SUPERMARKETS – AUSTRALIA

Woolies credit outlook cut, rating questioned

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 6-Nov-15

Moody’s Investors Service has maintained Woolworths’ "Baa1" credit rating, although the retailer’s credit outlook has been downgraded from "stable" to "negative". Ian Chitterer of Moody’s attributes the move to factors such as disappointing sales for the first quarter of 2015-16 and Woolworths’ third earnings downgrade in less than a year. He has also expressed concern about the uncertainty concerning the timeframe for appointing a new CEO.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, STANDARD AND POOR’S CORPORATION, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Woolworths dividend and rating at risk

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 4-Nov-15

Ian Chitterer of ratings agency Moody’s says Australian-listed Woolworths needs to take action to arrest a decline in same-store sales. Chitterer will meet with the retailer’s executives shortly, and he says Woolworths may need to consider measures such as asset sales and a reduction in its dividend payout. Moody’s downgraded Woolworths’ credit rating in August 2015, while Standard & Poor’s did so in late October.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, STANDARD AND POOR’S CORPORATION, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TESCO PLC

Woolies rewards to cost it $500m a year

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

Woolworths’ revamped customer loyalty scheme will reward shoppers for purchasing about 500 grocery items. The Australian Centre for Retail Studies estimates that it would take less than eight weeks for the average customer to cash in their credits for a $A10 reward. Michael Simotas of Deutsche Bank expects the new scheme to cost Woolworths around $A500 per year.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR RETAIL STUDIES, MONASH UNIVERSITY, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, THOUGHTWORKS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, QANTAS FREQUENT FLYER LIMITED

Coles spends $100m on keeping food prices low

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 23-Oct-15

Wesfarmers-owned Coles has reported that its food and liquor sales rose by 4.7 per cent to $A7.6bn in the September 2015 quarter. Grocery prices at Coles supermarkets fell by 1.3 per cent during the period, with the group spending $A100m on price cuts. Coles intends to maintain this level of spending in the next several quarters, in the wake of Woolworths’ plans to spend $A500m on cutting grocery prices. The Bunnings, Kmart and Target businesses also recorded sales growth in the quarter.

CORPORATES
COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, WOOLWORTH CORPORATION, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Woolworths ‘treasure chest’ ready to open

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Original article by Catie Low
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 9-Oct-15

Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst David Errington estimates that Woolworths could unlock about $A3bn worth of capital by streamlining its operations. He argues that Woolworths should focus on its core food and liquor business, while retaining its gaming division and offloading Big W and exiting the loss-making Masters hardware joint venture. The Masters business in particular may come under scrutiny when Woolworths completes its board renewal process.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, LOWE’S COMPANIES INCORPORATED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, TESCO PLC, KELLOGG COMPANY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Supermarkets cut prices in private-label drive

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Original article by Catie Low
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 8-Oct-15

Research by Deutsche Bank shows that Woolworths reduced the cost of its private-label grocery products by nine per cent in the September 2015 quarter. Rival Coles in turn reduced its house brand prices by seven per cent during the period. Meanwhile, the prices of branded products at Woolworths fell by 0.8 per cent and rose by 5.7 per cent at Coles. Woolworths says it has invested some $A250m on price reductions since early 2015.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Vast majority of chocolate-bar buyers get their fix from supermarkets

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Oct-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 6.5 million Australians aged 14+ (or one-third of the population) buy at least one chocolate bar in an average four weeks. The survey, which was carried out in the year to June 2015, also shows that 4.9 million Australians bought a chocolate bar at a supermarket (76 per cent of the chocolate bar buying public). Some 498,000 people (eight per cent of chocolate bar buyers) made their purchase at a convenience store or petrol stations, while 86,000 people used a vending machine and 81,000 shopped for chocolate bars at a milk bar or corner store.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Woolworths now cheaper than Coles for trolley of groceries: analyst

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Original article by Patrick Hatch
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 6-Oct-15

An analysis of grocery prices in Australian supermarkets shows that Costco has the lowest prices for 36 items. Morgan Stanley analyst Tom Kierath also found that the same items were 29 per cent more expensive at Woolworths. However, Coles’ prices were higher than those of Woolworths on 20 items, while its prices were lower on 13 products and the same on three products.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED, COSTCO WHOLESALE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Metcash plays down threat of Aldi expansion into WA, SA

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 30-Sep-15

Aldi will enter the South Australian and Western Australian markets in 2016, with plans for 120 stores in coming years. IGA stores in the two states typically boast higher profit margins than those on the east coast, and Metcash CEO Ian Morrice believes that IGA stores in SA and WA are in a stronger position to compete with Aldi than IGA stores in Victoria and New South Wales. Morrice has also downplayed the prospect of a price war between Coles and Woolworths.

CORPORATES
METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, IGA, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, FOODLAND AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CELLARBRATION PTY LTD, THE BOTTLE-O, IGA LIQUOR, MITRE 10 LIMITED, TRUE VALUE HARDWARE LIMITED, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Woolworths to spend $65m on fresh look

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 21-Sep-15

Australian-listed Woolworths will respond to customer complaints by spending $A65m on upgrading its supermarkets, including new shopping trolleys, in-store signage and shelving. The head of the group’s supermarkets division, Dave Chambers, says shopper have frequently complained about poor customer service and stock not being available. Woolworths is also undertaking daily customer surveys and using data analytics to improve its stores.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED, IGA, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, COSTCO WHOLESALE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, THE QUANTIUM GROUP PTY LTD, PROGRESSIVE ENTERPRISES HOLDINGS LIMITED, FOODTOWN SUPERMARKETS LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD