The latest survey on the GROCERYchoice website has indicated that, on a total grocery basket, Woolworths supermarkets are the cheapest in 45 of the 61 regions surveyed. This compares with 30 of 61 regions in the previous month’s survey. Independents are again the cheapest in the Eastern Central Queensland sector, with Coles on top in the other 15 regions. The basket prices represent the average price for a retailer within a specified region, not the price for a specific individual supermarket... ...Read more »
A new survey has discovered that many UK consumers have been willing to change supermarkets during the downturn in order to save money. In the poll conducted by Empathy Research for TalkingRetail.com, over a third indicated the choice of their current primary supermarket has been influenced “a little” by the credit crunch, with a further 16 per cent suggesting it had been influenced “a lot”. Only 58% would visit the same supermarket consistently for their weekly shop, with... ...Read more »
Five innovative south-east Queensland-based companies have won 2008 Environmental Protection Agency Sustainable Industries Awards, for outstanding performance in environmental best practice. Queensland’s Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation Minister Andrew McNamara congratulated ALDI, Consolidated Rutile, Leightons, News Limited and RedFlow at the Awards ceremony held on the Gold Coast last week. “The awards highlight the importance of the Bligh Government’s Toward Q2 vision... ...Read more »
Costco, one of the world’s top ten retailers by sales, remains committed to their expansion plans in Australia in spite of economic concerns. The company is due to open their first site at Docklands in Melbourne next year and Sydney is slated as the next market for the American giant to enter. They remain coy about their future expansion in the country, but are not too concerned about the softening in consumer demand witnessed in Australia this year. “We still plan to have one site in... ...Read more »
The latest grocery market share figures, published by TNS Worldpanel for the 12 weeks ending 5th October 2008 confirm that the growth of value-based grocery retailers continues apace. Total Grocers grew at 6.7% year-on-year which reflected food price inflation rather than any real growth. Aldi continue their strong run with growth of 22.1% for the latest 12 weeks, which is a record as the share reaches 3.0%. The German discounter has also begun to make inroads within Australia, as many consumers... ...Read more »
Peak retail body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) today criticised the Rudd Government’s GROCERYchoice website as a “brand promotion” tool for Australian supermarkets after the October grocery survey data released today labelled a major supermarket brand as the ‘cheapest’. ARA’s Executive Director Richard Evans believes the ‘highlights’ section of the GROCERYchoice website shows dangerous signs of government brand promotion. “Since its... ...Read more »
The second GROCERYchoice data has been posted on the GROCERYchoice website, www.grocerychoice.gov.au, with the gap between Coles, Woolworths and independents narrowing, according to the ACCC. The latest survey shows that, on a total grocery basket, Coles supermarkets are the cheapest in 40 of the 61 regions surveyed. This compares with 52 of 61 regions in the inaugural GROCERYchoice survey. On prices for a basic staples basket Coles also came out comfortably ahead of their primary rival this month,... ...Read more »
The ACCC report into the state of competition in the grocery sector was released to mixed reactions yesterday. Federal Government “I believe that our action plan, combined with the broader reforms that are already in train to further strengthen competition policy, such as the amendments to the misuse of market power provision and the criminalisation of serious cartel conduct, will ensure that the grocery market remains competitive,” the Assistant Treasurer, Chris Bowen, said. “The introduction... ...Read more »
The ACCC report into the state of competition in the grocery industry has been released, with a number of recommendations mooted to improve competition. It should be noted, however, that the ACCC believe the issue of food inflation may have been overstated in some quarters. Australian Food News reports on the ACCC’s response to the major issues raised during the Inquiry. In General - Key Findings The ACCC suggest that the current nature of grocery retailing in Australia is “workably... ...Read more »
The Rudd Government today released its preliminary action plan in response to the Report of the ACCC inquiry into ‘the competitiveness of retail prices for standard groceries’. The Report reveals there is real reform to be had in Australia’s grocery sector, according to the Government. Despite the Report establishing that “grocery retailing is workably competitive” it also highlighted a number of factors that currently limit the level of competition including “the... ...Read more »