Retail expert Rob Lake writes:




It was not a good PR week for
Spotlight, what with the media seizing on the
flexible contract arrangements story. The reaction
of the left wing press was not surprising. However, it is difficult to
find any positive spin in places where we might have expected it.

Yesterday there were almost 200 mainstream media stories about the 2c
extra on offer at Spotlight. While these stories were canvassing the
political impact of the WorkChoices changes for the government and
opposition, they were all ramming home the 2 cents message. This is not
good news for Spotlight.

And while the
woman who raised the issue has had her original entitlements restored, Spotlight’s efforts to clarify the story seem to have
been fruitless and it is now clear that they lost the PR
battle. They appear to have
alienated at least some customers. If Spotlight’s customer group is skewed
towards blue collar, they may have done
themselves some harm.

The
attendant publicity will do nothing to lift their profile as a destination
workplace. As Australian unemployment
hits new lows, the labour market will get tighter. At a time when the retail sector appears
likely to be heading for a shortage of skilled and unskilled staff, Spotlight is
running a big risk of moving down the
desirability queue.