Only 35 per cent of retailers have a documented business plan to navigate the industry's current and future challenges, new research reveals.
The just released Business of Retail report, compiled by Financial Review Business Intelligence (FRBI), shows 20 per cent of surveyed retailers have no strategy for the future of their business.
A further 45 per cent of respondents have a business plan but have not committed it to paper, while 35 per cent actually have a plan and have written it down.
Business priorities instead were to grow or maintain sales and market share (39 per cent of respondents), control costs (13 per cent) and to retain, hire and train staff (9 per cent).
Eight per cent wanted to expand their business, while seven per cent said their top goal for 2011 was just to stay in business.
When asked what they thought was holding retail back nearly a quarter of respondents nominated economic uncertainty. Increasing costs were blamed by 19 per cent while a further 16 per cent pointed to a downturn in spending.
The research was commissioned by AMP Capital Shopping Centres and BRW magazine to mark their inaugural Australian Retailer of the Year Awards. 300 retailers were surveyed by FRBI between February and March 2011.
FRBI is the research arm of Fairfax Business Media, publisher of BRW.
Retailers can view the full report here: http://www.businessofretail.com.au/2011_Report/public/pdf/2011_report.pdf