Billabong suspends shares as talks roll on

Shares in Billabong have been suspended indefinitely so it can continue takeover talks with two potential suitors. Picture: Adam Head Source: The Courier-Mail

SHARES in troubled retailer Billabong have been suspended indefinitely so it can continue takeover talks with two potential suitors.

The surfwear company's shares were due to resume trading today after it requested a trading halt earlier in the week to deal with the takeover proposals.

"The company requests that the suspension remain in place until such time as the company is able to make an announcement in relation to such negotiations," Billabong said today.

Billabong is in talks with a consortium led by US-based Billabong executive Paul Naude and buyout firm Sycamore, which made a $1.10-a-share offer for the retailer in December.

That bid was matched by another consortium made up of VF Corporation - owner of The North Face and Timberland outdoor clothing brands - and US-based investment firm Altamont Capital Partners matched the $1.10-a-share offer in January.

Billabong had originally expected talks with the consortiums to conclude at the end of March after they completed due diligence on the retailer's books.

But there has been speculation this week that the two bidders could slash their offers to between 70 and 80 cents a share.

Billabong has received six takeover offers since early 2012, but none have succeeded.

VF Consortium has said it hopes to Billabong to expand its sportswear lines.

Altamont is interested in the surfwear retailer's other brands and related assets.

In February, Billabong plunged into the red with a $536.6 million first half net loss. The struggling company, which is undergoing a major restructure, also downgraded its underlying earnings forecast for 2012/13 to between $74 million and $85 million.

Billabong's shares last traded at 73 cents.

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Sweet tooth bites the corner store

Aussies are turning away from classics like the meat pie in favour of picking up lollies and choccies at service stations, a new study shows.  Picture: Campbell Brodie Source: adelaidenow

SUPERMARKET servos - those petrol station and convenience stores - are eating away the market of the traditional corner store, and a lot of what's being eaten is chocolate.

Supermarket servos - often bearing a Coles or Woolworths logo - increased by almost 300 to an estimated 3,450 in the past two years, new research has found, while petrol-only outlets and corner stores are dwindling.

The big driver of the change has been food and drink offerings, with spending on sweets and snacks shifting to supermarket-owned outlets, according to a new report from researcher BIS Shrapnel.

BIS Foodservice head Sissel Rosengren said the value of corner store trade fell from $754 million in 2010 to $613 million in 2012 and that independent convenience store numbers fell by 1406 to 2725 nationwide in the same period.

At the same time, the number of Woolworths/Caltex supermarket servos rose from 611 stores to 848.

"The demise of the corner store is a fact," Ms Rosengren said.

"We fully expect this decline to continue due mainly to the rise in the number of supermarkets and convenience stores attached to service stations."

The researchers also found that Aussie fast-food tastes had shifted away from the iconic meat pie and sauce towards chocolates and lollies.

Despite a post-GFC slump in impulse spending, confectionery sales at service stations, corner stores and other so-called "route trade" outlets grew by 19 per cent from 2010 to 2012 to $711 million.

Chocolate accounted for nearly two-thirds of that spending.

"This is typical consumer behaviour during tougher and uncertain economic times," Ms Rosengren said.

"Chocolates can be small and inexpensive, and we like to reward ourselves every now and then with a little treat."

Meat pies still lead in the baked goods category but sales have fallen nine per cent since 2010.

Sales have also slipped for ice creams and other snack foods, but sausage rolls and cakes recorded increases of four per cent and 14 per cent respectively.

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Family sector welcomes new focus

Family business appears headed for a clearer and brighter future. Source: Supplied

FAMILY business advocates have welcomed a government report into the sector that followed a seven-month inquiry.

The first of 21 recommendations of the parliamentary joint committee is to establish a broader "Inter-Departmental Committee" to examine issues facing family businesses, including the need for a distinct definition and official data, plus future transfers or closures as Baby Boomers retire during the next decade.

"At last family business as a sector is generating awareness," says Family Business Australia chief executive Philippa Taylor.

"Government has been so abysmally ignorant of the sector and tended to lump it in with small business. Recognition of it as a discreet sector is a dramatic step forward.

"Research from overseas is showing us that family businesses have a 30 per cent better return than non-family firms. We need to research that here in Australia. We need some hard data."

Deloitte Private tax partner David Pring says the report recognises that family business is a vital part of the economy.

"We absolutely welcome the view that the data will be collected," he says.

"Family business will now get a voice."

Pring says another positive feature is family trust reform.

"The report recognises there are legitimate non-tax reasons for family trusts, and that it's not just simply a tax minimisation plan."

However, he says the report was "quite short-sighted" about tax reform.

"There was an opportunity to recommend a simpler tax platform for private businesses, but they haven't gone that far."

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Cyprus 'ready to turn economy around'

THE new finance minister of cash-strapped Cyprus vowed to do "whatever it takes" to sort out the EU country's teetering finances and put the economy back on track for growth.

Haris Georgiades was speaking hours after President Nicos Anastasiades swore him in, warning of "difficult days ahead" for an island struggling to recover from a near financial meltdown and the need for a crippling eurozone bailout.

Mr Anastasiades said this would entail "firstly, collectivity and, secondly, consistency and fiscal discipline and all those measures that will contribute to kick-starting the economy as soon as possible".

The new minister, a 40-year-old British-educated economist, vowed to implement the terms of the bailout "fully... we shall meet all time frames and meet all targets".

"We... shall do whatever it takes to fix our public finances and put our economy back on track for growth."

"Even though today's circumstances might be bleak, the medium- and long-term prospects remain excellent. We have received a blow but I'm absolutely confident we shall overcome," said Mr Georgiades.

Under the terms of the bailout, Cyprus will drastically reduce the size of its bloated banking sector, raise taxes, downsize the public sector workforce and privatise some state-owned firms.

Cyprus is already in recession, with unemployment at around 15 per cent and expected to grow sharply this year and next.

Forecasts before the deal was agreed saw GDP contracting by 3.5 per cent this year.

Yesterday, outgoing finance minister Michalis Sarris said "2013 will be a very difficult year, and the beginning of 2014 will also be difficult. Beyond this I believe the prospects are positive".

Mr Georgiades, who became labour minister when Mr Anastasiades was elected in February, was appointed after Mr Sarris stepped down yesterday.

Mr Sarris had been chairman last year of failed Laiki Bank, whose collapse was a major contributor to the crisis. He said he was resigning to cooperate with a panel of judges appointed to investigate the causes of the crisis.
His departure came as the government wrapped up talks with the IMF, European Commission and European Central Bank that will open the way for Cyprus to receive a 10 billion euros ($12.36 billion) bailout.

The deal will see Cyprus receiving the loan with an interest rate of between 2.5 and 2.7 per cent, repayable over 12 years after a grace period of 10.

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How to get money back on fake goods

IF you have bought "genuine" designer goods online but they turned out to be fake, don't write them off as money down the drain.

You can get your money back even if you are the one who made the bad judgement call by ordering from a shonky website.

Websites that sell counterfeit goods are often impossible to contact once they've secured your cash, so getting a refund from the seller can be difficult.

But Internet Fraud Watchdog chairman Ken Gamble said customers can get their lost money back from their bank or from the service that processed the payment.

Customers can dispute their transaction with the bank under credit card regulations regarding counterfeit products.

"A customer can file a dispute over a payment and some of the banks will actually refund money once it's investigated - if it's found the consumer genuinely has lost their money because of something that was out of their control," Mr Gamble said.

"The Commonwealth Bank is one of them."

Mr Gamble said the police and the Department of Fair Trading can't do much to help consumers who have bought fake goods from overseas.

"It certainly will get investigated but as soon as they find out it's an overseas website there's really nothing they can do," he said.

Michaela Bryan bought a pair of what she thought were Christian Louboutin shoes online after first emailing the seller to check they were real.

"From my perspective it seemed like it was genuine," Ms Bryan said.

But when the shoes arrived they were obviously fake.

"There were crap quality, they smelled funny and the [Christian Louboutin signature] red sole looked like it was painted on."

She asked for a refund and when the site would not give it to her she was able to file a dispute resolution claim with Paypal – the service she used to pay for the shoes.

The process "took a while" and she had to send photos and destroy the shoes, but she was given a full refund.

"I think it's quite generous [for Paypal] to actually assist with that. If you look at it logically there's a reason why it's cheap – it's not real," Ms Bryan said.

Paypal spokesman Adrian Christie said if shoppers receive items that are "significantly not as described" by the seller they can get money back from PayPal.

"And that stretches across to counterfeit goods," Mr Christie said.

"It always depends on the item and sometimes we will ask for documentation from qualified third party to confirm its fake.

"Sometimes we ask you to destroy the item and provide evidence, because it might be illegal to possess the item and selling is illegal so we want to take the buyer out of that equation."

Customers have 45 days from the day of purchase to lodge a claim with Paypal, Mr Christie said. If the dispute is resolved in their favour, Paypal will reimburse the customer before chasing the seller of counterfeit goods for the money.

"It helps us clean up and make sure our payments network is very healthy, and gives customers knowledge that you'll be secure in your purchase should something go wrong in the transaction," he said.

A Commonwealth Bank spokesman said it investigates all claims made by customers against transactions processed to their credit cards under regulations issued by MasterCard, Visa and American Express.

"While we follow the above codes and regulations, when a claim is initiated we ask the customer a series of questions about the claim and may in certain circumstances require documentation to support the claim such as receipts, emails from the merchant or copies of any agreement entered into with the merchant," he said.

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