payment defaults, suggesting the July 2024 tax cuts, recent interest-rate reductions, slower inflation and fiscal support measures are beginning to alleviate some pressures on Australian businesses. CreditorWatch chief executive Patrick Coghlan said the May data on defaults and insolvencies was encouraging but some sectors remained under pressure. 'This levelling off of insolvencies has been long awaited and is very welcome but we need to remember that several industries still face significant challenges, particularly those exposed to discretionary spending,' he said. 'Post-Covid, we've seen inflation hit 30-year highs. 'Those rapid price increases across the economy don't reverse when the inflation rate comes down again – the higher prices are locked in and remain as permanent pressures for businesses.'
Perth Now
14-07-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Iconic retailer shuts flagship stores
Iconic fashion retailer Country Road will close down stores across Sydney as slowing sales force its South African owners to scale back its retail front. The business's landmark store in central Sydney's Queen Street Mall will be shut down as the company looks to lower costs. It will also close its sister brand Trenery in Sydney's affluent Mosman, while its Pitt Street Mall store will close in 2028 when the lease expires. Country Road's South African owners Woolworths previously announced weak sales coming from the Australian brand. Sales plummeted by 6.2 per cent in the first half of the 2024-25 financial year and a further 8 per cent in the 26 weeks to December 29 as operating profits dropped 71.7 per cent to just $14.2m. Country Road will close three of its Sydney stores. NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw Credit: News Corp Australia Country Road was founded in 1974, starting out as a smart-casual men's, women's and children's clothing store while also dabbling in homewares and accessories. It grew out into Australia's first lifestyle brand known for high-quality apparel, accessories and homewares and became the first major Australian brand to move into the US. In 2014, Country Road and Trenery were bought by South African brand Woolworths. Country Road's recent falls are in line with the collapse of dozens of retailers. Retail giant Mosaic Brands – owner of Millers, Rivers, Crossroads, Katies, Noni B and Autograph – collapsed into voluntary administration in October 2024. In a notice to creditors delivered in February, Mosaic's total debt was tallied at more than $318m. Iconic retailer Jeanswest also said it was hit by a 'perfect storm' of factors as it closed its stores in March, with 600 workers out of a job. Country Road is just one of many retailers struggling with cost-of-living pressures. NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw Credit: News Corp Australia CreditorWatch's latest insolvency data shows tax cuts and interest-rate relief is slowly passing through to businesses' bottom line. CreditorWatch's May data shows an easing in two key measures of business stress, insolvencies and B2B payment defaults, suggesting the July 2024 tax cuts, recent interest-rate reductions, slower inflation and fiscal support measures are beginning to alleviate some pressures on Australian businesses. CreditorWatch chief executive Patrick Coghlan said the May data on defaults and insolvencies was encouraging but some sectors remained under pressure. 'This levelling off of insolvencies has been long awaited and is very welcome but we need to remember that several industries still face significant challenges, particularly those exposed to discretionary spending,' he said. 'Post-Covid, we've seen inflation hit 30-year highs. 'Those rapid price increases across the economy don't reverse when the inflation rate comes down again – the higher prices are locked in and remain as permanent pressures for businesses.'
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sign of life for Aussie economy
The worst could be over for struggling businesses in the hospitality and construction sectors, as the number of insolvencies dropped in May. Two key measures of business stress – insolvencies and business-to-business payment defaults – are easing, CreditorWatch data shows. Overall, insolvencies are down 0.9 per cent from April to May and have now dropped 12 per cent from their November peak, while business-to-business payment defaults dipped 11.8 per cent in May and are down 18.3 per cent from their peak in December. The major falls were in the discretionary facing sectors, including hospitality and construction. The falls come as the same pressures impacting households – inflation, higher interest rates and taxes – begin to ease on businesses. CreditorWatch chief executive Patrick Coghlan said insolvencies and trade payment defaults had levelled out, albeit at quite elevated levels, suggesting some of the pressures on businesses from higher costs and constrained consumer spending may be beginning to be balanced out. But he warned that businesses, particularly in the hospitality sectors, are still struggling to pass on higher input costs to customers. 'This levelling off of insolvencies has been long awaited and is very welcome, but we need to remember that several industries still face significant challenges, particularly those exposed to discretionary spending,' Mr Coghlan said. 'If the price of a sandwich at a cafe goes up by three or $4, people can very easily go elsewhere or bring their lunch from home.' The decline in hospitality businesses facing insolvency follows CreditorWatch data back in October 2024 that showed one in six businesses were rated at high risk of collapsing. The turnaround follows several tailwinds for these consumer facing businesses, including two interest rate cuts from the Reserve Bank since February, lower taxes for households starting in July 2024 as well as a further lifting in the minimum wage from July 1. CreditorWatch chief economist Ivan Colhoun said this increase in payments would come with mixed reactions from businesses in the hospitality sector. 'The good thing is that we will likely see these funds recycled into the economy,' he said. 'Interest rate relief by the RBA, as inflation has moderated, should also improve cash flow a little for both consumers and businesses alike. '(But) the Fair Work Commission's decision to increase the national minimum wage from 1 July 2025 will benefit consumers but apply further pressure on businesses, particularly in retail and hospitality.'
