No news is not always good news
It is often said that the first casualty of war is truth. However in the case of the Australian TCF industry it is not honesty that has gone by the wayside but the ability to speak altogether.
It seems with the industry, the country and its foreign neighbours engaged in economic lockdown, commercial sensitivity and the threat - whether real or perceived - of squeezed margins, depleted cash reserves and poor profitability has forced many TCF firms to all but sew their lips together.
There was a time as recently as six months ago when this magazine was inundated with companies attempting to gain exposure for their brand via our pages. While we have witnessed no slow down in the number of fielded inquiries, now the same access is available to our staff but entry granted only to those willing to first agree to a strict set of criteria.
The list of topics deemed safe enough for our journalists to cover include branding initiatives, advertising campaigns and product launches.
The no go areas - of which there are many - include sales figures, projected earnings, past turnover, suppliers, strategic planning, pay role in fact any thing even remotely connected to business news - which makes the task of producing a fortnightly business news magazine about the industry a rather difficult task.
Unlike the advertising/marketing/media industries where suits, creatives and marketers are only too ready to sing their own praises, those in the TCF sector have always been quiet achievers. But now it seems it's not just the boutiques and small chains affected by this sudden loss of voice - even the multinational retailers are getting in on the act with the fear of a recession and the threat of giving away a competitive edge getting all too consuming.
And with the amount of grim news flooding our inboxes at present it seems our task is unlikely to get any easier.
Take if you will the Australian Retailers Association (ARA's) offering. The headline of 'Bleak retail trade indicates tough times ahead' said it all really.
If the ARA's executive director Richard Evans is to be believed, the retail sector in Australia should be viewed as a barometer of the economy. And if it is struggling, it is a sure sign that times will continue to toughen for the broader economy.
And if that weren't bad enough, it was followed by the slightly more optimistic brief issued by a well-known finance provider. The news it had to impart was cheerfully titled "More pain for small business as payment terms blow out".
The release then went on to state that Australian businesses can expect more pressure on cashflow as payment terms hit a seven-year high.
Trade payment figures from research group Dun & Bradstreet showed payment terms across all industries hit 55.6 days in the June quarter, the highest point in seven years and almost four weeks past the standard payment term of 30 days.
It noted that while this meant most businesses would find it difficult to fund new orders or meet wages, tax and expenses on time, the impact was worse for those doing business with large and private companies as they were commonly the slowest when it comes to paying accounts.
Adding to the woe was the news that the number of companies going into administration each month surpassed last year's high of 747 in May. It expects further increases as more businesses come under pressure. It almost makes me feel that if this is the best news we can offer, then maybe we should join you in taking a code of silence.
By Tracey Porter