Stats show Griffith businesses in strong stead, confidence high

The latest CreditorWatch data on the health of businesses in the Riverina shows Griffith outlets are faring better than many other regional centres.

According to the Business Risk Index (BRI) Griffith has a comfortable rating of 87.3, above Mildura at 80.4, Wagga at 80.7 and Albury at 81.6.

Murray River Swan Hill and the Lower Murray scored the best rankings in the region with 97.9 and 94.6 respectively.

The Index ranks more than 350 Australian regions by relative insolvency risk, providing insights into the health of businesses by geography.

Regions are ranked on a scale from zero to 100, where 100 represents the best credit quality with the lowest risk of insolvency.

In addition, the results of a Griffith Business Chamber and Griffith City Council collated survey have also highlighted strong performance

Of the 200 outlets surveyed, some 70 per cent reported seeing an increase in sales in the last 12 months and 57.6 per cent saying they were planning on expanding operations in the next five years.

In addition, 75 per cent reported they are planning on increasing staff numbers this year and 48 per cent reported they are happy with their overall performance so far in 2024.

Griffith Business Chamber president John Nikolic said it's good news for Griffith, however worker shortages and a lack of housing remain constraints on the city's growth.

"The chamber is pleased the Index risk is better than average and is projected to become even stronger," Mr Nikolic said.

"It's especially notable when compared to other areas like Albury/Wodonga and Mildura which are also projected to increase.

"Our survey results reflect those from CreditWatch and Business NSW which are pointing to modest but pleasing increases in the last three quarters," he said.

"While our survey was only able to capture a small number of businesses, the stats are very similar to those found in 2019"

However while the data indicates buyers confidence is high, Mr Nikolic says the chamber has received reports from members over a decrease in spending.

"In the coming months we aim to consult with businesses to better understand this, especially in the retail and hospitality industries," he said.

"A major constraint on Griffith's growth is labour and, tied in with that, available housing.

"The unemployment rate is two per cent and rising more slowly than expected," Mr Nikolic said.

"The chamber is focused on policies to increase tabor and housing, and the recently announced DAMA for our area is expected to aid this greatly."

The Griffith Business Chamber is planning to have information sessions for outlets this month, with more details to come.