Australia’s peak retail body, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), is strengthening its presence in the Northern Territory through a partnership with the Darwin City Retailers Association (DCRA). This partnership will deliver improved education, training and advocacy for businesses in the Top End.
The DCRA has been representing retailers in Darwin for eight years, and will now have the support of Australia’s largest and most diverse national retail body to take its representation to the next level.
The DCRA will have access to the ARA’s suite of member benefits, which includes training for new and existing workers through the ARA Retail Institute, support services covering insurance, leasing, HR, and research and insights through the ARA’s network of partners.
ARA CEO Paul Zahra said the partnership with the DCRA will ensure Darwin’s retailers are well supported and represented in the post-Covid recovery.
“The DCRA has done an outstanding job in uniting Darwin’s retailers under a common vision to revitalise the city and make it a more attractive place to visit and do business. However, there’s no doubt the past two years have been incredibly challenging, and with inflationary pressures impacting business costs, things aren’t getting any easier,” Mr Zahra said.
“Our focus through this partnership is on ensuring Darwin’s retailers have all the support they need to thrive well into the future. The ARA is the nation’s largest peak body for retail, and together with the DCRA, we’ll ensure the city’s retailers have the tools and resources they need to take their businesses to the next level.”
DCRA Outgoing General Manager Andrea Wicking said: “DCRA’s partnership and alliance with the ARA positions the city retailers and the Territory to benefit from access to the best accredited retail training resources for our members; mentoring for our committee; and the ability to be at the front of our industry with research and trends.
“This partnership allows for the sector to continue to grow and be seen as an employer of choice with the training of school leavers and the upskilling of existing workers to ensure we attract and retain a skilled workforce for the future.
“Over the past week, several stakeholder meetings have been held including with the Chamber of Commerce NT, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade, the Industry, Skills Advisory Council NT, and GTNT. We are confident to have in place several pilot programs before the end of the year,” Ms Wicking said.
DCRA Chair Anna Savvas said: “The partnership with the Australian Retailers Association is timely and welcomed by DCRA members as retail continues to recover from the pandemic. There is no better time for us to align ourselves with the longest serving industry association that serves more than 100,000 retail shop fronts and online stores nationally, including in the Territory,” Ms Savvas said.
Media Enquiries:
Dominic Cuschieri
M 0418 224 072
E dominic.cuschieri@retail.org.au
About us: The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is the oldest, largest and most diverse national retail body, representing a $360bn sector which employs 1.3 million Australians and is the largest private sector employer in the country. As Australia’s peak retail body, representing more than 100,000 retail shop fronts and online stores, the ARA informs, advocates, educates, protects and unifies our independent, national and international retail community. To learn more about ARA’s exclusive member benefits and more, visit retail.org.au
