The Point That Geoff Harvey Is Missing

Geoff Harvey and others are bemoaning the rise in online shopping citing it as one of the reasons sales are down in the retail sector.  He's missing the plot and so are many others.

Harvey Norman probably has one of the better customer service staff in the retail sector and he has started his own online site, but he's the poster child for  the Australian retail sector for bashing online shopping. 

On 30th August 2011, the Melbourne Age reported Harvey Norman results:  

"Net profit after tax increased to $252.26 million in the year to June 30, up from $231.41 million in the previous year.

Revenue was $2.70 billion, compared to $2.45 billion in full year 2010.

Outlook remains cautious"

There's no doubt that the GFC and ongoing instability in financial markets is hurting retail and impacting on consumer confidence but that's not all that's impacting on retail.  GST is currently levied on purchases made oveseas and imported into Australia when they exceed AUD$1,000.

I doubt that the additional 10% GST applied to overseas purchases under AUD$1,000 is the panacea for everything that ails the Australian retail sector.

Here's two classics that I found on the web on why the online industry is booming and retailers are hurting.

1.  Fitting fees when you try out potential purchases.

2.  How GASP , a high fashion retailer handles customer complaints.

I am an online shopper and have been for around 5 years, it all started because I could get better variety from shops in the US.  In some instances the price was near or marginally lower than the prices in Australia with the shipping added, so in my case it was about the experience not the price.

I still shop online using eBay, Amazon and AliBaba purchasing a wide range of good.  In a lot of cases I do save money but mainly it's still about the experience and the variety.

With Christmas coming up and retailers expecting a difficult trading period, perhaps improving customer service skills may have a greater impact than complaining about GST threshold for imported goods.

Treated Sewage, Would You Drink It? (Part 3)

In Part 1 we took a look at why we needed to look at drinking treated sewage and in Part 2 of this article looked at the reasons people wouldn't drink it and some of the places that it is being used today.  

In this final part, I'll share the results of the poll that I ran on LinkedIn.

Image via WikipediaThis is nowhere near as exhaustive as the polls undertaken by more sophisticated methods but it did sample a very wide ranging group of people.

There were responses from Saudi Arabia, the US, the UK, Australia and India as well as several others.  


Respondents were both male and female and came from a wide range of professions and industries.

The responses indicated that 72 percent were in one way or another willing to drink treated sewage, based mostly on the understanding that water is precious and needs to be used more intelligently.

LinkedIn Poll Results:

View the detailed results at LinkedIn

Results for the entire Poll are available on a separate page here.

Clearly, there is still a significant number of people who would not drink treated sewage, however, it seems that most people are pragmatists and believe that we need to seriously consider drinking this water.

Treated sewage needs to be considered as part of the overall strategy for ensuring the security of drinking water in Australia.  That there is still a significant percentage of people for whom "NO" is the only answer should not be overlooked, nor should their concerns be shoved aside in the haste to employ this technology.


That there are a number of operating plants around the world, regularly providing treated sewage for people to drink proves that this can be done in a safe and sustainable manner addressing many of the legitimate health concerns that people have.


Perhaps with a little more time for the operational plants to prove themselves and some education regarding these successful operations, even the most ardent opponents can be swayed.

 

Are These Electric Bikes Sexy Or What?

With everyone wanting to do their bit for the environment, there are some seriously talented and innovative designers out there doing their bit.

Electric bicycles are a serious alternative for inner and near inner urban transport and there are some bikes on the market today that are sleek, sexy and viable forms of transport.

So, here's a few that should turn a few heads if you take one down the road for a spin.

THE BLACKTRAIL

The PG Blacktrail

Whilst not exactly a production model with a limited production run, the Blacktrail manufactured by PG Bikes is a serious beast with a top speed of 100Kmh and a range of 200Km.  This is a unique bike manufactured with carbon fibre, titanium and trimmed in fine leather. 

It's fast, sexy and can take you around town for a couple of weeks on a single charge but with a price tag of around 60,000 Euro, you probably want to either win Lotto or mortgage the house before you place an order.

M55 TERMINUS

The M55 Terminus

The M55 Terminus is the HumVee  of the electric bike world.  It's a hybrid bike designed as a serious cross country machine.  

The M55 has a stated top speed of 60Kmh and is powered by an 8 cell Lithium Ion battery.  Pricing is dependant on specification and finishes as the bike is custom made.

CURRIE PRODUCTS IZIP EXPRESS

The IZIP Express is designed to augment the riders input using Currie EVO Drive technology.

The Evo drive amplifies the rider's input making hills and riding into the wind easier.

With a 750 watt motor and a 36 volt Lithium Ion battery, the bike has a range of 50Km, a top speed of 32Km/hr and at a price of US$3,499 is still pricey but won't break the bank like the first two.

There are of course conversion kits available in Australia but they lack the style of the bikes above.

As attractive and environmentally friendly as these bikes are, in  Australia they can't be ridden as bicycles.  Legislation states that bicycles with motors attached cannot have a motor of more than 200 watts, after that they need to comply with the same Australian Design Rules as motorcycles.