This photo shows two convenience stores on George Street in Sydney, next to each other. What makes this direct competition even more surprising is that there are eight other convenience stores within a two minute walk of these two shops.
While Sydney is busy, it feels like there are too many convenience stores. Two next to each other in the photo is extraordinary.
Imagine this type of competitive situation for your business – a retailer next to you selling 80% of what you sell, one the same hours. How do you compete? What differentiates your business from theirs?
Convenience stores have no protection. Suppliers want their products everywhere – for convenience.
I mention this today as there are newsagents who continue to push for protection. I think that is a hard push to make where we see small businesses,like these convenience stores, apparently surviving without any protection.
While there may be other factors in play with these convenience stores, factors beyond the competitive products that help them survive – but such factors are not obvious to me.
I wonder whether staff wage levels create a differentiated business model. How do you stay open massive hours and afford to pay award wages?
Apparently you can’t pay award wages if you own a 7eleven.
Many newsagents don’t pay award wages either
I agree with you Dean, don’t think majority of independent retailers will survive if they pay award wages.
If you cant afford award wages work harder yourself or get out of business and go earn a (legitimate) wage. Australian wages may seem unreasonably high to some, but I wouldn’t work for any less so it seems unreasonable to expect someone else to. Thats before I even start on the legalities and having an unfair advantage over businesses that do play by the rules.
I don’t entirely agree with Steves view as Australian wages are higher than what they should be but that’s a whole other kettle of fish but how the hell do you not pay the award wage to someone in this day and age of compliance and checks ?
Paul, I dont have a problem with Australian base wage rates, its an expensive country and we dont really wont working poor to the extent of the USA. Now penalty rates are a different kettle of fish. Especially when big business does deals with unions and small business ends up the only ones who pay full whack at ridiculous rates.
Whether you agree with the current pay rates or not they are the law and businesses paying under those rates are getting an unfair competitive advantage over law abiding business owners. Thats what I have a huge problem with.
How can you not pay your staff award wages? If it is too costly then you don’t employ staff and look at how you run your business. It is not just because of the law, there is business ethics and also the point that you will get more out of your staff if you treat them properly.
Dean- I hope you can prove the claim you have made.
Newsagents who do not pay at least award rates ought to be outed and prosecuted. These people, if they exist, would be idiots.
surprised to see these comments , get into reality guys and reality is majority of retailers specially independent ones underpay
Nonsense Chandra. My experience is it is a limited few dumb and greedy owners who do. Shame on them.
Mark, Don’t nonsense me. Either you are acting dumb here or far away from real world.
Bet you London to a brick for each newsagent who pays his staff award wages, there are atleast ten others who pay less than award wages, this is so especially in major urban areas . To feign ignorance or to suggest only a small number entertain such devious measures, is being a bit simple and also extremely naive.
Like it or not we live in a globalized economy, small businesses are under tremendous cost pressure, one way for small business owners to have a decent return on capital is to cut costs, and wages are often the first to be “downsized”
My personal belief is that the market knows best, small business owners should pay what the business can afford, if you wish to attract good hard working staff you pay more, and vice versa. The notion a union or someone else from the outside tells me what to pay my staff is a no brainer.
I suspect my views are highly controversial and will attract a great deal of introspection, but I stand strongly with what I have just written. I also strongly endorse what are freshly minted Prime Minister has said about Australia being nimble and agile, and my sincere hope is we have a fresh look at are award and extremely generous wage system. Small businesses are the engines of economic growth, they create wealth and adds to our nations prosperity and well being, and let me conclude by saying when small businesses prosper the nation as a whole prospers.
Totally agree with you Burgess. It’s not only newsagents but I dare to say that majority of small businesses are doing it.
Chandra there is no need for name calling.
I suspect I talk with more newsagents daily than you.
Any newsagent who does not pay the award ought to be outed and prosecuted.
I will open a new post on this topic for a better places location to continue the conversation.
Chris, you want me to prove my claim. The original business I bought all staff were paid cash in hand at below award rates. I have bought 7 territories since I started. Every driver was paid cash in hand by the old owner at below award rates for 5 of those territories. The other 2 territories the owner did the deliveries himself as he could not afford to pay award wages.
On top of that I know from discussions with other newsagents that many but not all of them pay their drivers cash in hand, either in part or full, at below award wages. I heard of one newsagent who had been paying on the books but at less than the required rate who was hit with a $30,000 bill from his employee and had to pay otherwise they would have been reported, and the situation would have been far worse.
How many newsagents are there in Oz. I would not classify your personal experience as “many”. It is a marginal percentage.
Define many – a great/good deal of, a lot of, a large/great number of, great quantities of, plenty of, countless, innumerable, scores of, crowds of, droves of, an army of, a horde of, a multitude of.
It is a shame that is what you have experienced and congrats on growing your business.
I just feel that you should be careful with what terminology you use.
Chandra and Burgess, if it dumb, simple and naïve to argue for paying award wages, then my question to you is exactly how stupid do you have to be to advocate paying illegal under award wages on a public forum. You must be a pair of morons.