Hot Tuna (International) PLC, a lifestyle apparel brand with authentic surf heritage, has announced that it has won lucrative orders, which will be delivered from June and July 2007, from the two largest market contenders in Australia and the United States.

Hot Tuna has taken orders from Myer, Australia’s largest department store. With 60 stores nationally, Myer is the market leader in Australian retailing with the most recent results reflecting half year sales of AUD$1.6 billion.

Myer has placed orders for the Hot Tuna boys clothing range (8-16 years). Delivery on boys-wear will commence in July 2007 to all of Myers’ 60 nationwide stores. Myer have also confirmed that they will be able to place Hot Tuna accessories (backpacks, caps, wallets and sunglasses) into 15 of these stores using a Hot Tuna concept store arrangement.

The Australian Mortgage Industry Report is a joint report from Fujitsu Australia and JPMorgan, focusing on developments in the Australian mortgage industry. The latest report (Volume 5) was published in March 2007 and found that the average Australian household pays A$150-A$170 more each year in banking fees than UK or Canadian customers.

Other key findings from the report included: Australian mortgage fees are clearly higher at all stages across the mortgage transaction lifecycle – In contrast to the UK, where intense competition ensures low mortgage loan application fees, Australian consumers are not always presented with a clear picture when assessing mortgage products. Australian banks are increasingly discounting from the headline rate, as opposed to advertising a lower headline rate, thereby not always providing a clear picture when consumers are assessing mortgage products

Australian transactional account banking fees are clearly higher than overseas – High over-the-counter withdrawal fees in Australia in particular have acted as a mechanism for Australian banks to encourage consumers to use other channels. However, more recently, banks are actively reinvesting in branch networks in an effort to regain strategic flexibility and the pricing power associated with the distribution function

Australian credit card fees are higher than international peers – UK regulators have intervened initially in credit cards, pushing towards cost-plus benchmarks.

Intuitively, we should see similar outcomes in Australia to those already observed in the UK, if both sides of Australian politics were not totally in the pockets of big business through their ability to legally make large donations to both political parties.

Australian Banks are collectively preying on the Australian consumers and small businesses with excessive fees because they have been allowed to merge and reduce competition and because our corrupted political process allows them to continue to squeeze us, unchecked.

More retailers are using surcharges on credit card payments to recoup the costs incurred from card transactions. However surveys show that Australians are becoming increasingly annoyed with credit card fees and were turning to alternative payment methods because of rising credit card surcharges. Many consumers simply refuse to pay the surcharge and buy elsewhere.

ABS statistics show that the seasonally adjusted estimate of turnover for the Australian Retail and Hospitality/Services sectors increased by 0.9% in February 2007. A much higher than expected inrease. This follows adjusted increases of 0.8% in January 2007 and 0.3% in December 2006.

All Australian states and territories had increases in the seasonally adjusted estimate. The largest increases occurred in the ACT (+2.0%), South Australia (+1.4%) and QLD (+1.3%).

Strong Growth In Household Goods Retailing

There have been five months of strong trend growth in the Household Goods Retailing sector. Three states, NSW (5 months), QLD (10 months) and NT (three months) have had strong trend growth. Victoria and SA have had at least 5 months of moderate trend growth.

The longest run of retail sales growth in five years came on the back of surging jobs growth and resultant consumer confidence.

Webkinz are a line of plush toys made by Ganz Inc. a toy maker from Toronto. Each Webkinz comes with a secret code that gives its owner access to the vast online Webkinz World where users can create an avatar, or online identity, for their pet and “adopt” it.

The toys comes in around 40 varieties and retail for under $20.00 at specialty retailers only. The need for children to have whatever their friends have, their interest in interactive digital products and the word of mouth publicity amoung switched-on net kids, has made Webkinz possibly the most sought-after toy ever.

It’s the first toy that’s essentially just a key to an interactive website. And it has likely created panic at toy companies the world over as they try to replicate Ganz’s success. According to Nielsen/NetRatings, Webkinz.com had 2.85 million unique visitors in February and more than 72 million page views. Around 2 million pets have been registered already.

In Webkinz World, each pet commmences with it’s own bedroom, and some Kinzcash to spend at the W Shop, where they can buy food and clothing for their avatar, plus furniture, accessories, games, and craft and room decorations. There is also a chat function that allows visitors to talk to each other with a list of 900 or so fixed phrases.

Visitors can earn Kinzcash by playing games in Webkinz or even getting a job through the employment agency, as a hamburger cook, or fence painter etc.

Ganz Inc. was started in 1950, by Samuel Ganz distributing a doll. He began sourcing products from Asia well before any of his competitors. The business is now run by his grandson Howard.