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 »
Coles is among the first retailers in Australia to implement a natural refrigerant system in its new Ropes Crossing store, opening this September. The system will eliminate up to 700 tonnes from the store’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. The Ropes Crossing development was completed with the assistance of the Green Cooling Council, a not-for-profit organisation founded by members and suppliers of the refrigeration industry. The Green Cooling Council (formerly the NRTB) has been working with... ...Read more »
The Transport Workers Union, the leading union for truck drivers, has reported that they plan to hold demonstrations every fortnight until the major retailers respond to their requests for better pay. Hundreds of truck drivers participated in a strike at the Woolworths outlet in Rosehill last Friday morning and this followed a protest at the Woolworths store in St. Clair two weeks previously. On Friday they walked from the racecourse to the supermarket for a speech by union reps before stopping nearby... ...Read more »
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission yesterday handed their 642-page report into the state of competition in the grocery industry to the Federal Government and it has been suggested that a “competition test” may be among the recommendations. Changes already mooted have included unit pricing, which appears certain, changes to restrict “creeping acquisitions”, a price monitoring system and the introduction of an industry ombudsman. Alterations to zoning restrictions... ...Read more »
Planet Retail has announced the world’s top 30 grocery retailers (by sales), with Wal-Mart at the top of the heap for the tenth straight year. Sales of US$395.31* billion (A$419.45 billion) last year enabled US retailer Wal-Mart to eclipse the French-based Carrefour in second place, which had approximately A$145 billion in sales. Tesco, the leading UK retailer, climbed from fourth to third thanks to sales of A$105 billion. Australia’s two market leaders, Woolworths and Coles Group, ... ...Read more »
The planned two-week national truck stoppage, which began at midnight, has already led to panic amongst some consumers but appears unlikely to lead to major food supply shortages. Mick Pattell, a spokesman from the National Road Transport Forum - one of the organisers of the shutdown, hopes the public gets behind truck drivers and is keen for government action. “Hopefully the government will come to the table fairly quickly and not allow this to happen to the public,” he said, according... ...Read more »
Former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Chairman, Allan Fels has warned that town planning laws are currently a “tragedy for consumers” and suggests that action needs to be taken to ensure preferential treatment is not given to the leading retailers. “The planning laws restrict competition -they protect the big shopping centres,” Professor Fels said. Professor Fels made his comments at an Urban Taskforce luncheon - just a week before the ACCC finalises... ...Read more »
Insight Partners and Citi Investment Research have today released a comprehensive report outlining the impact of unit pricing on retailers, consumers and suppliers in Australia. EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Tax) are likely to be affected with a drop of about 5% anticipated for retailers and suppliers of packaged goods. The issue of unit pricing has been on the agenda for about a year and has been heavily promoted by consumer advocates CHOICE and Family First Senator Steve Fielding. It was initially... ...Read more »
Wesfarmers, the owner of Coles supermarkets since the $20b purchase of Coles Group last year, has disputed claims that the turnaround of the supermarket giant is taking too long. Wesfarmers CEO, Richard Goyder, suggested that the turnaround will take about five years due to the extent of change required, and insisted they remained well on the way to achieving their goals. “In June 30 this year, we wound up our Coles integration team, which in just over seven months has completed a task, which... ...Read more »
Alarming results released today by the Australian Division of World Action on Salt and Health (AWASH) show that only 2% of sausages in Australian supermarkets meet acceptable salt levels. AWASH revealed that one single sausage sandwich at a local barbecue could contain as much as 6 grams of salt; 100% of the maximum daily recommended amount for adults and almost double that recommended for children. The product overview shows that other products commonly eaten at barbecues, such as hamburger patties,... ...Read more »