ABC Retail considers compensating franchisees; Amazon rakes in $US23 billion in sales: Midday Roundup

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation will consider compensating ABC Shop franchisees whose stores will close thanks to the broadcaster’s decision to abandon bricks-and-mortar retail.

Franchisees have been sent a letter detailing possible reimbursement under the ABC Centre Licence, according to Fairfax.

The ABC announced it will close 50 shops yesterday morning, saying it is moving away from physical stores and instead focusing its efforts on ABC Shop Online.

“It is no longer possible for the ABC to sustain a large network of leased stores, traditionally reliant on DVD and CD formats,” the broadcaster said in a statement.

“However, ABC DVDs, music, books, toys and merchandise will still be widely available for customers to purchase through ABC Shop Online and other retailers.”

The ABC will still maintain its 78 branded outlets within other retailers, which include department stores, independent retailers and Dymocks bookshops.

Amazon rakes in $US23 billion in sales

Amazon has revealed second quarter sales of $US23.18 billion, up just shy of $US20 billion this time last year.

The company’s cash flow has also increased by more than $US4 million in the past 12 months, off the back of a 20% jump in sales this quarter.

Jeff Bezos, the founder and chief executive of Amazon, said in a statement he is proud of the results.

“The teams at Amazon have been working hard for customers,” Bezos said.

“We unveiled Amazon Business, opened Amazon Mexico, launched Prime free same-day, rolled out our ninth Prime Now city, broke our Black Friday record with the first-ever Prime Day, received 11 Emmy nominations for Transparent, debuted six new kids pilots.”

Bezos also highlighted the company entering into agreements with new solar and wind farms, putting the company well on track to reach its 2016 goal of operating on 40% renewable energy.

Shares down on open

Aussie shares are trading slightly lower again this morning off the back of a poor showing from international markets.

Tristan K’Nell, head of trading at Quay Equities, said in a statement the local share market was showing signs of lacklustre trade.

“The Australian Share Market [is] lacking direction to end the week with a lacklustre lead for Wall Street which fell again on the back of another round of disappointing earnings in the US,” K’Nell said.

“Given the recent weeks with direct focus on the volatility in the commodity markets and the issues in China and Greece, the market is taking a well needed day off heading into the weekend.”

The S&P/ASX 200 benchmark was down 4.4 points to 5585.9 points at 12:12pm AEST. On Thursday, the Dow Jones closed 119.12 points lower, down 0.67% to 17,731.92 points.