GROCERIES – PRICES – AUSTRALIA

Woolies flags higher prices, profit squeeze

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Original article by Carrie LaFrenz
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 18 : 1-May-26

Woolworths has advised that its supermarket division’s sales rose by 5.9 per cent to $13.8bn in the third quarter of 2025-26. Group sales were up 4.5 per cent to about $18bn for the 13 weeks to 5 April. CEO Amanda Bardwell says the Iran war did not affect shelf prices during the quarter, but she has warned that growing pressure from suppliers is likely to result in higher prices for some grocery products in the final quarter. She adds that fresh foods such as fruit, vegetables, milk and bread are most vulnerable to price increases, due to the impact of rising fuel and fertiliser costs on farmers. Coles will release its third-quarter results today.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL

Coles concedes mistake in discounting item to make it more expensive after a week

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Original article by Elias Visontay
The Age – Page: Online : 18-Feb-26

The Federal Court has been told that consumers understand that grocery prices will change in a high-inflation environment. Coles Group’s lead barrister John Sheahan addressed the court on the second day of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s case against the supermarket giant over alleged ‘sham’ price discounts. He contended that shelf tickets with a ‘was/is’ price are a legitimate sign of "good value today" for a specific product, and that the ‘Down, Down’ campaign was a broader indication that Coles was trying to keep prices low rather than advertising a specific discount. Sheahan also said Coles has acknowledged that one of the products that attracted the ACCC’s scrutiny should not have beeen added to the ‘Down, Down’ promotion only a week after a large price rise.

CORPORATES
COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Albanese targets grocery shrinkflation in battle to curb cost-of-living poll risk

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 3-Oct-24

The federal government has indicated that it will review the Unit Pricing Code of Conduct, and potentially expand its coverage to include more retailers. The government has been targeting supermarket pricing ahead of the federal election, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says that addressing the problem of ‘shrinkflation’ is part of its strategy to "get a better deal" for consumers. It is a common practice for manufacturers of packaged food and groceries to downsize their products while leaving the prices unchanged or even increasing them.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Australia’s major supermarkets accused of purchasing properties to turf out independent stores

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Original article by Jonathan Barrett
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 12-Apr-24

The Senate inquiry into supermarket prices has been told that grocery giants Coles and Woolworths engage in land-banking to prevent smaller rivals from opening a store near their supermarkets. Grant Ramage, the CEO of Metcash’s food division, said the duopoly is also prepared to pay inflated prices to buy out rivals in order to stifle competition, while they have been known to buy retail properties that are tenanted by independent supermarkets and subsequently not renew their lease. Aldi Australia’s CEO Anna McGrath has told the inquiry that rival supermarket chains often reduce their prices when the Germany-based company opens a new store near their existing outlets.

CORPORATES
METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD

ACCC must probe food giants on prices: Fels

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 23-Jan-24

Former Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Allan Fels has urged the ACCC to conduct a major inquiry into competition and prices in the retail food and grocery industry. Fels recently conducted an ACTU-sponsored inquiry into price gouging, with Fels claiming that supermarkets are not being transparent about the price history of displayed items and their "correlated discounts". While supporting the appointment of former trade minister Craig Emerson to conduct a review of the food and grocery code, Fels says the voluntary code should be made mandatory.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Emerson to keep supermarkets in check

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 3 : 10-Jan-24

The federal government has appointed former Labor trade minister Craig Emerson to head a review of the food and grocery code of conduct. The government will consider a range of options to ensure that businesses are passing on lower costs to consumers, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says supermarkets have a duty to ensure that they are providing affordable options for all Australians. Agriculture Minister Murray Watt says major retailers do not have to wait until the review is ­completed to lower their prices.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY

Woolworths freezes price of everyday items

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Original article by Carrie LaFrenz
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 16-Jun-22

Grocery retailer Woolworths has responded to the rising cost of living by announcing that it will freeze the price of essentials such as sugar, flour and frozen peas until the end of 2022. CEO Brad Banducci says the spike in inflation has now affected prices in most grocery categories, having initially been largely confined to meat and imported products. Woolworths’ average prices rose by 2.7 per cent during the March quarter, and about 40 per cent of its suppliers requested a further price increase in May.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW

Woolies to cut specials to restore price trust

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 24 : 31-May-19

Grocery giant Woolworths has joined rival Coles in admitting that it is too dependent on price discounting to boost sales growth. Woolworths’ Peter McNamara says the weekly price discounts strategy is adversely affecting consumers’ trust in prices over the long-term. Like Coles, Woolworths is shifting its focus to an ‘everyday low price’ model rather than large prices discounts that are offered for one week only. Ben Gilbert of UBS expects Australia’s food and liquor market to record sales growth of around four per cent in 2019 and 2020.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, WOOLWORTHS SUPERMARKETS, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FOOD AND GROCERY COUNCIL

Aldi sees plenty of growth to come

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 19 & 20 : 2-Nov-16

The Australian market share of German supermarket chain Aldi is currently less than 10 per cent, although local CEO Tom Daunt believes that the group can lift this to 14-15 per cent within the next several years. He also concedes that growth in store numbers across the eastern states will slow in coming years. Daunt stresses that Aldi will maintain its policy of having the lowest grocery prices, while the group intends to refurbish all of its existing east coast stores in order to be competitive in the fresh food segment of the grocery market.

CORPORATES
ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW

Coles MD says suppliers living on Treasure Island

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 17 : 9-Dec-15

Coles MD John Durkan has criticised global suppliers of brand-name groceries for charging excessive prices in Australia, a concern he first raised in 2008. He concedes that consumers must be expected to pay a reasonable price for groceries, but he says cost increases in Australia should not be higher than in other countries. Durkan adds that more consumers will switch to supermarkets’ private-label products if the cost of branded groceries keeps rising.

CORPORATES
COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, COLES GROUP LIMITED, ARNOTT’S BISCUITS LIMITED, COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, SCHWEPPES AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, AUSTRALIAN FOOD AND GROCERY COUNCIL, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION