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On Thursday Mr Lew took fresh aim at the retailer, which posted the second biggest loss in its history at $172 million, calling its full-year 2020 results "disastrous and shameful".

Total sales fell 15.8 per cent to $2.5 billion in the period, with comparable store sales dropping 3.3 per cent, reflecting widespread store closures because of COVID-19 restrictions, pushing Myer deep into the red. Group online sales, however, surged more than 61 per cent to $422.5 million.

The department store had $159 million of significant items in the year ended July 25, which included impairment to brand names of $95.9 million and lease right-of-use assets at $37.1 million. In fiscal 2019, Myer posted a $24.5 million net profit.

Mr King said he would in coming weeks finalise negotiations with landlords over rent reductions for the period impacted by COVID-19, and then would turn to stores coming up for lease renewal and talk about space reduction, too.

Over the next three years Myer had 11 stores up for lease renewal.

"We need to get a win-win for both of us and if not we will move on," he said. "We will still end up with a fair chunk of stores but they will be smaller, more focused and online will grow rapidly, having doubled over the past two years. We project this to continue. "

Mr King skipped outlook comments given the unpredictability, but said Myer's CBD stores would face challenges for some time. Despite the hurdles, he said the aspiration to become a $1 billion business in coming years was still within reach.

Citi analyst Bryan Raymond has a buy/high risk call on Myer, which he believes has a balance sheet to withstand the challenging near-term conditions, with 2021 earnings likely to remain under pressure given the category mix and lack of wage subsidies.

Sales to corporate daigou, highly organised shoppers who run their own businesses buying products in Australia to sell in China, represent a significant proportion of infant formula sales in Australia and New Zealand.

A2’s ASX-listed shares plunged more than 10 per cent to a six-month low of $15.33 in reaction to the revised outlook. Shares closed down 11.42 per cent to $15.20.

Interim chief executive Geoffrey Babidge said the daigou channel had been very important to a2 establishing its brand in China.

"It's a channel that we have been able to manage well and it's one that we will support, and we'd like to be confident that will come back in a form that is still meaningful for our business in the medium term."

Mr Babidge said he was positive about the outlook "subject to the COVID situation in Victoria, or other states obviously being brought under control".

"We'd prefer a disruption such as this which, let's be clear, is substantially caused by external factors, did not take place," Mr Babidge said.

Andrew Mitchell from long-term investor Ophir Asset Management said a2 was still highly regarded and continued to win market share with Chinese consumers.

"We think ripping the Band-Aid off now with a swift cut to inventories is the most sensible decision, but painful in the short term. We fully expect trading margins for daigous will be quickly restored, improving their sales efforts as Melbourne emerges from lockdown," Mr Mitchell said.

A2 has been under scrutiny after its top executives sold millions of shares following the company’s financial results in August. Chairman David Hearn sold 250,000 shares for $NZ5,077,500, Mr Babidge sold 100,000 shares and Asia Pacific chief executive Peter Nathan sold 750,000 shares.

Mr Babidge defended the share sales, saying "the company and management are completely aware of the continuous disclosure obligations, which was the case at the time, obviously, when the share sales were made during August.

"As you know there are limited windows when trading can also take place and that occurred immediately after the release of the 2019-20 financial results in a very short window."

Former investor Wilson Asset Management reduced its position in the company following the financial results and then exited entirely after the share sales. "Significant insider share sales announced by key executives were a catalyst for us to reassess our thesis and we subsequently exited our remaining position" Wilson Asset Management analyst Shaun Weick said.

"Our main concern was that the bulk of the company's key executives were selling – and not insignificant amounts – combined with the fact that there were already lingering concerns around daigou channel demand patterns, we felt the outlook was increasingly challenging in the short term."

Technology group WithWine has appointed Cellarmaster’s former chief Ben Copeman-Hill as chief growth officer. 

Prior to joining WithWine, Copeman-Hill was GM at the wine club business Cellarmasters for five years. He specialises in direct-to-customer and e-commerce wine business growth and has almost 20 years of experience in global sales and marketing background. 

“Ben has a strong background leading the growth of Australia and New Zealand’s most prominent direct-to-customer businesses,” said Richard Owens, CEO and founder of WithWine.

“Now with Ben joining our team, we are combining our extensive technological expertise with in-depth knowledge of the wine industry, helping wineries connect with their customers and enabling their customers to enjoy a polished and personalised service through their device of choice,” he added.

Founded in 2014, WithWine is a direct-to-customer management system of choice for Australian wineries, including Henschke, Petersons and Leeuwin Estate.

Canberra was focused on creating jobs and part of that would be about providing inducements for the local manufacturing sector, said Simon Conn, senior portfolio manager at Investors Mutual.

The focus on local manufacturing also came after supply chains were interrupted during the COVID-19 crisis, prompting a hunt by many local companies for domestic alternatives, he said.

"So the timing is good and there is a real opportunity to try and help revive local manufacturing."

"They are an obvious beneficiary from the budget and there's a pretty direct correlation," said Mr Beddow. "If there's more housing starts or more incentives – particularly low interest rates – people will probably buy [or] build more housing.

"I don't think that there's a lot of direct effect outside the builders."

The group of companies trading as Colette by Colette Hayman has been acquired out of administration by a team of investors led by Bernie Brookes and John Skellern, who previously worked together as the former CEO and former general manager of procurement at Myer, respectively.

The transaction was approved by creditors of the group at their second meeting last week, although details of the deal were not disclosed.

Brookes will be the major shareholder and chairman of Colette by Colette Hayman, while Skellern will serve as the CEO.

The new owners have retained a number of the brand’s key managers and staff, who will provide a “kick start” to the business, and concluded negotiations with landlords to ensure the streamlined store network will be able to continue trading. Relationships with suppliers have also been maintained, meaning much-needed fresh stock can be delivered immediately to stores.

The freshly recapitalised handbag and accessories brand will continue trading through 35 bricks-and-mortar stores in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia, and a burgeoning online store.

This is a significant reduction from the brand’s previous footprint of 138 stores across Australia and New Zealand, and revenue is expected to decline accordingly. The group previously had sales in excess of $140 million.

“The new Colette footprint comprises only one-third of the original stores, and a fledgling online business, which with dedicated resources and focus will deliver one-third of total revenue,” Brookes said in a statement shared with Inside Retail.

The retail veteran acknowledged that some might question his investment in a bricks-and-mortar fashion business given the challenges the sector is facing right now, but he defended the decision, citing Colette by Colette Hayman’s strong brand, private label margins and great customer base.

“My decision to take the majority shareholding will be viewed as contrary to the current difficulties facing bricks and mortar retail,” Brookes said.

“Owning a fashion retail chain is about true omnichannel retail; a strong online presence and physical stores. Our purchase will enable the business to land in a future post Covid-19 in advance of any cessation of lockdowns and restrictions in the future, and our core offer of handbags and jewellery will continue, with a fresh focus on the strong performing stores retained, and a significant investment in the digital space.”

Brookes said the new owners plan to stabilise and then build the brand while investing in the business.

The acquisition has preserved the jobs of nearly 300 employees, including close to 100 permanent roles, according to a statement issued by Deloitte Restructuring Services partners Vaughan Strawbridge, Sam Marsden and Jason Tracy, who were appointed voluntary administrators of the group on January 31.

The administrators reportedly received offers from several parties, despite the market uncertainty brought on by Covid-19.

“The sale of the business to a group of experienced retail investors represents a significant achievement in the current environment, and reflects the strength of the brand and the commitment of the group’s employees to its future,” Marsden said.

New research reveals a shift among Australian shoppers towards “conscious consumerism”, with 87 of them saying that they are more likely to purchase products that are ethically and sustainably produced.

The survey of 1002 Australians commissioned by parcel delivery service CouriersPlease (CP) also shows that 85 per cent of consumers want retailers and brands to be more transparent as to where their products come from and how sustainable they are, as well as whether or not their producers are engaging in ethical practices.

NSW tops the states when it comes to conscious consumerism, with 87 per cent of respondents calling for transparency from retailers, followed by 85 per cent of Queenslanders, and 68 per cent from ACT.

CP also found that 41 per cent of Aussie consumers are willing to pay more for ethical and sustainable products – more so among younger shoppers (those below 30 years old) at 46 per cent compared with 34 per cent of over-50s. A higher proportion of women are also willing to spend more on sustainably produced products at 46 per cent, compared with 36 per cent of male consumers.

“Our research reveals that Australians are becoming more conscious shoppers and are starting to make more considered choices by seeking, and purchasing, products that are sustainably and ethically produced,” Paul Roper, Chief Commercial Officer at CP, said. “This is an important incentive for retailers to embark on sustainable initiatives within their own operations and supply chain.”

Roper added that CP themselves are working as hard as they can to achieve carbon neutrality.

“We recently gained LowCO2 Certification for all our operations from The Carbon Reduction Institute, and are working on several other ‘green’ initiatives which will help us on our path to becoming a carbon-neutral carrier by 2025,” Roper said. “One such initiative is our partnership with sustainable sock company Manrags, which has provided all Australian households with access to a digital at-home textile collection service.”

Myer will not replace two outgoing board members after the business’ second largest shareholder, Wilson Asset Management, fired shots at its board size and fees.

The department store said it will not seek replacements for Lyndsey Cattermole and Julie Ann Morrison who will be stepping down as of its upcoming AGM – a decision chairman Garry Hounsell said Myer had been mulling over for a while.

However, the announcement came days after Geoff Wilson, chairman of Wilson Asset Management, said the struggling department store needed to reduce the amount of directors and keep a temporary 16.7 per cent fee reduction permanently.

Hounsell noted that directors fees had been reduced three times in the last two years, and that the current reduced fee structure will remain in place for at least two years.

Wilson also called for the director fee pool to be reduced, something Myer has agreed to review before the upcoming AGM to “ensure it aligns with the company’s current position”.

“Myer takes this opportunity to thank Wilson Asset Management for its ongoing support of the company during what is, and we agree with the comment in your letter, ‘a difficult and uncertain time’,” Hounsell wrote in a letter responding to Wilson.

According to AFR, retail industry sources suggest the announcements could have been made “in cahoots” in an effort to make both sides look good. “The sequence of events is too cute by half,” one source told AFR.

In comments made to The Age, however, it didn’t appear that Wilson felt Myer’s actions had been enough, saying it is within their constitution to have a minimum of four directors – meaning they could lose one more.

Myer’s largest shareholder Premier Investment recently took aim at Myer’s “disasterous and shameful” $172.4 million loss, and chairman Solomon Lew stated Wilson needed to accept that losses will continue to occur unless there is “immediate change”.

Myer’s 2020 AGM will take place on Thursday, 29 October.

Executive chairman Mr Lew defended the payment of a robust final dividend of 36¢ per share to shareholders, which will total $57 million. He said that was because of a strong trading performance as online operations accelerated during the pandemic after Australian stores were shut for much of late April and early May, and the board had not factored in any JobKeeper payments.

"We need kids back at school,'' Mr McInnes said. In markets where schools had opened again in the pandemic, Smiggle had rebounded, he said.

But the big restructuring in Britain was needed to put it in the best position possible to reinvigorate once the pandemic passed, with much more focus on the online division.

In the six months ended July 25, Smiggle's total online sales climbed 57 per cent, representing 25 per cent of all sales in the brand.

Australians are shopping their way out of the sharpest economic downturn since the 1930s.

The country’s biggest retail bank said a surprisingly strong lift in spending by its millions of card customers over recent weeks suggests the economy will buck pessimistic Treasury forecasts and expand strongly through the September quarter.

Amid fears the COVID-19 recession would stretch to three straight quarters for the first time since the 1980s, Commonwealth Bank head of Australian economics Gareth Aird said he now expected real GDP would grow by 2 per cent, versus an earlier forecast that the economy would stall.

While growth in the order of 2 per cent is not the economic “snapback” Scott Morrison had hoped for when the country was riding high in June on an earlier than expected national reopening, it would still be the fastest quarterly expansion since 1995, when the economy grew by 2.3 per cent seasonally adjusted.

Mr Aird said he “had expected to see a modest rebound in household consumption over (the third quarter) as a lift in expenditure outside Victoria was partially offset by the lockdown-induced contraction in spending in Victoria”.

“But what has surprised us is the strength of spending outside of Victoria,” he said.

Weekly spending on CBA cards since June had been “materially” above the second quarter, Mr Aird said, averaging year-on-year growth in the order of 6.5 per cent versus around -3.5 per cent. Spending on the likes of homewares has stayed strong, while other areas such as entertainment have shown solid growth, even as they remained down on a year earlier.

By state, Queensland and Western Australia had led the growth in card spending.

“We now expect real household expenditure to post a chunky 5 per cent increase over the September quarter, following the 12.1 per cent contraction in the June quarter.”

The analysis chimes with profit figures from retailer Harvey Norman, which on Monday revealed sales had surged by an ­incredible 30 per cent over the 11 weeks to mid September.

The sharply upgraded outlook comes as the government grows more confident that Victoria’s shutdown won’t overwhelm a recovery outside the economically devastated state.

Treasury’s most recent estimate that national GDP would flatline or even contract through the September quarter is increasingly looking too downbeat.

The Prime Minister on Sunday said he expected the economy to add hundreds of thousands of jobs by Christmas, and walked back on official forecasts that the unemployment rate would approach 10 per cent.

Labour force figures released last week shocked economists when they showed the robust jobs recovery extended into a third month despite the drag from Victoria, with the unemployment rate plunging to 6.8 per cent from 7.5 per cent.

Despite warnings from Josh Frydenberg that the jobless measure would continue to climb in coming months, Mr Aird said unemployment had now peaked and would drift lower to 6.6 per cent by December.

As Victoria’s draconian lockdown measures appear to be suppressing the second wave of infections, allowing some easing of restrictions outside of Melbourne, the further lifting of restrictions through the final three months of the year would help national GDP lift by a further 1.8 per cent, alongside an increase of 140,000 jobs, Mr Aird said.

With expectations for an earlier recovery, Australia’s economy will shrink by 3.3 per cent in 2020, versus a previous estimate for a fall of 4.3 per cent.

Consensus earnings for listed discretionary retailers were priced on a ''muddle-through scenario'', with calendar 2021 sales and earnings estimates between 5 percent and 9 per cent ahead of pre-COVID-19 levels.

"On the whole, we believe retailers' share prices are factoring robust trading conditions,'' he said.

He said the global financial crisis experience suggested relative P/E multiples retraced about 35 per cent from their post-stimulus peak.

The ''buy'' ratings on Woolworths, Harvey Norman, Adairs, Metcash and Premier Investments were built around attractive valuations and structural shifts toward online, and a rebalance in the retail and landlord relationship when it came to the sharing of profits. UBS also factors in medium and long-term growth opportunities.

Premier Investments, chaired by billionaire Solomon Lew, has been the most aggressive in trying to up-end traditional rental agreements with landlords, and has pushed for paying a rent based on the amount of sales a particular store is doing, instead of a fixed rent.

Australian eTailer Hello Molly has launched its own in-house activewear brand Elette Fit. 

The launch of the label follows the surge in demand for activewear during the pandemic, with the market now valued at AUD$222.3 billion according to Hello Molly. 

During the lockdowns, the business saw that Australians were searching for comfortable, fashionable, on-trend activewear that featured breathable fabrics, digital prints and colour-blocking elements. 

Capitalising on these trends, Hello Molly's Elette Fit is a 19 piece range that features mid to high-intensity sports leggings and sports bras along with a tracksuit, bike shorts and perforated training tees. 

The line features trend-driven elements such as pocket detailing, block-colours of bold blue and fuchsia and versatile silhouettes. 

Designer Catherine Ellul said that the new range offers pieces for both the lifestyle and fitness focused Australians. 

"Activewear is a category that is timeless, but it is having a real moment in the current COVID climate.

"As people are realising what a privilege it is to be able to go outside and be active, everyone is in demand for it, whether it be for functional or fashionable purposes.

"The collection offers a range of styles for the comfort aspect, which is a growing category for us, such as the jogger and jumper set.

"The focus on a healthy active lifestyle is met with performance leggings, crops and technical fabrics.

"Elette Fit has a piece for everyone and will satisfy what customers are looking for in today’s lifestyle," she said. 

Brand creative manager Jasmin Fraser added that the business developed Elette Fit to be its own standalone brand within the Hello Molly umbrella. 

"Instead of developing a collection branded as Hello Molly, we took the opportunity to define and carve out a new identity within this space, honing in to the ethos of fitness, femininity, boldness and feeling elite while really defining what that means and looks like.

"Elette Fit offers dedicated branding to directly inspire the customers in this space, which is new to us. 

"The Hello Molly girl can simultaneously be an Elette Fit girl, however, there are key aspects of the tone of voice, colour palette and branding where we saw an opportunity to dive in heavily to the performance activewear industry.

"Elette Fit being separate in a sense to Hello Molly allows us to explore that.

"We want to have just as strong branding in that space with Elette Fit as Hello Molly does in feminine dresses and party wear, without conflicting with our established Hello Molly identity," she said.

The Elette Fit range is now available to purchase from the Hello Molly website and retails for between $34.95 and $89.95. 

"We've got to get there much quicker, so we have to accelerate our way through that. We have been engaged with all 12 of our landlords, and we've been having very good discussions and we're making good progress," he said.

Mr Bagattini's comments follow a tough year for David Jones, with the department store plunging to an adjusted operating loss of $33 million, a massive decline from last year's $37 million profit. Total sales fell 6.4 per cent to $2.06 billion, and comparable sales declined 6.9 per cent.

The company chose to trade through the initial COVID-19 lockdowns in March and April despite many of its retail rivals closing their doors. This meant David Jones' sales hit was not as pronounced as rival department store Myer's 15.8 per cent fall, though both retailers suffered significant hits to their earnings.

Mr Bagattini admitted the retail environment for department stores globally was challenging, but said he remained committed to the model, which he said he hoped to return to its roots by emphasising the retail experience they offer to shoppers.

"Our responsibility is to ensure that it is relevant in today's context, and that's through the whole brand environment, the store look and feel, the experiences, the services that all once made department stores a great place to shop," he said.

"Unfortunately, globally some of these large-format department stores have stepped away from these things and that's why they're in trouble. So that's really where we've got to get to for David Jones."

For the time being though, online sales were somewhat of a saving grace for the retailer, doubling for the year to now contribute 14.2 per cent of David Jones' total sales.

Woolworths' Australian fashion stablemate Country Road Group (CRG), which includes the brands Country Road, Trenery, Witchery, Mimco and Politix, fared slightly better, with its operating profit staying in the black at $40 million, though that was still down 60 per cent on last year's.

CRG's revenue dropped 14.3 per cent as its stores were shut for two months. Online sales only grew 15.4 per cent for the year, though CRG's online business is markedly larger than that of David Jones, comprising a quarter of its total sales.

Sales for the first 10 weeks of the 2021 financial year continued to be poor for both David Jones and CRG, down 11.5 per cent and 8.8 per cent respectively, which their South African parent attributed to the current Victorian lockdowns.

Mr Bagattini said the state's strict lockdown measures were "a little painful" for the retailer and he was hoping trade could resume on October 26.

Along with renegotiating its leases, David Jones is in the midst of disposing of its significant property portfolio.

The chief executive said there has been significant interest in its remaining Sydney and Melbourne flagship stores, the proceeds from which will be used to reduce the retailer's $500 million debt pile.

The Athlete’s Foot has stepped into a new category, now stocking activewear and performance clothing on its website.

The athletic and lifestyle footwear retailer will introduce items from 40 brands such as ASICS, Puma, Adidas, On Running, New Balance, 2XU and New Guard, as well as accessories such as socks, exercise bands, massage balls and bags.

“Apparel is a natural fit for The Athletes Foot. We have seen an undeniable increase in trends as more and more people are looking to incorporate workout and athleisure wear into their lives,” general manager of Accent Group’s performance division Steve Cohen said.

“People are looking for activewear that fits their lifestyle. I am beyond excited to add to our customer’s overall experience and can’t wait to provide people with a complete selection of products to help them keep fit and healthy.”

Parent company Accent Group purchased activewear business Stylerunner in late 2019 after it entered voluntary administration, in an effort to reach a new, predominately female audience while entering a new category.

“It was attractive to us that they had a great position with yoga wear and outerwear, and we’ve seen the wellness piece as a big growth market,” he told Inside Retail at the time.

“We think the name resonates with the consumer, and the market position it has is something we feel the market is missing at the moment.”

Agostinelli also said the business was considering Stylerunner-branded stores.

As a part of Accent Group, The Athlete’s Foot has seen significant digital investment in-store, with the brand’s MyFit3D technology launched across 140 stores in Australia and New Zealand – and is now available online through the launch of MyFit Virtual, which connects customers to a Fit Technician online.

Brendan Santamaria has been appointed as Seafolly’s new CEO.

Santamaria has been earmarked to fix, reset and grow Seafolly, paving the way to recovery through the challenging COVID-19 retail landscape whilst tapping into the brand’s local and international growth potential.

Santamaria has over 15 years of CEO experience in the branded goods industry, leading brands such as Everlast, Lonsdale and Disney.

In his most recent role as CEO of Designworks, he transitioned a private label apparel business into one of Australia’s largest branded apparel and footwear wholesalers.

Santamaria said he is thrilled to be joining the team in the current global environment.

“I am excited to be joining the team at such a pivotal moment for the brand and the global retail environment.

"Now is the time to shake things up at Seafolly and I see real opportunity for Seafolly to emerge post Voluntary Administration as one of the world’s most iconic swimwear and beach lifestyle brands.

"To date the brand has established and nurtured a global loyal customer following especially here in Australia.

"Our goal is to grow this customer base further and set the brand back on its trajectory to global success, together with our partners.”

Commenting on the appointment, L Catterton ANZ head Ondrej Ruzicka welcomes him to the team.

"Brendan’s appointment comes as Seafolly embarks onto a new chapter in its journey to further grow and elevate the brand that has been leading the Australian swimwear market for the past four decades.

"Brendan’s extensive leadership and retail experience will be a huge asset to Seafolly in the next phase of retail post Covid-19 and in bringing it closer to becoming the world’s most iconic brand in this exciting category.”

Online retail behemoth Amazon is negotiating a move to a new $1.5bn precinct being developed by the Charter Hall in Melbourne’s central business district in one of the largest office developments since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

The move would spark work on a 60,000sq m office skyscraper to be anchored by Amazon, with further space to be taken by government agencies, taking pre-commitments to about 40 per cent and allowing much-needed work to get under way across the city’s stalled economy.

The project was one of the largest fast-tracked by the Victorian government and is a boost for wider plans to reinvigorate the CBD after strict stage-four lockdown rules.

The project will create more than 2000 jobs during construction. Demolition of the site is well progressed and completion of the first stage is targeted for late 2022.

GDP figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed non-housing construction fell 3.1 per cent in the June quarter and was off 1.7 per cent on the year.

Amazon would come out of its existing building in Exhibition Street that is jointly owned by GPT’s Wholesale Office Fund and Singapore’s Keppel REIT. It d would be take expanded space of 12,000-14,000sq m in the Charter Hall project.

The impending deal is a sign that technology and co-working tenants could support the top end of the office market, with a series of commitments to new towers in Sydney and Melbourne keeping hopes alive even as vacancy levels are forecast to soar as white-collar employment shrinks and companies allow more staff to work from home.

In Sydney, flexible working group Hub Australia has signed up to the new Brookfield development above Wynyard station, and New York-based WeWork is forging ahead with plans to occupy an entire building, despite canning other city deals.

Technology players are also a big driver in Sydney, where there are relatively few other tenants in the market. Atlassian is developing a $1bn tower at a new tech precinct next to Central Station as it is looking to build up its office as a destination for entrepreneurship.

Amazon struck a deal two years ago to shift into a new Australian headquarters in a Charter Hall building in Sydney’s Market Street. It already occupies office space at 2 Park Street, jointly owned by Charter Hall and GPT.

Both Amazon and Charter Hall declined to comment.

Charter Hall in April won ­approval for the project at 555 Collins Street, Melbourne that will comprise 84,000sq m of premium office space and associated retail. Designed by Cox Architecture and Gensler, it has been pitched as a world-leading tenant workplace experience.

The first tower, at 555 Collins Street, will comprise about 50,000sq m across 34 levels and will house up to 5000 workers when completed. An adjacent tower 55 King Street tower will round out the precinct.

Charter Hall chief executive David Harrison at the time the project was approved said it was a “credit to the Victorian government that it is working to keep the economy moving by maintaining employment and investment and, in particular, to facilitate the recovery the Victorian economy will gain from shovel-ready projects”.

In Sydney, WeWork opened at heritage-listed 66 King Street, where it is anchor tenant following a $72m restoration. Owned since 2007 by property figure Phillip George, the 14-level art deco building on the corner of King and York streets spans 7300sq m.

Mr George backed the co-working concept, saying the building had been redeveloped as “an exciting co-working, retail and entertainment space” calling out the benefits of being in the middle of the city, near major transport and dynamic spaces.

Elsewhere in the city, Canada’s Brookfield signed up flexible workspace specialist Hub Australia to provide a free premium lounge to tenants in its $2bn Brookfield Place Sydney project above Wynyard station.

Hub Australia will take 4000sq m of space over two levels in the project’s new 27-storey office tower. Co-head at Brookfield Properties, Carl Schibrowski, said there were benefits of free breakout spaces for workers as well as access to premium, pay for service flex space.

“We wanted to bring a great flexible workspace offer to Brookfield Place Sydney to meet the growing demand from businesses for flexibility,” he said.

Brookfield Place Sydney will open in mid-2021.

"DJ’s performance was also adversely impacted by the failure of its private-label offering which never resonated with the Australian consumer, as well as several strategic initiatives which disrupted trade, added costs and placed pressure on its profitability."

Mistakes highlighted by the fund manager included the company's ambitious $220 million plan to refurbish its flagship Elizabeth Street store in Sydney, moving its head office from Sydney to Melbourne, and trialling a new upmarket food hall concept.

All those flops forced Woolworths to write down nearly two-thirds of its investments in David Jones, Mr Ivan said, with the company now valued at less than $1 billion.

Full-year sales at the retailer for the 2020 financial year are set to be down 8 per cent due to the impact of COVID-19 when the company reports its results later this month. Profit plunged 42 per cent last year, coming in at just $37 million.

Coronation is not the first major shareholder to criticise Woolworths' purchase and management of David Jones, with majority shareholder Allan Gray saying in June the department store had been a "very poor" investment.

The repeated writedowns on its initial investment have prompted speculation Woolworths may look to dump the department store chain. Instead, the South-African company has initiated a plan to close some of its 48 stores and sell $1 billion in property assets to reduce DJ's sizeable debt pile and cull any unprofitable stores.

One store, in Melbourne's Bourke Street, has already been sold for $121 million.

Outgoing chief executive Ian Moir said before his departure at the end of last year David Jones would focus on brand exclusivity as a way to return the company to growth and win back customers, with Woolworths pulling its Country Road Group brands out of competing retailers such as Myer and introducing 60 new brands exclusive to DJs in Australia - a strategy that is being continued under his successor, Roy Bagattini.

Online sales are also planned to become a major contributor to the group, with the company planning for online to be 20 per cent of total sales by 2025.

Mr Ivan said the plan to reduce the company's significant debt was a solid strategy and preferable to Woolworths either selling the chain entirely or injecting additional capital into the ailing business.

The fund manager said if Woolworths' plans for David Jones proved successful, the company could again become a valuable asset in its portfolio, though it is currently seen as next to worthless by investors.

"Despite department stores being under threat globally, we believe that DJ’s strategic initiatives appear sound [...] and should enable DJs to compete more effectively against online and specialist retailers," he said. "The investment in transformative projects and current strategy of right-sizing the DJ store footprint and continued investment in online is sound, and sets the business up well for the future."

Caleb Brown, the chief executive of Superdry, Volley and Clarks operator Brand Collective, said the stimulus package ending was creating anxiety for retail staff, who face at least one month of closures without JobKeeper support.

"I think many retail staff are acutely aware of their company's own [JobKeeper] qualification criteria, and that's creating a lot of fear, panic and anxiety," he said.

"It's unfortunate that the governments haven't been able to work together more closely to have a more comprehensive suite of announcements, to provide the level of certainty that I think our workers and the general public are looking for."

Layoffs would be a "last resort", Mr Brown said, but the ending of the JobKeeper safety net could lead to job losses at other businesses if additional support was not provided.

Shell service station operator Viva Energy's chief executive Scott Wyatt said the company may be forced to permanently shut its Geelong refinery if the road map targets are not hit by November, putting 700 jobs at risk.

"They've provided a road map, but it's a long road map, and there are some high hurdles that we have to clear to get there," he said. "We all need a pathway out of this that we can be confident in and that seems realistic and achievable. And I'm not sure that hit the mark [with the road map]."

Small business Ombudsman Kate Carnell said the state government's targets for reducing restrictions seemed unrealistic and may give some small business owners no other choice but to shut up shop.

In those situations, Ms Carnell said the Andrews government should "pick up the tab" for the costs of breaking leases on property or assets such as cash registers.

"It's totally unconscionable for the state government to make these decisions and then not pick up the tab for the costs that this is going to impart on on small retailers," she said.

Premier Daniel Andrews said he knew there were a lot of businesses that did not get the news they wanted in the state government's plan.

"If we could have provided a different series of steps, more things opened faster and done that safely, then, of course, that's what we would have done," he said.

"But there's no other option and I think that's well understood by every member of the government and well understood, I think, by the vast majority of Victorians."

Lord mayor Sally Capp called on the state government to urgently provide immediate additional financial assistance for businesses prevented from operating due to the restrictions.

She also called for a more flexible approach which allowed businesses to reopen sooner in a COVID-responsible way.

"I am also calling for consistency," Cr Capp said. "If the national definition for hotspots is 10 cases per day for three days, why not use this benchmark for reopening businesses and industries such as retail and hospitality?"

Monday, September 7: There are 1781 active cases of COVID-19 in Victoria, including 259 among healthcare workers.

Mr Andrews said the government would continue to this week consult with a wide range of businesses about the type of assistance they believed would be of greatest benefit before announcing a rescue package.

"We'll be as quick as we can be, but we have to give businesses ... that very direct opportunity to feed in about the types of assistance they want. Because it may vary one sector to the other. We'll do
that as quickly as we can," he said.

Mr Andrews would not comment on whether he would ask the Prime Minister to extend JobKeeper payments, saying he did not believe it was proper to lobby the government from the podium.

Sia Psicharis, who operates a beauty salon in St Kilda East, said she was preparing for more bad news ahead of Sunday’s announcement, however, she was still shocked at how "incomplete and inconclusive" the state government’s plans were.

"We’ve been closed since March and we were really waiting for something positive, but to be given this and having it all left open-ended, it was devastating," she said.

The Melbourne small business owner estimates she’s lost tens of thousands in revenue since lockdowns began in March, and is pushing for beauty salons to be permitted to open with a COVIDSafe plan once stage three restrictions are re-introduced.

Under the state government’s current plans, only hairdressers will be permitted to reopen on October 26 when restrictions ease back to stage three, with the rest of the beauty industry forced to wait another month to November 23.

"We lost Mother’s Day trade, we lost Father’s Day trade, and we were relying on the Christmas trade in November and December to roll us through our quiet time in January and February," Ms Psicharis said.

"We’ve always been known as the ‘hair and beauty’ industry, and suddenly we’ve been left behind when the hair industry has been allowed to function."

Chief executive of the Australian Retailers Association Paul Zahra had been calling for a staged reopening to begin next week and said the "incomprehensible" new restrictions would be a "death sentence" for many Melbourne retailers.

"If you took an evidence-based approach, for retailers who comply with COVIDSafe plans shopping is one of the safest activities in the COVID world," he said.

"Retailers are angry, they feel like they've been let down."

Turnover in clothing, footwear and accessories retailing rose 7.1% in July, according to new stats from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). 

Department stores also experienced an increase in July, rising 4% on a seasonally adjusted basis. 

ABS director of quarterly economy wide surveys Ben James said that the reintroduction of COVID restrictions in Victoria significantly impacted the fashion and footwear category in that state. 

"Retail sales in July 2020 were 12% above July 2019, with sales in household goods particularly strong, 29.4% above the same month last year. 

"Turnover in clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (7.1%) and cafes, restaurants, and takeaway food services (4.9%) rose across the country, with the exception of Victoria, where the reintroduction of Stage 3 stay-at-home restrictions in July partially offset these rises.

"As was the case in April, restrictions led to significant falls in these industries in Victoria," he said. 

Overall, Australian retail turnover rose 3.2% in July, revised down 0.1% from the preliminary figure of 3.3%. 

Online sales made up nearly 10% of total retail turnover in July, with eCommerce's contribution sitting at 9.8%, a slight rise from 9.7% in June.

In July last year, online retail turnover contributed 6.3% to total retail.

The majority of states across the country rose, with New South Wales leading the bunch at 5.9%, while its southern counterpart Victoria saw a 2.1% decline in July. 

Mosaic chairman Richard Facioni said on Monday the retailer had come to an agreement with Scentre Group but the terms of the agreement were confidential.

“We’re pleased to have reopened our Westfield stores over the weekend following a mutually agreeable outcome to our negotiations with Scentre Group," Mr Facioni said.

“We have had a long-standing relationship with Westfield enabling us to reach a solution that worked for both parties," he said. Mosaic shares jumped 18 per cent to 56.5¢ after plunging 33 per cent last week.

The dispute underlined growing tensions between retailers and landlords over how risks and returns should be shared in the $315 billion retail sector as foot traffic in shopping centres remains subdued and sales increasingly shift online.

Small- and medium-sized businesses are protected from eviction under pandemic regulations, which allow for proportionate reductions in rent. However, larger retailers such as Mosaic, whose sales plunged 16.5 per cent to $726 million in 2020, have been left to do battle with even more powerful landlords.

Mosaic's Victorian stores remain temporarily closed for health and safety reasons.

The company said the current market conditions are favourable to explore opportunities to expand the global customer base. 

“Following the acquisition of Avenue in October 2019, our online channels now represent two-thirds of our global business,” said Phil Ryan, City Chic CEO and managing director.

Ryan said in the past 12 months they have grown their active customer base by 278,000 and expanded their product offering into the everyday fashion category with Avenue and launched the intimates and playwear brand Fox & Royal which was developed from their acquired Hips & Curves brand.

“Our focus is on leveraging our offering across channels and regions as we continue to scale our business globally,” he said.

“The acquisition of Avenue has been successfully integrated within our operating structures and supply chain, with trading exceeding our expectations,” Ryan said.

“The success of this acquisition, which was earnings accretive in FY20, provides a blueprint for the potential purchase of the Catherines brand, which targets value-conscious women, but skews to different US states.”

The fashion retailer posted a 31 per cent increase in sales revenue in the 52 weeks to June 28 to $194.5 million with comparable sales growth of 0.4 per cent. 

It posted a global customer base growth of 72 per cent to 663,000 active customers with an online penetration of 65 per cent of total sales compared to the 44 per cent in the previous corresponding period. Underlying EBITDA was at $26.5 million, representing 6.6 per cent growth compared to FY19.

Normalised operating cash flow was at $20.9 million compared to FY19’s $21.5 million.

The company’s online website has grown globally posting 113.5 per cent growth compared to the previous corresponding period.

According to City Chic, its strong balance sheet has a net cash of $3.9 million as of June 28 and a debt facility of $40.0 million; further strengthened with $111.1 million equity capital raise post year end.

Sales in Australian and New Zealand fell by 4.8 per cent with sales growth of 9.9 per cent in the first half, followed by a 21.5 per cent fall in the second half driven by the impact of Covid-19 and store closures. ANZ trade improved with the reopening of stores, with sales down 26 per cent from the previous corresponding period in June 2020 compared to 47 per cent down from the previous corresponding period in April 2020.

US online websites, City Chic USA, Avenue and Hips and Curves, contributed sales of A$65.2 million in FY20 compared to A$10.7 million in FY19, largely driven by the expanded customer base from the Avenue acquisition for a 37-week contribution.

Ryan said the company is very well capitalised and remains focused on the execution of various growth initiatives including the potential acquisition and integration of the Catherines brand; improve engagement with, and experience of, the Avenue customer base, and migrate store customers to the online channel.

The company also announced it plans to continue expansion of lifestyles and categories online, expand into Everyday Fashion product stream in the southern hemisphere, drive brand awareness in the northern hemisphere, including adding new partners and building on trial in the UK and Europe, and continue to invest in enhancing customer touchpoints.

“In the early part of FY21, City Chic is pleased to advise that the company has continued to deliver positive comparable sales growth and the Avenue customer base in the US continues to be resilient,” Ryan said.

“However, City Chic acknowledges the economic impact caused by Covid-19 globally and the uncertain outlook for consumer demand.”

City Chic USA website’s strong growth momentum in the first half slowed and gross margins were heavily impacted in the second half due to Covid-19 and the drop in demand for City Chic’s major dress category in the US