retailers in Australia have reached their maximum capacity to...

retailers in Australia have reached their maximum capacity to grow. Unless there is some sort of significant population growth, they can only depend on an increase in society buying power per person.

Just imagine that a new child being born will add a very small portion of spending to retail sector. As a new born slowing, the capacity for the retail to expand their revenue is slowing.

IMO, the only things to get back to their great margin is to create a short by closing few stores that have been canibalising each other just like JBH Stores in Sydney CBD. Why would on earth do you have 3 JBH stores selling the same item with the same price that located near to each other. What they did is just moving their customer away instead of getting them inside a single store.

JBH know they have a great brand name and did value it highly on their balance sheet, then why on earth would you open various stores nearby just to try to capture the same customer that have been previously shopping in your own store? "Getting the same sales with triple cost"