Business of Media
Inside Chemist Warehouse’s bid to reverse its $150m retail media slide
Chemist Warehouse’s retail media division has shrunk by almost $150 million over the past two years as it faces a tighter advertising market and increasing competition from rival pharmacies and grocery giants, reports The AFR’s Sam Buckingham-Jones.
The pharmacy giant, which has 637 stores, mostly in Australia, makes a sizeable chunk of its revenue selling promotional space in its stores, online and on TV shows and newspaper liftouts it owns. This category, known as retail media, is worth $1.6 billion according to investment bank Morgan Stanley. Chemist Warehouse accounts for almost a third of that, while supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles are steadily growing.
Financial documents lodged with the corporate regulator reveal Chemist Warehouse made $489 million from selling marketing and advertising in the year to June 30, down from $604 million the year before and $638 million the year before that.
Its overall revenue has grown over the past three years despite its falls in media. Advertising accounted for 21 per cent of revenue two years ago. This past year, it was 15 per cent.
On Friday, Chemist Warehouse hosted 2000 people at Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena for its 2½-hour annual supplier event, which gives a slick and flashy glimpse into the inner workings of one of Australia’s largest private businesses.
Packer in $120m payday as big bets on Nvidia, Meta pay off
James Packer’s private investment vehicle Consolidated Press Holdings recorded a profit of more than $590 million in the last financial year, delivering a big payday for the billionaire off a booming tech portfolio, reports The AFR’s Primrose Riordan.
New accounts filed with the corporate regulator show $120 million in dividends was paid out to Packer in the 12 months to June 30.
The figure compared to $216.9 million for the same period a year before. The company also clocked up much higher revenue, reporting $1.5 billion for the year compared to $562.6 million in the prior corresponding period.
Filings to regulators in the United States separately show Consolidated Press International, another of Packer’s investment vehicles, had a vast portfolio has tech stocks include chipmakers Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Facebook-parent Meta and Spotify. Nvidia shares are 93 per cent higher this year.
Former ABC chair Ita Buttrose and MD David Anderson expected to give evidence in Antoinette Lattouf court case
Former ABC chair Ita Buttrose and managing director David Anderson have been labelled as key “decision makers” involved in the sacking of controversial fill-in radio host Antoinette Lattouf, a court has heard, reports The Australian’s Sophie Elsworth.
Lattouf has taken legal action against the ABC in the Federal Court over claims she was unfairly dismissed by the public broadcaster in December last year after she shared a social media post relating to the Israel–Hamas war.
She shared a post by Human Rights Watch with a caption that read, “HRW reporting starvation as a tool of war” and later had her employment terminated.
On Monday Lattouf’s barrister Philip Boncardo told the Federal Court Buttrose and Anderson were involved in the axing of Lattouf on December 20 last year.
The trial has been set down to begin on February 3 and run for five days.
There will then be a further two days for submissions on February 27 and 28.
News Brands
Claims of exploitation: Nine Publishing releases investigation into hospitality giant Merivale
The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Good Food have spoken to staff from across Merivale’s venues including the Ivy, Hemmesphere, Mr Wong’s, Establishment, Ucello, Totti’s and Queen Chow.
The major investigation is being led today by journalists Eryk Bagshaw and Bianca Hrovat.
Staff they spoke to say the company’s cavalier attitude to sex, drugs and safety has put them at risk, while the organisation’s size and its domination of Sydney hospitality have kept staff silent.
“They hire people very, very young. There are thousands of 18- to 21-year-old girls out there who are young, naive and sucked in by Merivale,” a former manager said.
“[They are] ushered into the cult and then … bad things start happening, and they feel like they can’t say anything.”
The journalists put a detailed list of questions to Merivale. In response, it has appointed one of Australia’s leading human rights and discrimination lawyers, Kate Eastman, SC, to lead an investigation into allegations of misconduct at the company, declaring if any are true, it sincerely “regrets any distress caused”.
The company rejected claims it had created an environment that exploited women and put its staff in danger.
Guardian UK journalists back strike to protest against sale of The Observer
Guardian and Observer journalists in the UK have voted in favour of possible strike action in protest at proposals to sell Sunday newspaper The Observer to Tortoise Media, reports Press Gazette.
The combined NUJ chapel has already passed a no-confidence motion in the board of the Scott Trust in protest at the Observer sale plan.
According to the NUJ, an “overwhelming” 93% of the group’s journalists, on a turnout of 70%, indicated their willingness to take strike action and 96% voted in favour of action short of a strike.
The union says it has now informed GMG of its intention to formally ballot members for industrial action.
The union said: “The resounding decision is in opposition to the proposed sale of The Observer and follows confirmation by the Guardian Media Group last month that it is engaged in exclusive talks with Tortoise Media.”
A spokesperson for Guardian News and Media said: “Guardian Media Group announced last month that it was entering into exclusive negotiations about the offer from Tortoise Media to buy the Observer. We were transparent about the offer so we could openly engage with Observer staff and we will continue to do so. The offer proposes an investment in the future of the Observer, including building a digital presence for the Sunday newspaper, and those negotiations are ongoing.”
Surprising name emerges as frontrunner for Media Watch host gig
Nine Publishing’s CBD reports ABC investigative journalist and former foreign correspondent Linton Besser is firming as a frontrunner for the vacant job as host of Media Watch. Former Sky News host Janine Perrett, who filled in for departing host Paul Barry this year and was considered a favourite, is becoming a more remote shot.
But it’s still anyone’s guess because new ABC chair Kim Williams, who has done oh-so-much shaking at the public broadcaster since landing the top job in March, no doubt has very strongly held views on the matter.
The show’s executive producer, Tim Latham, will depart by the end of the year, and CBD reports that ABC top brass wanted to fill that role before settling on a host just to make sure chemistry and vibes were right.
That role has been filled, with investigative reporter Mario Christodoulou, currently with radio program Background Briefing, getting the nod for the EP gig.
Television
ABC criticised for ‘one-sided political messaging’ following Spicks and Specks episode
Jewish groups have accused the ABC of becoming a stage for “divisive, one-sided political messaging” after its popular music show featured a performance by a singer wearing a “Free Palestine” T-shirt, reports The Australian’s Lily McCaffrey.
At the end of Sunday night’s episode of Spicks and Specks, Australian singer Adrian Eagle performed a rendition of Gloria Gaynor’s 1978 hit, I Will Survive.
During his performance, the ARIA award winner wore a T-shirt with the statements: “Free Palestine”, “Free West Papua”, “Free your mind”, and “Always was, always will be”.
Eagle changed several lyrics from the original version of the song, including during the chorus, when he sang “they’ve got all their lives to live and they’ve got all their love to give, they will survive, they will survive” while appearing to point at the statements on his shirt.
The chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission, Dvir Abramovich, said the performance was a “slap in the face” to Jewish Australians.
“This stunt shattered the trust of countless Australians who expect the ABC to uphold its commitment to remain neutral and apolitical, in line with its charter of ‘independence, integrity, and responsibility’,” Abramovich said.
‘Black sheep’: MasterChef star Leong exposes dark truth
Melissa Leong says she is the black sheep of her family, reports News Corp’s Jonathon Moran.
One of the most famous names on television, the Dessert Masters judge grew up in a Singaporean Chinese Australian household.
“I’m not an accountant, but my brother is a doctor, so that’s taken all the pressure off me, so I can now feel free to just be the black sheep and love it,” Leong said.
“I’m not a lawyer; I am not a doctor; I am not married anymore. I defy a lot of the conventions that my culture would want me to have.
“I’ve chosen to be child free. These are all little landmarks that people would have expected me to have at this point, but I wake up every day and I am so grateful for the life that I have. I’m exactly where I’m meant to be, and it’s nice to feel that, because I think we feel lost in life.”
Leong, 42, made the comments in the season two premiere episode of the Mental As Anyone podcast, revealing she has lived with anxiety and depression her entire life and that she has been told in the past that people find her intimidating.
“I am aware that sometimes, by being a little verbose, being a little wordy, word nerdy, that it can intimidate people, that looking put together makes other people feel like they’re less put together and that is never the intention,” Leong said.
[Listen to the Mental As Anyone podcast]
See also: J.Mo’s Mental As Anyone – Sarah Murdoch, Michael Clarke, and A-listers launch new podcast series
The Block in crisis? Kylie flees the show as Brad confesses his ‘flirting’ has wrecked his family
The auctions are less than two weeks away, but the focus on The Block is elsewhere.
News Corp’s Claire Sutherland recaps the Monday episode:
She’s threatened to walk out multiple times throughout this season, but this is the episode where Kylie actually does it, dumping her Block car, phone and boots at an Aldi carpark and presumably making her way to the airport to fly home to Cairns.
What precipitated the crisis began with congenial Saturday night champagnes around the fire pit between Kylie, Brad and Mimi — and ended with Kylie overhearing what everyone involved agrees were “inappropriate” comments and flirting between Brad and Mimi.
What follows is some seriously uncomfortable TV. We see Brad discovering his wife’s abandoned car, Brad watching a farewell video Kylie sent to a producer and Brad left to do the regular couch interview with a producer alone as he flagellates himself about his behaviour.
See also Nick Bond: ‘Destroyed’: Chaos as Block star’s wife disappears
Sports Media
Kangaroos prove-box office gold as TV ratings skyrocket
Mal Meninga’s new-look Kangaroos are proving to be box-office gold. A week after their win over Tonga in the Pacific Championships had officials claiming a victory over rugby union’s Bledisloe Cup in the ratings, the Kangaroos win over New Zealand on Sunday afternoon in Christchurch attracted another blockbuster audience, reports News Corp’s Brent Read.
More than 900,000 fans tuned in on linear TV and streaming as Australia booked their berth in the Pacific Championships final, the audience representing an increase of nearly 20 per cent on the corresponding pool game last year.
The audience included viewers across the Nine Network and Fox League. The viewership for the Kangaroos and Jillaroos matches was 1.2 million on top of a sellout crowd in Christchurch as the game capitalised on the momentum in New Zealand this season – all the Warriors home games were sold out.