A sneak peek at what’s featured in tomorrow’s issue of Inside Retail Weekly….

Our cover story this week examines the long awaited acquisition of Fantastic Holdings made by South African-based group, Steinhoff International. The retailer is a $30 billion furniture and electrical goliath listed on the Johannesburg and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges that has a global network of manufacturing and retail operations. The deal sees Steinhoff add to its stable of brands, which includes Freedom, Snooze, Bay Leather Republic and Harris Scarfe.

In Features this week we look at what retailers’ expectations for the 2016 Christmas trading season are, with the likes of Peter Birtles, CEO of Super Retail Group and Richard Umbers, CEO of Myer expecting competition to be rife and personalisation to be key during the silly season.

We also look at whether the future of bricks and mortar retail lies in the ability for retailers to merge their value proposition with relevant services and experiences, or is it more about having the largest, tech-rich store?

In From The Source, IRW sits down with Gavin Culmsee, the man at the helm of Bedshed Franchising. The specialist bed retailer has been in operations since 1980 and expanded across the country. Culmsee has seen a lot change over the last 15 years and spoke with IRW about the challenges of franchising models and why the brand has decided to finally push into NSW.

You’ll find all of this, and much more, in Inside Retail Weekly Issue 2114.

Inside Retail Weekly is the premium product in the broad stable of Inside Retail publications. It is published weekly, 48 times a year, and offers in-depth analysis of key retail industry news, hard-hitting opinion pieces, feature stories, and much more. 

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