Jeremy Wade’s series on River Monsters recently featured the Pacu (or ball cutter) – a fish which is a member of the Pirahna family. These fish are native to South America but have been introduced elsewhere including the Sepik River in PapuaNew Guinea in 1994 to provide a source of food for the locals. The fish differs from a Pirahna in that it is mainly vegetarian. The catch here is the word “mainly”. Its teeth are not as sharp – more grinding molars because they feed on nuts a
mongst other things. No pun intended but read on.
Last year Swedish swimmers were warned over testicle-biting pacu fish. Similarly in Denmark. These fish also differ from Pirahna in terms of size. They can grow to almost a metre in length and weigh up to 25 kilos.
Jeremy Wade was asked to investigate a river monster in the Sepik River after a couple of locals bled to death as a result of an attack by some creature that “dismembered” them.
It was then that he discovered a few huge Pacus and he had no doubt whatsoever that these were the culprits.
Pacu are one of hundreds of species that have been introduced to countries where they are not native, often with disastrous results. Look no further. We have the cane toad, camels, and many more rabbits.
We have the Asian carp and the Common carp. We have feral pigeons, the Californian quail, and the house gecko.
On the retail side we have Muji, Zara, Topshop, Gap, Costco, Aldi, William Sonoma, and H&M to mention just a few.
Just as the Pacu are responsible for killing off local species (apart from their other activities), Sportsgirl, Witchery, or Cue find it difficult, if not impossible, to compete on price because they simply don’t have the volume. Not only are these and other retailers under the pump but last year we lost half a dozen designers in as many months.
Given hindsight, we would not have allowed the introduction of foreign species if we had been able to prevent it but it’s not that easy when it comes to commerce. We live in a free economy. As retailers, what we have in common with animals and plants is that some will survive the introduction of foreign species and some will not.
Some who have not survived are Borders, Franklins (Pick ‘n Pay), Takashimaya, Daimaru, and many others.
It’s not only that some retailers survive the onslaught. It’s also the management.
Recently Elle Roseby, the extremely talented head of Sportsgirl jumped ship and went to the Cotton On Group as the head of Supre which, although not a foreign brand, seems more capable of competing on price. She obviously saw the light.
And so nothing changes in the animal kingdom or in the retail kingdom.
The strongest survive and the others get eaten up. Where are you in this dog eats dog society? And what survival steps are you taking?
Stuart Bennie is a retail consultant at Impact Retailing www.impactretailing.com.au and can be contacted at stuart@impactretailing.com.au or 0414 631 702.
