COMPLII FINTECH SOLUTIONS LTD — AGM Information 2002

Nov 11, 2002

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			Gowings Retail Limited
	AUSTRALIAN STOCK EXCHANGE GBR000010		Level 8, 45 Market Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 Phone (02) 9264 6321 Fax (02) 9261 3020
To:	Company Announcements Office	From:	Michael Faulkner
	Company: Australian Stock Exchange	Pages: 2
Fax:	1300 300 021	Date:	12 November 2002
Re:	Chairman's Address - AGM
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To follow is a copy of the Chairman's Address to shareholders at the Annual General Meeting for immediate release.

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Gowings Retail Limited ACN 098 238 585

Annual General Meeting - 12 November 2002

Chairman's Address

Although this is the first AGM of Gowings Retail Ltd as a separately listed public company, Gowings has in fact been in the public arena for over 70 years since the listing of Gowing Bros Ltd in the early $1930's.$

As the fourth member of the family from four successive generations to hold the position of Chairman of "Gowings" I have a challenging and hard act to follow. This is because our company has an enviable track record of success going back at least 134 years. During that time, not only has the business traded profitably in every year except for the two initial years of the great depression, it has also earned itself a place in the hearts and minds of the people of NSW in general and the people of Sydney in particular.

I personally have been involved with Gowings for the last 16 years. I have seen the company reassert it's position as the best men's store in Sydney and then move on to reposition itself to not only sell everything for men and boys but to conclusively lay claim to the title of "The Blokatorium!

Gowings is not just a group of menswear retail outlets, it is in its own right a carefully crafted brand. Gowings has over a century of tradition behind it, it stands for honesty, integrity, a down to earth Australianess, and at the same time it is continuously evolving so as to remain relevant and anticipate the ever-changing needs of today's customers.

The continuing challenge for Gowings Retail is how to best leverage the brand in the right locations outside the Sydney CBD where it has already been very successful and to gain the economic advantages that will flow through to the bottom line as the company grows giving it access to improved economies of scale and greater buying power.

Our first new suburban store at Hornsby has been disappointing, it has however provided us with some significant lessons that we will not repeat in the future. Hornsby although disappointing has nevertheless been profitable, and with management expectations of a positive store contribution of around \$500k this year it is in no way a failure.

That leads me to Parramatta, we have applied all the lessons of Hornsby to Parramatta. Hornsby was a new unproven center, Parramatta is an exciting center with an established track record. Parramatta is also the third largest CBD in Australia with demographics and shopping patterns that are reasonably similar to those of Sydney CBD.

We are very positive about Parramatta and are pulling out all stops to get the store open to take advantage of the Christmas trade.

Gowings would not be where it is today without its people. We now employ directly 250 and many more indirectly, being the suppliers and contractors to Gowings. I would like to thank, both personally and on behalf of the board, all the people in the Gowings community who help keep the Gowings show on the road.

John Gowing Chairman

Level 8, 45 Market St Sydney NSW 2000 Phone (02) 9264 6321 Fax (02) 9261 3020 www.gowings.com.au

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