Trevor Eastwood AM today announced he would be stepping down as Chairman of Wesfarmers Limited at the company’s Annual General Meeting in November 2008. Mr Eastwood took up the role as Chairman of Wesfarmers, one of Australia’s largest companies and owners of Coles Group, in 2002 after joining the Board back in 1994. The company advised that Dr Bob Every, a current Non-Executive Director, will succeed Mr Eastwood on November 13, with Dr Every to take on the position of Deputy Chairman... ...Read more »
The self-service revolution is upon us, as Australian consumers demand greater choice and retailers begin to understand the considerable benefits of the new technology. It is changing the way businesses operate and interact with consumers; with supermarkets, airlines and banks key symbols of the trend. The introduction of ATM’s some 40 years ago can be attributed to the growth of self-service options, but it has only been in the past 5-10 years that self-service technology has really taken... ...Read more »
Major legislation changes are likely to be recommended when the ACCC release their report into the competitiveness of the grocery industry, based on comments made by ACCC Chairman Graeme Samuel yesterday. Speaking at a lunch hosted by the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Mr Samuel indicated that he thought certain companies may have provided them with information that they would have preferred to keep secret.”The public hearings enabled us to put some people under the pump to find... ...Read more »
Archie Norman, the former boss of UK retailer Asda, continues to lure high profile executives to assist Coles with their re-development. Mr Norman has been hired as a consultant by Wesfarmers to assist with the Coles turnaround and has already been instrumental in hiring of former Asda employee Ian McLeod to the position of CEO. The Asda influence is particularly strong with announcements that former Asda colleagues, Joe Blundell and Gavin Parker, will join Mr McLeod’s team in the positions... ...Read more »
Woolworths has announced that they are to extend their HomeShop service to areas in the south of Queensland. Woolworths set-up their HomeShop business, which provides home delivery of groceries, in February 1998. At the moment the business only operates in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne but they are now extending to Brisbane, Ipswich and the Gold Coast before the end of the year. The news comes in the wake of a UK report by Verdict Research indicating that grocery retail is set to overtake... ...Read more »
A wave of ‘green’ supermarkets is set to hit Australia as supermarkets begin to tackle alarming emission rates. The concept, which follows similar commitments by European supermarkets, primarily revolves around the improvement of refrigeration systems to lower global warming potential of refrigerants. A $2 million Federal Government grant has been provided to the Green Cooling Council (formerly the NRTB), under the Greenhouse Gas Abatement Program, to evaluate the benefits of new technologies... ...Read more »
The ACCC Grocery Price Inquiry held it’s last planned public hearing in Melbourne yesterday, with Metcash the final company to be put under the spotlight. Metcash, Australia’s largest wholesaler, was questioned on a range of issues, which have already been highlighted throughout the preceding months. The ACCC was particularly interested in the strength of price competition provided by independent grocers to the major supermarkets. ACCC Chairman, Graeme Samuel, questioned Metcash CEO,... ...Read more »
As major Australian supermarkets continue their push away from nationally advertised brands toward private labels, UK retailer Marks & Spencer, the quintessential private label retailer, has tentatively reversed the trend by committing to using branded products for the first time. The famous UK institution has announced that they will trial an offering of around 350 branded products in 19 of their stores in June. “This trial aims to offer customers greater convenience but not... ...Read more »
Retailers, including Coles and Woolworths, are working with the Office of Fair Trading to identify a brand of tongs which is believed to be the possible cause of metal found in food products around Australia in recent months. A joint national police investigation led by the Queensland Police Service in conjunction with Queensland Health and other State Health Authorities was carried out in relation to the matter. The investigation established that there was no evidence of criminal activity or poor... ...Read more »
It now appears that unit pricing will be prevalent in Australian supermarkets within 12 months in the wake of comments made by Chief Operating Officer of Coles, Mick McMahon, at yesterday’s hearing into grocery prices. Mr McMahon told the inquiry that Coles, which has previously been non-committal to the idea, now supported unit pricing. “Our view is that unit pricing will benefit customers and we would prefer to see this adopted universally by all supermarkets and food retailers across... ...Read more »