Women have long outnumbered male shoppers, but it has taken almost 120 years for peak industry body the Australian Retailers Association to appoint its first female president.
“Businesses are having to make greater purchases earlier and that means consumer pricing is a very careful balancing act. Retailers are doing an extraordinary job trying to absorb those costs, but ultimately, there are a lot of challenges in ensuring we are feeding the supply chain.”“There were 36,000 job vacancies in retail trade from November last year – that’s 40 per cent more than November 2020,” she said.
“The ARA is the oldest retailer industry association in the country, and it’s embarrassing that this is the first time that a woman has been appointed,” he said. “It was important that our board or council reflected the industry which is why [the appointment of Ms Sheffield] was such a significant change.”
She thinks there is nothing better than retail to connect people to friends and family and to help people feel better about themselves.