Coles CEO's Crazy Excuse for Price Gouging!
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 18 фев 2024
- The CEO of Coles's excuse for sky-high prices at the supermarket is...Australia is bigger than the UK?
Doesn't make much sense to us either.
Sign up to get our latest analysis sent to you via our fortnightly newsletter!
📧 theaus.in/newsletter
Help us make more videos like this by becoming a supporter:
❤️ theaus.in/donateYT
🗞Want to hear more from Richard? Sign up to our newsletter! 🗞
The biggest stories and the best analysis from the team at the Australia Institute, delivered to your inbox every fortnight.
nb.australiainstitute.org.au/newsletter
What % of turn over of a supermarket should be profit before tax?
@@danquaylesitsspeltpotatoe8307not the profit margin they have right now.. it wasn't that long ago that the coles/woolworths branded milk was $1 per litre... in doing so priced out the competitors, which were upwards of $3 more per bottle. now, the bottles are $5 per, and competitors are upward of $8 per bottle. they regularly cycle sales 50% off, and the deals between the 2 companies, were to ensure that the specials were not on at the same time. it's expensive as, yet they aren't paying staff.... and coles has even implemented a prison system in some places, locking you into the store until staff can be bothered to let you out of there. it's bad enough you're forced in stores to use the self serve checkout, but you aren't being paid the wages, you still have to wait for non existent staff to open a gate for you now!
@@danquaylesitsspeltpotatoe8307 and how far off estimate was the anticipated increased % in transport and infrastructure costs? If profits are increased to correct for volatility but outstrip actual increases in expenses twice (or more) in a row and don't threaten reduced investment and borrowing capacity, at what point can we just agree they are profiteering? Yes these questions aren't being fairly represented by the video from what I can see... Whether through ignorance or not I'm not sure... but as accidental as it might be they might have stumbled on a point. Also.... a virtual food supply duopolist is going to significantly impact the overall inflation of its host economy. Coles CEO would know this. As usual it's easy to have strongly held opinions through ignorance about things when they're oversimplified, as I perhaps boldly suggest motivated your question: I assume you were trying to highlight this isn't really the situation the video makes it out to be. But by coincidence, look at the percentage profits of Coles to 2018 and their sudden reversal of fortune since end 2019. I think they're either trying to claw back and have happily taken any excuse to do so, else they genuinely think worse times are ahead and ironically are happy hyper-fueling stagflation. Flip side to that coin, it's politically easier to be seen to go after one or two individual potential profiteers than to fix a stagflating economy.
Just on my last 1litre bottle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil from COLES paid $10 surprise its now $25. Thats obscene! Notice they are also reducing bottle sizes of brands to 75 ml. Of course marked up prices. Not to mention the increase on weekly basis on almost every item. As for Woolies they are blatant thieves. Aldi still the best so far although they are starting to cath on.
They think we are idiots and don't understand that profit is after expenses.
Most of them don't think at all. They jsut go along with what sounds good in the moment.
small shops charge more ??? increase numbers of shops and prices will increase !!! coles/woolworths sell low quality meat cheaper than independent butchers - TRUE
You all are idiots.
Many people still went to shop at their stores after this including people who had aldis and other farmer markets in the vicinity. If they think people are idiots they're right. Woolies put out a bunch of REAL discounts after ages following their CEO's bungle interview/resignation and people flocked to empty their shelves after seeing posts online.
$2.50 profit for every $100 you spend with them.... how criminal 😅
My parents had a small family business and supplied Coles and Woolies for 15 years. My parents were regularly reminded in no uncertain terms that if they dared to raise their prices to keep up with rising costs, inflation, etc, the products would be removed from the shelves and the orders will simply stop coming. Yet Coles and Woolies would increase their margins multiple times a year. Oh, and when they decide to put your product on special and act like the hero’s in their ads with the happy music and smiling actors in Coles/Woolies uniforms bragging about keeping their prices low for us the consumer, they’re not taking a hit on that. No Sir. Don’t be ridiculous! The suppliers are. They will screw their suppliers out of every last dollar until it is no longer profitable to supply them. And they will spit you out like you never existed. They truly are heartless, horrible organisations to deal with. Both as bad as each other. The imbalance of power between the buyer/supplier relationship with the big 2 is absolutely crazy and they’re not ashamed to abuse it to the maximum.
Given these people have names, addresses and families it is surprising nothing has happened yet, that is absurd.
What do you mean they increase their margins? in 2019 they had a 2.8% margin, in 2023 it had dropped to 2.57%. They make such slim margins that no wonder they fight hard against price hikes.
Bunch of a-holes.
I have found the buyers are very brazen mean and heartless to a degree not all that would be realistic but u would say majority of do not have suppliers or customer in mind first Facts!!
Perfectly summarised 🙏. Heartless money making machine
They should open stores in Antartica. Imagine the transportation costs... their profits would triple!
😅 good one
Mate I don't want my bread to be 20 bucks a loaf thanks,take that back before they see this and get some ideas
😆🤣
Too many shareholders invested
More than triple. There would be no need for the expense of refrigeration.
She sounds like Russell Coight explaining how much water to drink in the desert.
"The difference between seeing someone and NOT seeing someone in the outback is 110 square kilometres. That's alotta land, and not many people. Depending on where you are within that land. If you're in a town, the numbers go right up."
I never go into the outback without a decent supply of water, and the general rule for how much you'll need is three litres per day, per person, per man, per degree over 25 degrees celcius, per kilometre if walking on foot, in the winter months dividing it by two, plus... another litre... at the end.
What a combo larry emdur speaking like Russell coight I'm sure that's a tv show in the making
@@LittleWeekendWarriors lmao
🤣🤣🤣🤣👍🏼
All corporations in Aus are taking the piss. The supermarkets make a fraction of what our banks make and yet they get a free pass in the MSM and politically.
You think inflation is supermarket corruption?
@@Art-is-craft There's inflation, then there is supermarkets taking the piss. Food going up 200%+ overnight isn't a result of inflation.
@@whtkngofc
You do realise that inflation affects everything from energy, storage, wages, inventory availability, borrowing and so on. That every business has gone through. Houses in Sydney in 2003 averaged just below $500000 in 2023 they were $1500000. That about 5.7% per year increase. Are you really that surprised about current run inflation?
@@Art-is-craftnot sure why you are so eager to excuse greed
@@enterpassword3313
It is inflation people are confused by.
They own the petrol stations and blame transport costs😂
They got out of the fuel business a few years ago.
It's almost as if you have no idea what you are talking about
And the pubs, pokies too
Coles never owned the servos, they simple branded them as Coles Express, they were still owned by Shell for example. And they sold their Coles Express business to Viva energy in May of 2023.
@@peteranderson7487 *Last year.
I have a few mates that work in the Coles warehouse in Sydney, hundreds of them are being made redundant to make way for the robotic takeover, and they will save a fortune in wages, but you will not see a single item in their store reduce in price, money hungry parasites.
WE voted for minimum wage.
This is what happens.
We voted for immigration.
This is what happens.
Look inwards.
@@Ghost-fe1vp When both parties push the same policies, who you vote for is irrelevant.
Of course, they’ll pass those savings on to their rich mates on the board.
Vote third party.
duh@@DrenaiSaga
@@Ghost-fe1vp I did, never made a difference.
And after the interview, got into her diamond studded limosine and went home to her solid gold mansion. Because, ya know, understands the struggle.
Let's be clear.... the comparison between the UK and Australia brings the humble Queensland pineapple to mind.... London pays less.
So we pay more so that they pay less?
imports from south america
Also, as in 'reamed by'.
Australian mangoes are cheaper in Japan, HK and the UK as well as the Vic Market - than in ColeWorth. Typically a mango is $4 in ColeWorth until all the trees are productive. then they are $2.50 but never less - even the over ripe ones.
In Tokyo you can get Australian mangoe's for $1.90
In Vic Market or Preston Market you can pick them up for $2.50 all the time and buy whole trays for $10.
Coles near Cairns, a city surronded by coconuts, the only coconuts they were selling were from Thailand and wrapped in plastic. We passed 50% food importing in 2014, and Coles and Woolworths are the reason for that.
About 20 years ago a mate who had a blue berry farm grew Birds Eye chilies one year because they were selling at Colesworths for around $15/kg. Colesworths said they’d buy them for $1.15/kg, take it or leave it. He left it.
DUDE!!!!!! ARE YOU STUPID????????? ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO CONFLATE WHOLE SALE PRICE TO RETAIL PRICE?????????? THE ARGUMENT YOU JUST STATED IS DELUSIONAL!!!!!!!!! EVEN COCOA BEANS SELL FOR LESS THAN THAT PER KILO!!!!!!!!!!!! YET COCOA BEANS MAKE CHOCOLATE AND THE END PRODUCT IS A LOT MORE EXPENSIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAVE YOU NEVER EVEN HEARD OF THE ECONOMIC TERM """"VALUE ADDED""""???????????? :D :D
Nothing would surprise me when it comes to the ruthlessly greedy grocery mafia.
@@leighwilliams3315 he was pretty pissed when they told him the rate. He said they were paying around what it cost to just grow the chillies.
And I wish farmers or other small suppliers did that more often. That is clearly misuse of power but name last big fine these guys copped for absuing it. I understand farmers often have limited choice but I don't know if getting screwed over all the time is something farmers aspire to?
Where I live (north coast of NSW) we are surrounded by blueberry farms. For a good while the punnets of blueberries in the local Coles and Woolies were from NZ, which seemed completely mad, until we learned that our local blueberry farmers sell most of their blueberries to Japan where they are willing to pay top dollar. When Coles and Woolies came knocking trying to dictate the price the farmers just laughed and told them unless they match the price they're getting from overseas they can piss off.
A few of those farmers have fancy cars and nice houses now, when they started with nothing, and I don't begrudge them one bit. They're clever and they created their own market. Good luck to 'em I say. Fuck Coles and Woolies.
There are some local blueberries at Woolies now, but they are mostly the "seconds" being flogged off cheap, stock that the farmers would otherwise just chuck out. The good Grade A premium stuff all goes to Japan.
The moment I discovered Woolies own all the poker machines in Australia was the moment I realised how corrupt the big supermarkets were. Being a CEO of a big corporation and being a politician are literally the same thing.
So where do you shop now?
Incorrect. Woolworths sold their stake in Endeavor Group in 2021. They do not earn money from ALH or EG anymore.
@@Jonesy1701 Thanks for the update, I don't think that makes me incorrect though. The fact is they DID own the majority of pokies for over a decade.
@@nickislade5533Local heroes - IGA/Foodland. I'm loving the "Gotcha" mentality of you two commenters though, nice try.
@@LimeGuy101 But they don't anymore, so what's making them so corrupt?
There's just NO TRUTH anywhere, anymore. 😢
Spot on. Gouged deceived and exploited at every turn.
When CEOs were prattling on for decades about “growth in profits”, this sort of duopoly gouging was exactly their objective.
It's about time Australians stand up and tell these thieving monopolized corporations to shove off with their price gouging. I just bought a car part from the U.K. that here in Australia cost $1200. I paid $480 after pound conversion with delivery within 6 days to my front door.. Something is not right here in Australia we sort these thieves out ..
So it was blindly simple to side-step high prices and get things much cheaper? What's the drama then?
You shouldn't have to do that. Most Aussies want to support local.
@@HesDeadJim Australia has about 10x higher (if not even higher still) labour and other input costs than SE Asia or Africa, etc. So sure, support local, but then don't complain about higher prices.
@@obliviouz but Coles and Woolworths have a higher PROFIT margin. Sure. That’s how it works.
@obliviouz what is it that you don't get fool
Lower Wages every day,ever notice that the majority of employees are newly arrived or first gen migrants?.
Ever heard of award wages
Coles pays at above award rate, and give their employees longer breaks than the award.
@@Jonesy1701the Coles in my town only do split shifts and they also add extra shifts to your roster and don't tell you 🤷♀️
@@esmeraldagreengate4354 Yep, not relevant to what I said tho is it? Those shifts are still paid at above award rate, and still entitle employees to longer breaks than provided for in the award.
Come to to my town in the South Australian bush they're all white sure theyre inbred but they're all white
Yes, I have heard that Australian vegies are cheaper in the UK than in Australia. If that is true, then the distance line is BS.
Time to spend more time at the "Farmers Market" and cut the supermarkets out.
Here in Brisbane, the Brisbane Markets have locked the public out of the wholesale market since corona virus. Not many farmers who grow commercially have time to go to the so called "farmers market".
Not necessarily whats going on.
If you have a greater demand volume for goods going into Australia from the UK than there is heading to the UK from Australia then there is going to be a cost imbalance between the two destinations. Even if the ships can off load in Australia then go somewhere else to pickup a load for another destination that portion of the cycle where the ship is underutilised will still be charged to someone, usually the port just came from.
Logistics is complicated. However, that being said, I still believe that Coles and Woolies are price gouging.
@arey1958Yep, which is exactly what they wanted, a total dependency on them. That's why they don't want you to have a small vegie garden.
None of this is of any relevance to the fact the the profits, the profits are higher. And profits are after all the expenses are taken out.
She's winning against you guys because you are arguing semantics just like she wanted from her irrelevant deflection away from that fact that she's not answered the question, and in fact she's just said a corporate buzz phrase.
@salesmanSo what should they be asking her then?
Even during the pandemic, when they were one of the few stores you could goto, so they would of made a killing, and now theyre still gouging. Absolute scumbags
They learnt they could get away with it. There's no real legal ramification they can't throw money at now, so why stop?
Same as petrol, rent, power all of it. Blue collar is going to snap eventually. France, Canada, NYC.
Late stages of the Roman Republic, my friend.
Coles used the pandemic as an excuse to delay an already negotiated wage increase for their workers too, even though they had record sales and most stores were selling out of many stock items every day. And, of course, the higher prices because of the extra demand.
@@pcppbadmintonI think they're still arguing about the EBA, that thing has been in the works for a long time, pretty sure it's been more than a year.
Just look at the new housing developments and how the local shops are now being set up. You will find a Coles or Woollies and a few shops like a hairdresser a tobacconist sometimes a Chemist, but nothing that will compete with the big supermarket, no fruit&veg no butcher and absolutely no 'corner shop' that sells a bit of everything.
If the local government do a deal with one or more of the big fast food chains as well you can forget about a fish&chip shop or a Pizza shop.
Oh no. Because there's no way whatsoever to go 10mins down the road to the next bunch of shops.
@@obliviouz I guess you live in Canberra where everything is only ten minutes away.
@@JohnH1 Australia is one of the most highly urbanised countries in the world. 99% of the population lives somewhere where everything is only 10 minutes away.
@@obliviouz I know I'm talking the the hand here but I'll say it anyway.
Not all suburbs have much in the way of local shops anymore, the giant shopping centres/Malls forced many of them to shut down.
As older suburbs are redeveloped small local shop owners are finding it very difficult to get approvals to move into the new premises even if they could afford the rent, San Remo on the NSW Central Coast was a prime example of that in the early 2000s.
Now Coles and Woolies are opening up small mini markets that are more expensive but they don't have any competition except for their own full sized supermarkets.
yup. Corporacracy.
Coles ate installing Prison Gates at every exit point in every store..
They treat their Customers with Contempt.
Indeed, soon you will need your digital ID to even enter a store. People don't get the new economy, they don't need your business, it's about social control
Just run into it with your trolley each time, claiming you couldn't see the perspex gate. Eventually it will break. Oh I'm so sorry in a rush (be on the phone too). The floor staff will do nothing.
We allow people to live on welfare which means they can only make money illegally and this is done by stealing by large companies like woolies and coles.
We voted for these gates and got what we voted for.
Actually it’s because they had massive theft. You’re probably a culprit
@@Ggekko2010 which they bought upon themselves by installing DIY checkouts. This, combined with the demographic shift we are experiencing and the associated change away from a trust based society.. they really don't need to look any further than themselves.
25 years ago, the manager of our local WW, reckon he could not buy the fresh green beans from the farm about 7km away because of company policy. The beans from that same farm were transported 2100km south to the market, purchased by WW, and then shipped 2100km back to that store. The boxes were displayed with the farms sticker identification and sold as " local beans"
How can they run a business like that.
Doesn't surprise me, but still absolutely disgusting.
That could be due to laws. I know back a couple of decades ago, it was illegal for farms to sell directly to retailers. All fruit and veg had to be sold via markets. I can only presume it has something to with allowing buyers equal choice to buy the same crops.
Easy consumer pays.
It's not because of the laws it's because to supply one Woolworths you have to commit to being able to supply every Woolworths in Australia
It costs more to fly the CEO and the executive team business class from one end of Australia to the other end. That is why grocery prices are very high.
Dont forget their property portfolios they need to pay for. a penthouse in each state capital or 3 doesnt pay for itself. And their Mercs and Audi's
Those expenses are before profit so?
That's not how it works.
people like you are the reason they do this stuff.
@@Blanchy10exactly
Just another Google sheep with let's bash the rich . Everything comes from somewhere else so they can say there's transport costs but they change 10 times as much very simple
Maybe she is talking about the costs accociated with importing so many of the products that they sell instead of supporting local businesses more like Aldi does. And Aldi manages to provide considerable savings to its customers compared to Coles and Woolworths and still makes a profit.
Nope cos profits = price minus costs. So if the cost rises by $3, say from $100 to $103, any price rise over either $3 or the same percentage (3%) is price gouging.
@@peterhoz define "price gouging" and I'll point to exactly where you would fail ECON101.
Cabinet stuffers maybe but not really saving much when it comes to meat and veg. It's the quality that matters. Buy mince from Coles than from the butcher, same price maybe but which one will go off quicker?
The answer is almost always the Coles mince.
@@obliviouz Exerting market power to increase prices to customers beyond what could be charged in a more competitive market and make excessive profits as judged by the society in which the business operates. Did I fail ECON101 yet?
@@jonathananderson349 You're not even in the right class. Go to creative writing maybe? The F are you even talking about... "as judged by the society..." jfc what meaningless drivel. Is your "society" youtube comment sections? Because that's a fucking depressing thought.
Keep boycotting. To anyone in Perth, Spudshed is where its at, the Baldivis store is massive and well priced.
Ayyye! gday fellow West Aussie 😊 I too shop at spushed baldivis (I'm in Rocko) and I shop at IGAs... have for 20+ years 😊
When a competitor eg greengrocer sets up nearby the immediate aim is to force them out by dropping prices below margin. After competitor leaves, prices go back up.
I've seen this a number of times with Woolies, don't know about coles
Woollies is about 88% foreign owned. Coles is about 55%. They don't give a shit about Australians. Aldi which I believe is completely foreign owned still does the best prices despite lacking a bit of variety.
Sounds like smart business practice.
@@Ghost-fe1vp sounds like taking choice away from people & knocking a little fellow down
bakers delight did exactly the same thing to small bakeries..
What's wrong with taking choice away from people. you say it as if that's an argument.@@margaretkobier
I just had the same conversation with my wife. My take as former regulatory adviser to a major Australian corporate - she got her talking points wrong. She was supposed to use that as the reason for higher prices i.e input costs. That’s what she rehearsed and when the question came that’s what she defaulted to
So how do people like that get the top jobs?
@@FairladyS130 diversity quotas is why 😂
small shops charge more ??? increase numbers of shops and prices will increase !!! coles/woolworths sell low quality meat cheaper than independent butchers - TRUE
Fair, but whether or not she got the talking points wrong, the main point that still stands is that these big businesses do not absorb any cost shocks that ever occur, they always pass on any additional costs straight to the consumer in the form of higher prices. This is called sellers inflation, where the effects of inflation are never localised and always passed down the chain. Because it has been happening so frequently in (relatively) large quantities, producers and consumers are being flipped over sideways and continuously rammed by greed. Woolies and Coles could absorb some of these additional costs, then groceries are cheaper, while people are richer (by spending less money on food), and they still maintain huge profits because of their massive economies of scale.
@@TAW856 Well it appears to be a man, so.. maybe.
Coles CEO sounds EXACTLY like a slimey politician.....
Yeah, she, like them (wanker pollies), are all a bucnh of sociopaths
Slight shift in topic: This is what drives me up the wall about ancappers.
These sorts of people don't just disappear when you remove a government. They just find themselves even more free to do what they want (assuming it was a democracy)
They make huge profits because they screw the guts out of the producer , went to a Woolworths tender choice field day years ago as they were looking for beef suppliers and walked away shaking my head as the hoops they expected you to jump through were ridiculous and of course we were expected to Absorb the costs
Now we get the real answers from someone who knows the facts and I totally agree
Same with Fruit & vegetables. The Colesworthmetcash certification is the same as general freshcare certification except there is an extra fee.
Next up, the big 4 banks. Each time the reserve bank increase interest rates, the banks increase theirs by double for loans within hours if not minutes while dragging their heels on savings and deposits for months and months. Westpac alone makes more than $7 billion in profit in 2023 compared to Coles record $1.1 billion same year.
Banks are listed on the ASX. SIMPLES conflict of interest. Keep shareholders and superfund happy by maximising profits for them. When acheived the CEO recieves the biggest bonus and payouts than any individual shareholder does. Keep shareholders happy or keep customers happy? Can't do both and there lies our biggest problem.
@@waitawhileexplorer3904 yep, more fees and rip off on the customers the higher their share price. But Coles and Woolworths are also on the ASX, higher the price gouging the higher profit margin and better dividends and share price.
Don't ever use any insurance company that sells shares.
@@waitawhileexplorer3904so are the supermarkets? What’s your point?
If you've ever worked for coles or one of their suppliers then you're well aware it's ALL about the profits and nothing else, like the old saying goes" if you can't dazzle them with brilliance then baffle them with bulls@it".
No shit, it's a profit-making business, not a charity.
Coles and Woolies do give a lot to charity, though I find it a little ironic that they donate food to families who can't afford their prices. It's like the fire fighting arsonist; cause a problem then help fix it.
Companies that want to provide a basic need (food, water, shelter, energy, etc) shouldn't be putting excessive profits or share price first, nor acting in an anti-competitive manner and they should be called out every single time they do. There are plenty of scummy non-essential industries and services they can invest or branch into if they want to screw people over for a higher percentage.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU this sort of short, sharp reaction content is solely missing from the Australian dialogue and done by none other than the esteemed Richard Dennis. Keep this up.
And this type of brainless, utterly meaningless comments is what the Australian discourse is actually filled with.
@@obliviouzAnd wow! You're knockin' them dead in the aisles.
Are Coles and Woolworths paying you per trolley troll trolling comment?😅
@@typetersen8809 Stupidity offends me, populist/trendy stupidity even more so. And so.. basically this entire comment section.
@@typetersen8809I've noticed that almost every comment has a reply from him too. It crossed my mind too... What skin does he have in the game lol...
@@obliviouz Wow. Care to justify your argument? Ironic you attack my intelligence but provide no rationale. You sir, are a troll. Get some sunshine.
YES! I picked this up when it was first said on 4corners. Obviously the reporter missed it. Higher costs yes, but it's not an excuse for higher profit margins cos profits are prices minus costs.
Maybe not higher margins, just higher profits. If they're taking a 5% margin their profit will go up as costs increase.
Aldi will do well out of all this.
Aldi is almost the same as them lol
They are just lying
whats a colesworths?
@@windwaker0rules huh ?
To be fair, it's a good business model, lie and profiteer by ripping off both suppliers and consumers, and there's no negative consequences.
@@bridgetclinch3678 hopefully eventually it will end then
@@bridgetclinch3678 hopefully eventually it will end then
It’s like hearing a criminal explain why they broke the law using absolute nonsense. Bunch a con artist is all they are.
There's nothing criminal about making high profits.
Leah Weckert has no criminal convictions, nor are any (seriously) being alleged against her.
@@oskartheme5233We'll see what the ACCC has to say about that. It might be that nothing will happen, but the ACCC has pulled a few other industries into line over the years so you never know. Prof Allan Fels is very tenacious. If the ACCC can prove there was/is collusion then that's a criminal offense. They could get fined big time, the legal system takes a very dim view on collusion. If I were them I'd be worried.
@@oskartheme5233 It wasn't illegal to take indigenous children from their mothers once either - doesn't make it right though.
@@tdunster2011Let me rephrase: There's nothing _wrong_ with making high profits.
They are spending $0 on transport. Cherry farmer said he delivered them 15000kg of cherries for which they paid him $0.40/kg which was under $6000 for 15 tonnes 😌
No they ain't lol.
When you notice their prices going up way more than the official inflation rate, it doesn't look right.
Yeah... here's the thing, they don't go above the CPI. Their prices follow it exactly.
@@Jonesy1701 you get that from a Woolies pamphlet mate?
The cost of many grocery items I regularly buy has gone up by 10%, 20% or more in the last year alone. Please explain how that is "exactly following CPI"?
They charge whatever they can for the things we need to survive
@@dielaughing73 Yeah so this is from Coles Group's submission to the Senate Select Committee on Supermarket Prices, figure 4.3. There inevitably will be products that are outliers, but on average, the prices are below CPI, but follow the trajectory of it, which is to be expected.
A market basket of goods that a typical household purchases, im assuming basic foods would be a high percentage in that market basket, i havent researched it, it just looks dodgy to me.
Thanks for the update Billy Brownless. The amount of times she stress gulped in that interview was wild.
billy wishes he was richard. but then, there's dunning-kruger, so..
Old Fat 😂
Stress gullped ? you don't get to make up words only Google does when will you understand that . And what qualifications do you have as a body language expert to be saying that
Her response about the supplier paying a $25000 bribe to increase prices was a deflection, not an explanation.
Coles and Woolies are hell bent on destroying the local growers and manufacturers. It won't be long before every grocery item will get out sourced to other countries.
If other countries do it cheaper what's the issue
@@patrickbateman1660 perhaps the hundreds of thousands of jobs that we have in farming/producing the food here??
@@patrickbateman1660 That's the dumbest reply in this comment section. Congrats.
They've been doing that for 20 years you can't buy local produce in Australia anymore
I asked the security guard in there for protection from them as they kept trying to slip me a mickey and commit cardinal sins against my wallet, As in everything these high up scumbags hide and their poor staff cop the ire of customers
Ok stop trying to be funny it doesn't work with you
Simples.. boycott the big gougers, just to spite them into line... Shop at the local small independent grocers, whereever you can. Like, for small things such as bred, milk, and eggs. And your local butcher and baker for meat and bread. Coles sells the best meat, but a good butcher sells just as good, some even better (like my guy, Nathan at Lane Cove with heaps of organic choices) and Woolies sell the best fresh veges, but so do the farmer's markets around Sydney.
We should just boycott them for a little while. Even just 1 month? They'll start to lay off, for sure.
Why does spite have to be involved? Everyone should be buying where produce is the cheapest, that's how a market works. Anyone deliberately buying at more expensive places has absolutely noone to blame but themselves.
In UK prices have gone through the roof.... Any excuse now to max profits 😢❤️🇬🇧
@@user-bz9cb8bp2yMaximising profits is what companies have done since time immemorial. Anyone who keeps using this line is just exposing themselves as being completely ignorant of basic economics.
@@obliviouzconvenience comes at a cost. Having a single place to visit that isn't a long drive away, Being able to park your car etc. it's not always that straight forward.
@@HesDeadJim If you understand that convenience comes at a cost, why are you complaining about that cost *literally* being in higher prices? That's what "costs" usually are.
The bigger question is why do we think it's ok to let big private corporations extort our population for a basic of life food? Surely people having trouble eating is far worse for the economy than a corp being banned from profiteering off it.
If only there was some kind of common ownership of the means of production?
Why? Because Capitalism won the cold war. Then Reagan, Thatcher and Howard sold us on "Greed is good, Socialism evil", and here we are, repeating the mistakes of the late 19th and early 20th century.
We failed to learn from history are doomed to repeat it
Listening to some people, hunger and homelessness keeps the poors working hard so they don't have to die of starvation or exposure
Since when has big business had a sense of morality- never, so what are you talking about.
Because we are a country that fetishises privatisation of common interests, that believe the urinal of trickle down economics.
People need to shop directly from farmers' markets more. Check your lical area's where the nearest one is and support local growers and buchers.
She should be stripped of her finances and made to live off her own excrement
Just unbelievable how could she give that answer with a strait face.😂😂😅😅😢😢😮
She thought she could join the chaser's war on everything
Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock said inflation is because too many people were getting haircuts. All their answers seem to come from the mind of a child
Because she is speaking to the Aussie. Brainless she'll be right attitude
Seems about the kind of comment I'd expect from someone who doesn't know the difference between "straight" and "strait".
@@obliviouz if you were trying to win an award for dickhead of the week you won it
Big corporations have ALWAYS bled Australians..its NOT NEW....Only difference is because of the human rights abuses during the pandemic...the ACCC..Might have to do some real work for once...or is this a keep their eyes averted measure?🤔🤨
here's a clue. Western governments in particular have caused much inflation with fiscal policy of late and much more is due in the coming years. Operations like these shift the blame where it is not due. If we dispersed the profits from woolies in Australia then each citizen would receive $68 for the 2023 business year. A meaningless amount considering the modern service it allows (not that i am a fan of modern supermarkets for many other reasons). And then with this done you will starve. After this propaganda distraction is over neither will any meaningful action have been taken against the food duopoly. Its all a low cost smoke screen to make political life a little easier at the top, enrage the masses.
Same crapp with Bunnings . They now occupy market share and have the ability to lean on their suppliers not to sell to any one else . They are not competing on price , on some items the local plumbing shop is 30% cheeper .
Australia we need to keep this ball rolling . Woolies ceo has jumped ship already and we have only just started .
Unfortunately people won't stop shopping at these places because they're lazy and they just want to get home really quickly so they can play with their toys again
@@James-kv6kb that is true
@@mrrein9550 Cheers .
Just a crock of shit. Our population lives within the eastern seaboard... The freight out bush is a minority of sales and that's what they're trying to right off. All ports are nothing more than a truck drivers day shift away.
You don't even need to rebut her excuse, because we're talking about profits, calculated after the costs of doing business.
I think we have to face up to the fact that crony capatilism is how Australia's economy 'works'. A travesty to the principles of market economics, and an undemocratic one at that.
There's no "cronyism" involved here, just market forces and a under-competitive market because of Australia's smaller population and geographic isolation. FFS, if you want to sound smart by using big words, at least learn what they mean first.
@@obliviouz They aren't big words. They have specific and pertinent meanings. Whatever issues you've got going on in your life, better to speak with a counselor than take them out on some random commentator on RUclips.
@@andrewthomas695 Obvious 'whoosh' is obvious. No shit 'cronyism' isn't a big word, and yet you still don't know what it means. Though case in point: you're just a "commenter", not a "commentator". Stop using big words you don't know the meanings of.
@@obliviouz But I never said cronyism was a big word. You just did. 🤣. Also, how the hell would you know what I do and don't know? You have no way of knowing either way. For all you know, I might actually be really smart! Only a fool would make a judgement based on next to no information as you have just done. It's been fun @obliviouz, but I'll see you around. Not.
@@andrewthomas695 You don't know the difference between "commenter" (someone who comments), and "commentator" (someone who provides commentary). No, there's zero risk you're really smart.
If anything, the long distances and higher transport costs are a barrier to entry for new players in the market, leading to lower competition and higher prices
100% especially when they have such economies of scale with volume and scale and are probably able to reduce unit economics significantly along with investment into supply chain automation
@@jrey7171you say that like it’s a bad thing? Would you prefer they were less efficient, so that everything cost more?
@@Ggekko2010 Unfortunately don't agree as your statment is way to simple and surface level. Everything does cost more as shown by the higher margins in Colesworth vs UK in the video and because as Lachd has pointed out that barriers to entry create a duopoly. There's no competition so the supermarkets aren't competing on price so the savings don't get passed on. All the supermarkets do is levarage volume, increase barriers to entry, squeeze suppliers on cost of goods and basically collude as shown by the correlation of price increases between Colesworth to keep making mega profit
It’s linked to executive and board STI and LTIs. Short & Longs Term Incentives.
Maximising shareholder value often leads to price maximisation (gouging), which means bigger bonuses and pay rises for the decision makers.
Essentially it’s a profiteering scheme. Which ultimately breakdown consumer trust and undermines the brand, top line revenue as customers go elsewhere, and ultimate shareholder value. This is a proven economic outcome.
you are the first person to mention the elephant in teh room. SHAREHOLDERS.
thats all that matters. "profit". what IS profit?
happy shareholders. not happy customers. happy SHAREHOLDERS.
A very very, quick Google search 'stakeholders Coles and Woolies' there they are: Black Rock and Vanguard. We're doomed.
It's not only prices, it's also quantities per items. Some products have increased in price while the quantity of product decreased... if a product changes in terms of net weight, it should be on the label by law for at least a couple of months...
lnteresting that she mentions the UK; just one visit to Waitrose or Sainsbury's would shock the average Australian shopper - to discover that by comparison, Coles & Woolworths are pitifully worse than substandard when it comes to both, choice and quality.
Moscow supermarkets are on 3 floors, there is no comparison
Yet Coles only made a 2.6% profit margin...
Can’t recall the last time I saw a Coles supermarket in a regional town, they predominately operate in major capitals 🤦♂️
Myrtleford, Victoria.
My town.
I'm in Cairns - we have several Coles, in town & in suburbs. Woolies too. Both are mongrels.
Traralgon Victoria. People are openly boycotting the self serve check outs though due to the recent ‘prison gates’
Only an IGA in my town and they are expensive.
I’m glad you picked up on this I was shaking my head at that comment whilst watching the 4 corners interview!
She makes no sense… more expenses does NOT = more Profit! Nada! WTF is she paid for…?
The major players own their own trucks or to major transport companies that do it for a cost price plus a %. I used to work out the costing for a similar major transport company with 600 drops a day just in Brisbane and it was at around 7% + cost. So a bag of rice went from $5.90 to $24 in 3 years with the farmers getting less. The larger the foot print for property the cheaper per sq meter. I live on a 4000sq block a block down the road on 700sq is 3/4 of the price of my home
I watching her say this and my immediate reaction was "So what?".
The Government needs to step in here and do something to stop this madness
I watched a short video of Tucker Carlson earlier today, he was shopping in Russia. He wanted to compare costs re 'inflation'. The experiment was, shopping for a week for a family of 4. In America, his trolley load cost $400. For a similar trolley load in Russia, just over $100, $103.??. And he could get awesome bread varities. Comments said New Zealanders could buy NZ lamb, beef, cheese etc overseas on holiday for half the price they pay in NZ...with some of the farms being just up the road from them. So, how can NZ produce cost HALF AS MUCH after being exported halfway around the world, than it does in its OWN COUNTRY??! The math aint mathing.
I watched that as well, he was stunned.
@@mablesfatalfable6021 You invade an independent country and kill hundreds of thousands then yeah you are bad, putins destroyed two countries. Ukraine will recover but russia is finished. Maybe russia isn't evil but Putin is.
I have noticed that something that costed $1 to $2 pre Covid is now $8 occasionally on special for six.
Yet other things with tighter margins but about the same level of supply and demand have only doubled in price, and other things are now much lower quality.
Great take and presentation Richard Denniss. 1:46 1:47 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My wife and I travel to the uk frequently and I’ve taken photos of uk supermarket costs and shown people here in oz and they are shocked at our price gouging
Price gouging, yet Coles only made a 2.6% profit margin...
@@JJ-hu4zm I'm so glad you love it. It's just astonishing how little people have actually bothered to look into this. Yes, they made $1.098b, I am well aware, but the dollar figure is not significant. The margin is. And it's only 2.6%. Hell, I made a higher margin than them. For every $100 a customer spends, the business first has to fork out $97.40 in expenses leaving them just $2.60. 1 billion is a lot to an individual, but Coles is not an individual, they are a national company operating over 1,800 sites. 1 billion is not something you should be surprised about. You should expect it.
Companies can only raise prices if consumers keep buying. So in Australia, your consumers obviously are willing to spend more money on food. Makes sense since one needs food or starves. What you may want to look at is the luxury products? How are they doing? Are Australians able to buy higher priced food by not buying watches or other luxury goods? Economics is a spider web of complexity yet so many people focus on just one strand that they get stuck.
just to line the CEO pocket
It is called Australian Tax!
And what can we do about it ?... absolutely nothing
I can tell you why it makes them more profit, it’s because they add up all the costs and double it then add gst. So if a steak cost $10 plus $10 ancillary it’s $20 doubled to $40. So if freight becomes $15 cost os mow $25 doubled to $50. So as costs go up profits grow exponentially
They don't make more profit. Whoever made the graph has calculated the profit margins wrong. Coles made a 2.6% margin, Woolworths made a 2.5% margin.
Same in NZ. Time for the CEO’s to be taxed at 97%.
ARE YOU STUPID?????????? FIRST OF ALL, THEN CEO'S WILL JUST BE PAID WITH STOCK OPTIONS, UNLESS THEY ALREADY ARE BEING PAID BY STOCK OPTIONS, WHICH IF SO, WOULD PROBABLY BE BY STOCK PERFORMANCE CRITERIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEN THERE WOULD BE ZERO INCOME TO BE TAXED!!!!!!!!! SINCE STOCK, HOWEVER ACQ2UIRED, DOES NOT CONSTITUTE INCOME UNTIL THE STOCK IS EXERCISED (SOLD)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEREBY TURNING THE """"UNREALIZED"""" GAINS, INTO """"REALIZED"""" GAINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHICH EVEN THEN, IF THE PERSON IS BEING PAID IN A FOREIGN CURRENCY AND/OR BEING PAID IN A DIFFERENT COUNTRY / INSTITUTION / BANK, WHICH IS DIFFERENT TO THE COUNTRY THEY WORK IN, THEN YOUR ENTIRE PREMISE IS DELUSIONAL!!!!!!!!!! NOT TO MENTION THAT MOST CEO'S WILL JUST USE THEIR STOCK AS COLLATERAL TO GET EXTREMELY LOW INTEREST RATE LOANS FROM BANKS (WHICH IS QUITE EASY TO GET IF YOU ARE A CEO OF A PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANY - SIDE NOTE - NO, IT IS NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE RICH OR ANY OF YOUR OTHER DELUSIONS - IT IS SIMPLY BECAUSE THE STOCK OF A MASSIVE PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANY FROM A CEO IS AN EXTREMELY LOW RISK OF DEFAULTING ON THEIR LOANS - THEREFORE, THE LOW INTEREST RATE IS DUE TO THE LOW RISK, SINCE THE AMOUNT OF RISK, THAT A SPECIFIC BORROWER REPRESENTS, IS WHAT INDICATES THE INTEREST RATE OF A LOAN)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALSO, LOANS USING AS COLLATERAL ARE NOT CONSIDERED INCOME AND THEREFORE ARE NOT TAXABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D
I have known and hated for a long time, that Coles and Woolworths are ripping of their customers. You just need to watch the prices over a 6 month period to know this, especially their specials. For example a hypothetical block of chocolate might cost $3.50 in March and in May the price is pushed up as a false increase to $4, then in June the price is back to $3.50 as a special. You think it is now a special so you buy it but you would not have in March when it was the same price.I have seen this same strategy used across every product they sell.
The other strategy i have noticed is the empty shelves, this is a psychological sales tactic, if you think something is scars then you will buy it cause you don't want to miss out if you need it. The other tactic is scarcity makes items more valuable so the price could go up.
This was extremely apparent during covid when the shelves were empty for woolworths and not coles and visa versa. Woolworths and Coles both use scarcity to rip of customers regardless of the crisis.
There’s absolutely nothing worse for a retailer than an empty shelf and nothing could be less deliberate. You sound like a paranoid whinger
And yet it follows CPI exactly.
There’s these mr Chen noodle packs that are $7.50 normally, and occasionally on sale for $7.50 with the “marked down from $14.00!” on them.
Genuine fuckery
And on the same day that the media got involved woolworths dropped there prices across the board, nearly every item had a sale sticker. Only a guilt company would react that way. There is no way either company is sticking to the CPI, considering that farmers have not raised their prices, and yet woolworths raise prices at least every 16 weeks.
@@Linrox Any sources for that? Or is it just anecdotal and speculation? Coles and Woolworths prices do stay in-line with CPI, go read their submissions to the Senate Select Committee on Supermarket Prices.
She just argued against her point 😂
As a former employee of Woolies (I had to quit before I hurt myself), I can also say that each time we got a "pay rise" (of a few cents), the bosses would cut the store budgets for wages. So fewer staff on the shop floor, no one to help customers, one or two staff on checkouts, then they call floor staff to help them, leaving their own job unfinished, and so the cycle continues... I left in November after a few months off throughout the year with extreme anxiety and I'm still shaking. They don't care if you KY.
I've heard from a friend they'll next be getting rid of the service desk/express area and having a kiosk in the middle of the shop to help customers. Just one person. Don't know how true this is, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happens.
They both maintain prices at similarly inflated levels for many key items so that really we have either a monopolistic duopoly or collusive trading
They got caught colluding ,many years back. Slap on the wrist as per usual.
I'd say they are actually owned by the same people. Unofficially of course
Oh two things, break up the duopoly and regulate the market 1970’s style. Enough is enough.
The problem is the personality that's required to become a CEO as in being aggressive, being arrogant, showing a lack of empathy and interested in collecting the biggest salary they can is the very same reason these personalities shouldn't be a CEO, to assume this Coles CEO had no idea that her Click and Collect workforce are working in 35° heat is ridiculous and a lie.
The coles CEO controlled the interview only answering the hard questions she wanted and providing the expected generic replies to others, unfortunately this will always be the case as there's no direct & PERSONAL punishment for these so-called humans, I'm glad you're one of the very few that mentioned she "gets paid" millions of dollars as most make them mistake of suggesting they "earn" millions of dollars.
She's a sociopath. Thats the personality
"Gets paid" vs "Earns"
Yes, you got it! 😂
Jail time for her.
So shouldnt they be running at a lose? Based on what she just said the density of population vs density of grocers would make the entire chain inefficient.
No no, just harder. Coles is such a large company that they can sustain it, but it ain't cheap. They operate on a 2.6% margin.
It used to be a five percent margin
Thank you for calling out the age old and time honoured economic principle of "taking the piss" in action.
From what I see It's so clear... we pay for full freight prices too, they pay not a cent!!! 😡
Come to New Zealand - we've got Woolworths and one other competitor so the prices are crazy
Countdown… to a monopoly
Countdown and New World ARE Coles and Woolworths.
I noticed this too! I’m so glad you called it out!
And right now, during local election time, none of the Politicians are talking about what they'll do about it. Surprise surprise. 🙄
i think they are much more profitable then they say, the reason been the size of the property portfolio that is owned bu both coles and woolworths is never really calculated and god knows how they calculate that asset for asset value and tax purposes, they are becoming like maccas of the supemarket industry a property owner nor a retail business, i would love to know what their true wholesale /retail margin is.the farmer who tried to sell 15 tonnes of cherries for 90k thts only 6 bucks a kilo most of the time they sell it for 18 bucks a kilo at the end they gave him 40cents a kilo wow, i am sure there is a lot more then what meets the eye.then again they all do it look at the petrol prices
Aldi is way cheaper and better quality
Aldi is woke.
Coles is muuuuch woker 😂🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
If you lie to an officer of the law, it's a crime. But if you lie to a citizen, it's not a crime. So that's how Coles get away with it.
Since 2021, prices at Woolworths has increased 29.13%.
There should me an entire month where every Australian shops at IGA, Aldi, etc and NOT at Coles or Woolworths. Only when they have no revenue over a 4 week period they will change their rip-off ways. With people power, these bandits be held to account. Who is for April being the Coles and Woolworhs boycott month?
I'm up for that!
Wont happen. Lets not forget what human nature can fester. There are lots that are PROUD they can still afford to shop at coles and wollies for everything! "Only peasants go to those other places"
Mateship spirit dead..? 😔
And that is why I don't shop at Cole's or Woolies.
And the fact they are removing the checkout staff to herd us into self serve, we don't get paid to do their jobs, so I refuse to go self serve. I go to supermarkets that employ people to serve me
Having worked in the food industry for many years - both here and the UK - Australia needs more competition. There are about 10 brands in the UK. 4 in Australia. Pricing here is diabolical. There is no actual price base to genuinely compare. And the big 2 demand - and always get - about 30% margin from every supplier. They take from everyone. And the quality and selection is woeful compared to the UK. Seasonal fruits are rarely tasty and always eye-watering expensive. More choice, better customer satisfaction.
When Paul Keating said "Australia is a country you fly over on your way to Europe"....he was stating 'Australians' could fly to Europe, go shopping, fly back home, and it would STILL be cheaper than going to Coles or Woolworths..!!
Thats not all
Nothing was mentioned about the removal of the grocery wholesaler. As the colesworths do their own buying and distribution without competition This affects the price as well as the distribution of the proceeds in the community. It has also decimated the indipendants as the wholesale distribution market is so small now there are very few left and Indipendants cant even source goods. Let alone the bordering on fraudulent trading practices re guaranteed prices and house brand booze.
We should nationalize Cole's and Woolworths
Umm they are private companies not government owned. If you want to pressure them to change encourage other supermarket chains to open up
Give our food to the gooberment? Like they wouldnt then fk with us.
@@davidreynolds2117 A government can nationalise any company at any time for the benefit of its population.
Ok comrade 🫡
Less government, not more - please
They think we're stoopid and too many of us are.
The old "Australia has a small population" argument. Not making any sense for decades and still used as a ready excuse for overcharging.
I have watched the both Coles and Woolworths lower the price of their fruit and veg when a green grocer started up, then after they put them out of business raise the prices by a dollar an item, the same for the butcher and fish seller. Once they destroy the competition they just raise the prices again.
That's competition working - greater competition, lower prices. If the competition couldn't sustain those lower prices, then those prices were artificial anyway and the higher prices *are* actually the natural market price.
Where I live we have Coles, Woollies, Aldi, and IGA, we have 6 independent butchers, 3 independent grocery stores, and an Asian grocery store, and not a big town, but a big area.
Other than the things that I can’t get anywhere else but the big 3, I rarely go to them.
I think it's immoral selling items at below cost because you are a billion dollar company only to force out the single shops then put your prices back up to full price plus 5%@@obliviouz
They sell at a loss because they can absorb it unlike the little guy. I was a manager for Woolworths, they had 7 levels of pricing for meat and veg departments. Level 7 was to crush the little schmuck who may have opened next door. @@obliviouz
@@jesusisking8502 So is the complaint that their prices are too high, or that they're too low? Or maybe, just that people like to bitch and moan no matter what?
My cousin lives in Jakarta Indonesia, he’s paying $14 a kilo for Australian Kilcoy rib fillet. What are we paying at Coles, Woolies and butchers? $30 $40 $50 per kilo? Just like casinos we should have government agents embedded in these retailers to ensure they aren’t gouging, because food is a necessity, not a luxury.
And how much do Indonesian truckers, retail workers, etc make compared to Aussies?
Australia Post has been parroting the same excuse for eon, way before Amazon stepped into the country and show them what systemic delivery is all about.
Actually. What she was saying is this.
It’s costing more for the products to be made, transported and put on shelves. So we are putting those costs onto you the consumer to protect and increase THIER OWN profits.
At the same time, they screw the producers to reduce prices and therefore the producers profits to increase the supermarkets profits.
Exactly! Well said .
I remember years ago reading that a major US food retailer (perhaps Walmart or Costco) sent a team to investigate expanding to Australia. The team of experts returned after a long study to conclude that the Australian market was so tightly stitched up and controlled between Woolworths and Coles that they simply couldn't get a foothold and not to bother.
Woolworths and Coles own so much more than just their supermarkets, to the point where a huge slice of every dollar you spend in retail outside of supermarkets still goes to them.
Coles has Target, K-Mart and Bunnings, Woolworths also has BigW
@@jamesperkins191 oh it’s far more than that. Woolworths for example own things like (through a subsidiary) Dan Murphy’s, a whole host of properties, retail shopping spaces, pubs, marinas you name it. Just watch the Four Corners program, they touch on Coles owning wineries.