I keep seeing the same pattern played out in board reports and media coverage across the Australian retail landscape. When major players like the Country Road Group or even MYER announce lacklustre results, the commentary is almost always the same. Management points to a tired list of external culprits: "market uncertainty," "economic headwinds," "shifting consumer behaviour."

It’s a convenient narrative, allowing executives and boards to neatly sidestep accountability for internal failings.

But what’s rarely mentioned—or, more accurately, what’s consistently downplayed—is the sharp, undeniable decline in the core elements of a great retail business: product quality, brand positioning, and the fundamental value proposition.

Frankly, that’s the real issue, and it's almost always self-inflicted.

As CEO and Co-founder of ProfitPeak, my work is rooted in cutting through the noise and finding clarity in the data. We preach a profit-first mindset, which requires a brutal level of honesty about where money is being wasted and where value is being created. And what I can tell you from our insights, and from my own eCommerce experience, is that brands are trying to use marketing to fix problems that marketing simply can't solve.

While recently attending Retail Fest on the Gold Coast, I took a little time away from the conference halls to do some good, old-fashioned site visits at a major local shopping centre. My instincts about the state of Australian bricks-and-mortar retail weren’t just confirmed; they were exacerbated.

Walking into one of these big-name department stores, the environment was simply chaotic. The merchandising was poorly executed. Clothes were jumbled, sale items were mixed in with full-price stock, and the flow was utterly disorganised. The experience felt overwhelming and cheap. To make matters worse, there was barely a staff member in sight to offer help, let alone a genuine service experience.

This, to me, is the perfect example of the self-inflicted wounds facing the sector. That chaotic, underwhelming environment is not a marketing problem.

It’s a profound product and operations problem.

You see, marketing cannot, and will not, save a bad product or a sub-par experience. In fact, aggressive media spend in a digital world only throws a brighter spotlight on the flaws. You can run the most expensive, emotionally compelling campaigns in the world, full of beautiful photography and aspirational storytelling, but as soon as a customer walks into a disorganised store, receives inconsistent sizing in their online order, or encounters underwhelming service, the magic evaporates. The budget you spent chasing that new customer has just highlighted why they shouldn’t stick around.

It’s essentially a very costly exercise in generating poor reviews.

No amount of beautifully crafted brand values or glossy media spend will cover for a pair of tights that fall apart after two washes, for inconsistent sizing across a new collection, or for an app that constantly glitches. These operational, product, and service inconsistencies destroy brand equity far faster than any "economic headwind" ever could.

The sad truth is, many of these issues are within management’s control. They are the result of prioritising top-line revenue—the "vanity metrics"—over the foundational details that build genuine customer loyalty. Instead of pouring all available resources into increasingly expensive digital acquisition, boards and executives need to stop hiding behind macroeconomic excuses and look at what is fundamentally broken in their retail organisations.

Also read: Beyond the Hype: Reclaiming Profitability in the DTC World

The time has come to start talking to your customers. Go on the floor. Look at your product through a customer’s eyes. Ask the tough questions about quality and service.

The first step towards reclaiming profitable growth is acknowledging that the problem often isn't outside the door; it's right inside the operations centre and on the shop floor. Fix the product, fix the experience, and I guarantee your marketing will become a damn sight more effective.

It's time to get the core offering right and start making some real profit.