Financial chiefs may have to drop prices ahead of an anticipated economic slowdown next year that will pummel consumer consumption, as retail sales turned negative for the first time in 10 months.chief financial officers said the prospect of lower consumption would spark fiercer competition to attract price conscious customers.Michael Quelch
Wesfarmers CFO Anthony Gianotti said consumers are focusing on getting a good deal on products, after being less concerned about value during the pandemic as personal savings were bolstered by billions of dollars of government stimulus. But Mr Gionatti said keeping it at low prices are a juggling act. “Where we are getting cost price pressures, we’ve obviously needed to pass that through into pricing. But hopefully, we’re mitigating and driving efficiencies and mitigating costs such that the price increases we put through a less than our competitors”.Alice Van Der Geest, deputy CFO of Melbourne Airport, said Monday’s retail sales numbers, the first fall in retail spending this year, had surprised finance executives.
The CFOs also warned they were grappling with economic uncertainty going into 2023 even if Australia did not formally go into recession, with