It’s not going to get better by itself
Often there’s a week, a day or an hour when a turning point manifests. This week was one such time for our industry.
It commenced with Gerry Harvey’s very public plea to the Federal Government for GST relief and concluded on Friday evening with the acknowledgement by Narta’s managing director Kay Spencer (and echoed by suppliers and members) that 2010 has been the toughest trading period “ever”.
Suppliers who are highly dependent on quality FPD products such as Sony and Panasonic are also describing the devastating fall in volume and price in that category as a “crises” for their businesses.
I spoke with Sony’s managing director Carl Rose at the annual Narta dinner in Sydney on Friday evening. He was sombre as he described the dismal short-term outlook for the industry which he believes needs a radical change of attitude.
“If we just sit back and do what we always do, the outcome is assured,” he said. “What we all need to realise is that the present situation is not going to get better by itself.”
Rose is spot-on. Retailers who are looking for external solutions to weak trading are disarming themselves of the skill-set essential for survival. The answer lies in internal change at a deep level where wisdom and not knowledge is the driver.
Those who holdout for a saviour will wait a long time because the message is already here: change or be changed.