Australia's peak retail body, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), continues to grow and welcomes members from the National Footwear Retail Association (NFRA) in their recent merger with the ARA.
ARA CEO Paul Zahra said the new members will benefit from the powerful national resources of the industry's largest and most established retail body to take its representation to the next level.
"We warmly welcome NFRA members to the ARA family and look forward to offering them the significant benefits of our national network of resources.
"Whist we are not the only retail association in Australia, we are the oldest, largest and most diverse industry association with a re-energised sense of community and industry support. We represent all retailers from hairdressing to hardware, to fashion, food, footwear - and everything in between.
"Whilst the NFRA has a strong history of more than 60 years in representing independent footwear retailers, the ARA has long been a supporter of achieving a single, strong and unified voice to represent the retail community," Mr Zahra said.
"Our new members will have access to the ARA's suite of member benefits, including support services covering employment law, insurance, leasing, legal and other benefits through the ARA's network of partners. Our new members will be well represented in the post-Covid recovery and have all the support they need not only to survive but to thrive well into the future," said Mr Zahra.
"We thank the Board, President, Peter Parkinson (OAM) of McCloud Shoes, and members of the NFRA for entrusting the ARA with this important transition," he said.
