Convenience stores could be the next big focus for Australia’s grocery retailing giants.
Despite the dominance of Coles and Woolworths, consumers are still choosing to buy their fresh food at local fruit and vegetable shops and farmers’ markets.
Sarah Joy/Flickr
Coles and Woolworths’ representation of “fresh” and “local” food reflects heightened interest among consumers about these values. But they also contributes to concerns about the supply chain.
Big can be beautiful for Australia’s retail giants.
Image sourced from Shutterstock.com
Some say the only way to smash the Coles/Woolworths duopoly is more regulation and a consumer backlash, but this assumes all power is used for evil.
The Nationals – of whom Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce is deputy leader – have been agitated at the strong power of Coles and Woolworths to beat down prices of suppliers.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
Farmers will get some extra help in the battle against the supermarket chains in the government’s long-awaited White Paper on Agricultural Competitiveness released on Saturday.
Woolworths chief Grant O'Brien will step down, but not before a replacement is found.
Dan Peled/AAP
Aldi is announcing trial stores that will attempt to capture more of the middle income market. But does it risk killing the golden goose?
Men like Australian official correspondent, and later official war historian, Charles Bean (pictured on the island of Imbros, in 1915) understood the myth-making power of images.
Source: Australian War Memorial
Supermarket giants are predictably opposed to
Harper Review’s effects test, but the report is a mixed bag when it comes to other retail competition issues.
The warty pumpkin: beautiful on the inside.
Circleville Pumpkin Show/Flickr
Coles and Woolworths spent much of 2014 defending their behaviour in court. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) brought several actions against one or both of them throughout the…
They all taste the same once they’re mashed.
Lucie Lang/Shutterstock.com
The battle to reduce food waste and increase access to nutritious food just got a whole lot cheaper and uglier in Australia. In early December, Woolworths launched its “odd bunch” campaign, becoming the…
What do your shopping decisions tell marketers about you?
Daniel Lee/Flickr
The days when Coles and Woolworths only sold groceries are long gone. Both are now established players in a broad range of consumer markets, with interests in liquor and hotels, fuel and convenience, general…
Lidl: will Australian shoppers line up for another discount grocery chain?
Robert Wallace/Flickr
Australian shoppers have inadvertently invited global discount grocers to our shores by demonstrating their readiness to adopt private labels. In 2001, German discounter Aldi opened its first store in…
Masters has hit problems securing good sites for its stores.
Dave Hunt/AAP
When Woolworths delivered its half-year results in February, the numbers for its Masters hardware chain were sobering. On sales of A$393 million, Masters, a joint venture between Woolworths and US company…
The original Woolworth Company dates back to 1878.
Dominic Alves/Flickr
The bid for David Jones from South African retailer Woolworths brings to light one curious dimension of international business - the proliferation of firms with very similar brand names but distinct identities…
A new grocery code of conduct provides new rules for a sector subject to price wars, but will not solve all market problems.
Lukas Coch/AAP
Coles, Woolworths and the Food and Grocery Council have released a draft industry code of conduct to help govern their relationships with suppliers. The code will be “voluntary” under section 51AE of the…
Australian companies have done little to expand overseas, preferring the lucrative home market.
AAP/Damian Shaw
Australia’s major banking, retail and manufacturing brands are often regarded as less interested in the aggressive overseas expansion being pursued by market leaders in other countries. Some have tried…
Legally, it would be extremely difficult to prove shopper docket fuel discounts are anti-competitive.
Michael Welsh via Flickr
A curious feature of the election campaign to date has been the lack of focus on competition and consumer policy. Generally this subject rates highly, as parties try to curry favour with consumers and…