16 July 2012: Giving to performing arts and David Jones hiring trend

Australia’s 28 major performing arts companies received more revenue in 2011 from individual giving than corporate sponsorship for the first time. Non-government income rose 20% to a new high of $65.2 million. Individual giving represented 53% of total non-government revenue, compared to 5% in 2010.  Overall giving to performing arts has increased almost fourfold over the past decade, running counter to a broader decline in giving reported by the Australian Tax Office.  Reasons cited for growth are “a maturing of relationships between companies and donors” and “a growing understanding of how effectively the money is used and the difference it makes”. A dip is expected in 2012 based on historical trends. [CR: Side factor of 2-speed economy is the potential for greater philanthropy in the higher speed. Also to note in the non-profit sector that sophistication of relationship management and communication is critical.]

David Jones adding 200 “style advisors” armed with iPads across its 36 stores: one-on-one service roles that involve meeting customers at the door, accompanying them around various departments, offering advice on styles and sizes, and helping customers pay for multiple purchases in a single transaction.  Positions will be trialled over Christmas and are based on the personal shopper concept introduced at the CBD stores two years ago. Myer planning on cutting 100 back-office staff in next few weeks. David Jones has hired 100 new supervisory staff and is adding about 200 staff in support functions such as IT, digital marketing and operations and reached an agreement with the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association for a new enterprise agreement to give more than 9000 staff a 10.2% pay raise over the next three years.  [CR: I keep reading about how brick and morter needs to differentiate by adding service, we finally see a big player doing PR about a move to act. The Christmas season will decide if the armchair analyst recommendations are correct.]

News agents: There are 4000 news agents across Australia, down from 5000 a decade ago. Margins on newspaper sales have shrunk, newsagents lose money on delivery, newspapers used as a source of traffic for other revenue channels of transport tickets, lotto tickets, and confectionary. New distribution project called T2020 to redraw distribution lines and reduce number of distributors by up to 90%.  Newsagents will then tender for the new distribution areas.  [CR: Appears to be the natural order of things, we will see corporations and conglomerates emerge, the smaller shops perhaps coming up with one or two points of innovation to differentiate based on the needs of the local market.]