01 Aug BIG BRAND BLUES; THE WORKPLACE IS RISING
BIG BRAND BLUES
As Australia’s listed companies prepare to unveil their latest earnings results this month, some of the world’s biggest consumer brands revealed this week how the cost-of-living crunch is eating into their bottom lines.
McDonalds and Starbucks both suffered from fewer customers visiting their stores after both companies hiked prices for their food and drinks. Beer giant Heineken failed to get a sales boost from the recent Euros football tournament, while Diageo (which owns brands including Johnny Walker and Guinness) said customers had been cutting back on buying expensive spirits amid cost-of-living pressures.
Here in Australia, Tribeca Investment Partners’ Jun Bei Liu expects August will be one softest earnings seasons of recent times, particularly for retailers. Market forecasts predict an average profit fall of four per cent for ASX companies for the year to June 30, The Australian reports.
THE WORKPLACE IS RISING
Workplace utilisation has risen to 40.6% in the June quarter of 2024, the highest since the pandemic, according to workplace data from XY Sense exclusive to The Australian Financial Review.
Employees are returning to the office more frequently to regain a clear distinction between work and home, office attendance mandates, and policies that link workplace attendance to performance reviews.
Will this trend continue? Jessica Tinsley, director of workplace relations at the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry thinks so, suggesting that as “jobs become harder to find, employers will find it easier to dictate terms of employment.”
THE LATEST TREND: BACK TO ‘NORMAL’
A new TikTok trend – #UnderconsumptionCore – has swept through social media as users embrace ‘normal’ amounts of consumption and bid farewell to unboxing videos of $4,000 couches and perfectly stocked fridges, The New York Times writes.
Two influencers, Meghan Pexton and Catherine Jia, are championing this trend, normalising sustainability, thrifting, and DIY projects amidst cost-of-living pressures around the world.
Experts such as Brent Croker, Marketing lecturer at the University of Melbourne, argue the trend is positively shifting consumers towards a more sustainable and realistic lifestyle, especially as social media continues to speed up our consumption.
Let’s hope the ‘normal’ consumer lifestyle is here to stay…
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