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The Founders: Getting succession plans right
Succession is one of the greatest issues facing Australian family businesses as the country hurdles towards an A$3.5 trillion wealth transfer. While 48% of baby boomer business owners plan to exit within the next five years, only 24% have formal succession plans in place. According to the Grant Thornton 2025 Family Business Report, both the incoming and outgoing generations said succession planning was in their top three challenges. “Both generations share this challenge because succession planning is complex and often uncomfortable to talk about, requires strategic foresight, emotional readiness, and it’s fair to say, succession is still thought of alongside retirement,” Family Business Consulting partner and national head, Kirsten Taylor-Martin, said. One business that managed to successfully pass on the business after creating a succession plan is the workplace supply company COS. Sister Belinda and Amie Lyone were forced to ramp up their roles as Co-CEOs in 2024 after their father and business founder, Dominique, unexpectedly passed away in 2024. Despite this tragedy, Belinda tells Azzet that the transition as leaders of the company was easy for Amie and herself, as they had already begun succession plans in
Retail
Nike announces 1,400 job cuts
Nike has announced a round of layoffs that will impact around 1,400 employees across the organisation, mostly concentrated in its technology department. In a press release, the company said it was part of the final stretch of its Win Now turnaround strategy. The layoffs are aiming to reshape its technology team, modernise its Air manufacturing, move some of its Converse Footwear operations and integrate its materials supply chain work into its footwear and apparel supply. “Collectively, these changes will result in a reduction of approximately 1,400 roles in Global Operations, with the majority in Technology,” Nike COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy wrote. “These reductions are very hard for the teammates directly affected and for the teams around them, too.” The layoffs, which will affect employees across North America, Asia and Europe, represent less than 2% of Nike’s total workforce. Nike said affected employees will be notified beginning Thursday. This comes as CEO Elliot Hill has been working to turn Nike around after years of losses. In January, the company announced 775 job cuts primarily at its U.S.-based distribution centres, due to the company’s work in accelerating its use of automation. At the time, N
Retail
Nike beats estimates amid turnaround, China sales fall
Nike beat earnings and revenue estimates last quarter, though its China sales continued to slide amid the company’s ongoing turnaround efforts. Revenue was flat year-over-year at US$11.28 billion, above LSEG consensus estimates of $11.24 billion. Earnings per share were $0.35, falling 35% but surpassing estimates of $0.28. “This quarter we took meaningful actions to improve the health and quality of our business. The pace of progress is different across the portfolio and the areas we prioritised first continue to drive momentum," said Nike CEO Elliott Hill. “The work is not finished, but the direction is clear, our teams are moving with focus and urgency, and our foundation is getting even stronger to build the future of Nike.” Nike’s revenue in Greater China continued to slide, falling by 7% to $1.62 billion last quarter. This was above StreetAccount estimates of $1.50 billion, however. While its North America revenue increased 3% to $5.03 billion, this was just below estimates of $5.04 billion. Europe, Middle East & Africa revenue rose 2% and Asia Pacific & Latin America revenue was up 1%. The company has been seeking to revive its sales worldwide. Revenue fell 10% in its 2025 fiscal year, while earnings per sh
Retail
Retailers warn of price hikes if M.East war continues
Retail firms have warned that prices could soar if the war in the Middle East continues beyond the short term. British retailer Next said clothing prices could rise by 4% to 10% if the conflict continues beyond September, as factories are hit by higher fuel and fabric costs. The company has accounted for £15 million (US$20 million) of additional costs due to the conflict, assuming the disruptions last three months. It also said prices could rise by around 1% from June or July, as the disruption dragged on until then. Increased costs didn’t affect guidance as the company said they have been offset by savings elsewhere. “Beyond the next three months, if we see these costs persist, then we will begin to pass costs through as higher pricing,” the company said. The Middle East accounts for around 6% of Next’s total turnover. This comes as Next released its most recent earnings. The company raised its profit guidance by £8 million to £1.2 billion for the year to January 2027 after better-than-expected sales in January this year. Pre-tax profits rose by 14.5% to £1.16 billion in the year to January as sales increased by almost 11% to £7 billion. The company said it has increased the amount of stock it holds
Retail
GameStop earnings slip as sales go online
GameStop has announced a 2.5% drop in net income for the fourth quarter of the 2025 financial year as the company continues to battle the shift from physical sales to digital sales. The video game retailer famous for a short squeeze that sent its share price soaring in 2021 said net income was US$127.9 million (A$184 million) in the 13 weeks ended 31 January 2026, compared with $131.3 million in the previous corresponding period (pcp). Diluted net income per share fell 24% to 22 cents as net sales declined 16% to $1.104 billion in the final quarter of FY25. Excluding impairment, loss on digital assets and related receivables, and other items, adjusted net income soared 114% to $291.4 million in Q4. For FY26, net income climbed 219% to $418.4 million as diluted net income per share rose 133% to 77 cents on net sales which fell 5% to $3.630 billion.Source: GameStop CorpThe Texas-based company, which operates 3,200 stores worldwide, including 2,300 in the United States, is struggling to adapt to the video game industry's shift to digital downloads ‌and weaker consumer demand. GameStop (NYSE: GME) shares closed down 24 cents (1.04%) at $22.81 on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT), capitalising the company at $10.22 billion. Th

Retail
Macy's beats estimates, issues low guidance amid tariffs
Retailer Macy’s beat earnings and revenue estimates last quarter as it seeks to return to growth, but issued cautious guidance amid tariff impacts. Revenue was US$7.64 billion in the quarter to 31 January, above LSEG estimates of $7.62 billion but down from $7.77 billion one year ago. Earnings per share were $1.67, passing estimates of $1.53 but dropping from $1.80. “At Macy’s, we are offering more relevant brands, stronger storytelling and investing in our colleagues so we can better serve the customer,” said CEO Tony Spring. “Bloomingdale’s exceptional performance underscores its ability to elevate the customer experience and capture demand across premium contemporary to luxury businesses. Looking to 2026 and beyond, we are ready to build on our progress.” The company’s guidance for fiscal 2026 was largely below its 2025 results. It expects $21.4-21.65 billion in net sales and earnings per share of $1.90-2.10, compared with estimates of $21.42 billion in revenue and $2.17 in earnings per share. United States tariffs are likely to impact earnings per share by $0.05-0.10, according to Macy’s. Net sales at its Macy’s locations fell 3.2%, while comparable sales rose 0.4%. Over 80 Macy’s stores have closed as part o
Retail
Amazon's ultrafast delivery push comes with a price tag
Amazon has launched paid one-hour and three-hour delivery tiers across the United States, adding per-order fees on top of Prime as the ultrafast fulfilment race accelerates. The e-commerce giant spent two decades training consumers to expect speed for free - now it wants them to pay extra for it. It's rolling out one-hour and three-hour delivery in parts of the United States first, charging Prime members US$9.99 and $4.99 per order, respectively, while non-members will have to fork out an eye-whopping $19.99 for one-hour and $14.99 for three-hour delivery. Whether consumers consistently pay $10 on top of Prime for one-hour delivery will determine national rollout. The gap between Prime and non-Prime pricing ($9.99 vs $19.99) is structured to push membership conversion. The three-hour option is live in more than 2,000 cities and towns in America, while the speedy one-hour delivery covers hundreds of locations, including parts of Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C. and smaller markets such as Des Moines, Boise and American Fork, Utah. More than 90,000 products are eligible - household essentials, pantry items, cleaning supplies, over-the-counter medications, electronics, toys, clothing and home and garden product
Retail
Chinese e-commerce company JD.com launches in Europe
China’s largest e-commerce company, JD.com, is launching in Europe and is poised to compete with Amazon. The online retailer is worth US$40 billion and started selling more than 100,000 products from high-end brands such as Apple and Samsung to groceries in six European countries, including the United Kingdom and Germany. The service operates under the Joybuy brand and promises to deliver products in a matter of hours, similarly to Amazon. This marks the largest overseas expansion for the Chinese retailer and cements its ambitions to compete with Amazon, which has established a strong position in the European market. It initially tried to establish itself in Europe by setting up a smaller business called Ochama in 2022, but this failed to make headway. The expansion comes at a time of slowing economic growth in China, where retailers are locked in intense competition as rapid deliveries become the norm in the nation’s densely populated cities. Because of this, JD has turned to international markets, buying electronics company Ceconomy for €2.2 billion last year and also exploring bids with UK retailers Currys and Argos, but no deal was reached in either case. A Netherlands-based China retail digital analyst, E
Retail
Costco beats estimates but flags tariff uncertainty
Costco beat revenue and earnings estimates last quarter as comparable sales rose, but flagged an uncertain tariff landscape in the United States after February’s Supreme Court ruling. Revenue was up 9.2% to US$69.60 billion in the quarter to 15 February, beating Zacks estimates of $69.24 billion. Earnings per share came in at $4.58, rising from $4.02 and surpassing estimates of $4.55. “The future impact of tariffs remains extremely fluid, as the recently eliminated IEEPA [International Emergency Economic Powers Act] tariffs have now been replaced with new global tariffs for at least the next 150 days,” said CEO Ron Vachris on an earnings call. A 10% blanket tariff has been imposed under a different statute, rising to 15% this week. Costco sued the U.S. government in December, saying it sought a full refund of import duties if IEEPA tariffs were ruled unlawful. A U.S. Court of International Trade judge ruled this week that importers are entitled to refunds with interest, and a hearing on the government’s refund plans is set for tomorrow. Total tariff refunds could return $168-182 billion to importers, economists have estimated. “Regarding IEEPA tariff refunds, it is not yet clear what the process will be, what refund