There has been more chest-thumping at the ACCC as Chairman Graeme Samuel accesses the state of play with Independents and Greens now in the government mix.

The restaurant industry is furious at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for taking "action through press release" against four cafes and restaurants which have been charged for allegedly adhering to component pricing regulations.  SmartCompany

The recent complaint against the ACCC in the ACCC v Seal-A-Fridge bullying is too often a repeated sham to suggest to the gullible that Samuel’s regulation actually achieves something.

But Restaurant and Catering Association chief executive John Hart says the action taken by the ACCC is illogical and unfair, and smaller companies shouldn’t be named in lieu of larger, more well-known restaurants.

The ACCC recently took action against gym chain Fitness First for claiming it had broken component pricing regulations.

On another franchising level there is more news to be seemingly downplayed as the Timberland Furniture franchise goes up for sale after being handed to receivers.

Timberland was established in 1998, with the opening of a store in the Sydney suburb of Castle Hill.  A cached version of its website says the company had planned to hit 20 stores by 2008, however the actual growth rate appears to have been slower than this.  SmartCompany

Alas there has been no mention as to the future prospects for Timberland Furniture’s franchisees. Actually; like most franchise collapses in Australia, the instance of these franchisor failures are buried and when found, rarely ever refer to the plight of franchisees. Even in the huge Kleenmaid/ACCC debacle franchisees were an after thought.

Related Reading:

Kleenmaid,

Samsara,

Blockbuster,

Midas

Asleep at the Wheel

ACCC targeting franchising cons

ACCC Chief Graeme Samuel Faces Wipe-out