There Are Still Some Discount Perks
The Age
Wednesday March 27, 2002
Discounts will be harder to come by after the demise of the Coles Myer scheme, but investors who check up on their shareholdings may still find some perks coming their way.
Bank shareholders stand out as the big winners, while other discount schemes are spread across smaller retailers, the hospitality and leisure industries, and businesses traditionally having a close rapport with investors - notably wine makers.
Certainly, many small investors have found that when banks are accused of neglecting customers for the sake of shareholders, it pays to be in the latter category.
The major banks generally offer cut-price or even no loan application fees, and deals ranging from discounted financial services to bonus interest on savings.
Similarly, shareholders in tourism and leisure group Amalgamated Holdings get discounts on everything from Greater Union movie tickets, accommodation at Rydges hotels around the country and lift tickets at the Thredbo ski resort.
In the wine industry, meanwhile, convivial shareholder relations are encouraged at Brian McGuigan Wines with not only an across-the-board discount but also investor dinners with the company founder.
Qualifying rules vary: 1000 shares in Just Jeans can deliver investors a 10 per cent saving on clothes while 100 shares in Pacific Dunlop guarantees a five to 10 per cent discount on tyres and car batteries at selected auto retailers. Other companies - OPSM, Mirvac hotels and Blackmores health products group, to name a few - do not require a minimum holding.
But stockbrokers consistently warn that - staggering though the prospect of free money from a bank may be - incentives should never distract you from wise investment decisions.
``The message we always send to clients is that you have to look at the fundamentals of an investment before you look at the fringe benefits of it," said Michael Kendall, the head of private client stockbroking at J. B. Were.
Recently, investors might have been tempted by a 20 per cent discount on HIH insurance policies, or a 10 per cent discount at Harris Scarfe - and they would have lost their money when those two failed.
Other schemes do not compare to Coles Myer's in cost to the company - which means shareholders are getting less out of them. Thus, even with a 7.5 per cent discount offer, Rebel Sport shares will generally take a long time to pay for themselves. There are also more strings attached to other deals, such as David Jones requiring shareholders to own at least 2000 shares and use their in-store credit cards to get discounts.
Finally, Coles Myer shareholders thinking of a switch to Woolworths may
consider that while the latter has offered little in the way of ``mates'
rates", at 32 per cent a year, it has more than doubled Coles' investment
return over the past five years.
BUY AND SAVE COMPANY DISCOUNT Amalgamated Holdings Discount Greater Union movie tickets, Thredbo ski passes, hotel accommodation. ANZ Bank Discounts on bank cheques, loans, insurance, stockbroking. Brian McGuigan Wines Discounted wine David Jones Discounts, but purchases must be by store credit card. National Australia Bank Banking discounts, special interest rates. Peter Lehmann Wines Wines bottled exclusively for shareholders. PMP 25% discount on magazine subscriptions. Rebel Sport 7.5% discount. Village Roadshow tickets Two-for-one cinema and theme park tickets.
© 2002 The Age