Retail News at a Glance, 9 September 2026

Five things in Australian retail for the week to 9 September 2026.

Country Road Group returns to profit

Woolworths Holdings' results announcement for the 52 weeks to 28 June 2026 confirms Country Road Group adjusted EBIT of A$2.3 million, a A$20.4 million turnaround on the prior-year loss, on sales up 1.0 per cent and comparable sales up 1.6 per cent. Gross margin rises 130 basis points to 57.7 per cent on more full-price selling. Why it matters: the group is trading its way back on margin, not volume, and warns near-term conditions remain challenging.

Supercheap Auto opens first Generation 5 store

Power Retail reports Super Retail Group's Supercheap Auto has opened its first Generation 5 format store at Maroochydore, Queensland, with 15 new brands, close to 1,000 new products and on-site 12-volt auto-electrical fitment. Managing director Ben McConnell says the format helps stock a wider range "particularly in the 4WD category". The plan is to convert 80 of 362 stores over five years. Why it matters: a services bay and installed products push the format toward margin the online-only players cannot match.

Mecca opens at Sydney Airport

Inside Retail reports Mecca has opened a 285 square metre store in Sydney Airport's T1 international terminal, operated with Heinemann Tax & Duty Free, carrying more than 60 brands and offering paid 20-minute express treatments redeemable against purchases. Chief operating officer Ian Burl calls it a proof of concept. Why it matters: roughly half of the store's shoppers are not existing Beauty Loop members, so the site recruits into a loyalty base that Inside Retail reports drives 90 per cent of Mecca's sales.

ABS: retail is 43 per cent of theft victims

The ABS Recorded Crime - Victims 2025 release, published 3 September 2026, records 581,209 theft victims nationally, down 2 per cent and the first fall in five years, with retail locations accounting for 43 per cent, or 247,425 victims. Robbery victims fell 8 per cent to 10,591. Why it matters: retail remains the single largest location for theft even as the national total falls, which is the backdrop to New South Wales' planned Workplace Protection Orders.

Consumer sentiment falls 5.2 per cent

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index for September falls 5.2 per cent to 84.4 from 88.9 in August. The "time to buy a major household item" sub-index drops 4.8 per cent to 89.3 and "family finances versus a year ago" falls 9.2 per cent to 72.6; the bulletin points to higher fuel prices. Why it matters: big-ticket discretionary intent is weakening into the pre-Christmas quarter.