G41 Food Retailing

DJs set to join great Aussie food fight

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 25-Jun-15

South Africa-based Woolworths Holdings is believed to be planning to build a presence in Australia’s food and grocery sector, via its David Jones subsidiary. The group intends to revamp the food halls in David Jones department stores, and the strategy may also include establishing stand-alone food stores to compete with local grocery retailers Coles and Woolworths Limited. Meanwhile, Woolworths Holdings is said to be looking at selling two of its stores in the Melbourne and Sydney CBDs.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS LIMITED, DAVID JONES LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, THOMAS DUX GROCER, JONES THE GROCER, MARKS AND SPENCER PLC, NM ROTHSCHILD AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, COUNTRY ROAD LIMITED, JP MORGAN AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, FOODCHAIN BY DAVID JONES

Guylian’s sweet spot for growth

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 24-Jun-15

Guylian currently has three chocolate outlets in Sydney, but the group intends to pursue national expansion. Patrick Freriks, the operations director of Guylian Belgian Chocolate Cafe, says the aim will be to have 30 outlets across Australia within four years. He stresses that the chocolate cafes will offer a different range of Guylian products to those available in supermarkets.

CORPORATES
GUYLIAN BELGIAN CHOCOLATE CAFE, LOTTE CONFECTIONERY COMPANY LIMITED, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW

Aldi hits back at claims of shirking tax

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 24-Jun-15

Discount grocery chain Aldi says it fully complies with its Australian tax obligations, and has advised that its local income tax bill for the year to 31 December 2013 totalled $A81.6m. The German-owned group was responding to comments by Wesfarmers CEO Richard Goyder, who had questioned whether Aldi was paying sufficient tax in Australia. Aldi boasted local sales of $A6bn in 2014, which was around 13 per cent higher than previously, and it is gaining market share at the expense of its rivals.

CORPORATES
ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, ALDI EINKAUF GMBH & CO OHG, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, IGA, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, APPLE INCORPORATED, MICROSOFT CORPORATION, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED

Woolies investors fear more pain before gain

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 12 : 19-Jun-15

Fund managers and shareholders are concerned about the possible actions that will be taken by the successor to Woolworths CEO Grant O’Brien in a bid to turn around its fortunes. These include reduced profit margins and asset writedowns. Ben Gilbert of UBS is concerned that Woolworths may seek to combat falling sales by instigating a grocery price war, while Sheridan Hure of Aurora Funds Management warns that Woolworths’ shares may keep falling.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AURORA FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED, ALPHINITY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, NIKKO ASSET MANAGEMENT GROUP, EGON ZEHNDER INTERNATIONAL, STANDARD AND POOR’S (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Woolies in turmoil

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 12 : 18-Jun-15

Woolworths has advised that its 2014-15 net profit after significant items will be 12.2 per cent lower at around $A2.15bn. The retail giant had issued an earnings downgrade earlier in 2015, and CEO Grant O’Brien has revealed that he will step down when a successor is appointed. O’Brien unveiled a three-year turnaround strategy in May, which is aimed at making Woolworths more competitive against grocery rivals Coles and Aldi. Woolworths also intends to retrench 1,200 employees.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW. COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD. ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD. ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED. MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD. BIG W DISCOUNT STORES. UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Retailer profits under pressure

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 4-Jun-15

UBS and the Australian Food & Grocery Council have produced a report which shows that supermarket groups’ profit margins have increased at the expense of suppliers over the last five years. However, the report concludes that rising competition in the grocery sector is set to shift the balance in favour of suppliers. Woolworths boasts a margin of eight per cent, which is sigificantly higher than the global average.

CORPORATES
UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FOOD AND GROCERY COUNCIL, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Woolworths faces $1b hit from price cuts

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 20-May-15

Morgan Stanley estimates that Aldi’s private-label grocery products cost 27 per cent less than Woolworths’ Select brand and six per cent less than Coles Group’s home brand. However, Aldi products cost 21 per cent more than Woolworths’ entry-level Homebrand. Tom Kierath of Morgan Stanley warns that Woolworths’ earnings could fall by between 5.09 per cent and 33 per cent if it reduces the prices of its private-label products to boost its competitiveness.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Investors push for Corbett

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 14-May-15

Roger Corbett has declined to comment on a push by Woolworths shareholders for him to take up the role of chairman. Corbett was CEO from 1999 to 2006, and he has worked in the retail sector for more than four decades. Some shareholders argue that Corbett’s expertise is needed to turn around Woolworths’ flagging performance. Wesfarmers recently announced that former CEO Michael Chaney will become chairman later in 2015.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, MAYNE PHARMA GROUP LIMITED – ASX MYX, HOSPIRA PTY LTD, ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, WAL-MART STORES INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY GROUP LIMITED, FOODLAND ASSOCIATED LIMITED, TESCO PLC, KELLOGG COMPANY

What makes a supermarket super?

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Apr-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 55.8 per cent of Australians aged 14+ nominated ‘high standards of food safety’ as one of the factors that matter most to them when buying groceries at a supermarket. The survey, which was carried out in the year to December 2014, also shows that 55.5 per cent nominated a location ‘close to home’, followed by ‘good value’ (54.1 per cent) and ‘convenient trading hours’ (52.6 per cent)

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Cola is king in Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Apr-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that cola beverages feature heavily among the most popular soft drinks in Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. Coca-Cola is consumed by 19 per cent of Australians aged 14+ in an average seven days, followed by Coke Zero (8 per cent) and Diet Coke (5 per cent). Meanwhile, 25 per cent of New Zealanders aged 14+ drink Coca-Cola in an average seven days, ahead of Sprite (12 per cent) and Coke Zero (10 per cent). Some 14 per cent of Indonesians aged 14+ drink Big Cola in an average seven-day period, ahead of Fanta (just over 12 per cent), and Coca Cola (almost 12 per cent)

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