Australian supermarket giant Coles has awarded a new national contract for its own brand pickled onions to food manufacturer Spring Gully Foods Pty Ltd (Spring Gully) just a few days after the South Australian food company was placed in voluntary administration. The new 12 month contract is expected to commence in two months and will involve 35,000 units of Coles Brand Brown Pickled Onions for sale in 525g jars across Australia. Coles General Manager for South Australia, Vito Borrello, said Coles... ...Read more »

Supermarket giant Coles has surprised its rival Woolworths by secretly buying one of Woolworths’ most profitable Sydney stores. Woolworths confirmed that Coles recently bought its store in Neutral Bay, which is on Sydney’s lower North Shore. A Woolworths spokesperson said the purchase by Coles had not been anticipated. According to internal reports obtained by Fairfax Media journalists, Coles paid $40 million for the centre that the Woolworths store is part of, concealing its involvement in the... ...Read more »

Supermarket giant Woolworths is facing heated criticism from its suppliers after a recent newspaper report revealed the existence of a dossier produced by the Company. The dossier reportedly claims that increased competition from Aldi was driving Woolworths to expand its private label product range. The claims in the Woolworths dossier have added fuel to an already-heated debate about how the major food retailers deal with their suppliers. Both Woolworths and Coles are currently being investigated... ...Read more »

The ACCC has launched an investigation into Coles and Woolworths over possible misuse of their market power and indications of “unconscionable conduct” in relation to deals with their suppliers. While both supermarket groups are maintaining their innocence, the ACCC is also hinting it will be using its mandatory information-gathering powers to obtain more information. The grocery giants have been accused of discriminating against supplier brands for the supermarkets’ own labels, and adding... ...Read more »

Coles merchandise director John Durkan has assured Australian suppliers that they will benefit from the latest round of price cuts on everyday Coles products – in spite of mounting criticism by producers of the Coles campaign. Coles last week cut prices for 100 products such as bread, juice, and dairy products in its supermarkets, and Coles Brand milk in its Coles Express stores. Coles Brand milk remains at the Down Down price of $2 for 2 litres or $3 for 3 litres and Smart Buy bread remains at... ...Read more »

The National Food Plan green paper released by Australian agriculture minister Senator Joe Ludwig earlier this week foreshadows a major role for Australia in meeting global food shortfalls. Australia’s production of total agricultural and fisheries and food products in 2010–11 was valued at AU$40.7 billion, of which AU$27.1 billion was exported. Australia ranked 16th biggest world food exporter, but this value is understated because the bulk of Australian food exports is currently in commodity... ...Read more »

The Australian Government today released its National Food Plan green paper.  The aim is to develop Australia’s first national food plan to integrate all aspects of Government food policy and communication of its strategic direction. Australia’s Agriculture Minister Senator Joe Ludwig said he expected to receive feedback from around Australia including groups such as farmers, consumers and supermarket groups.  “It’s quite diverse and that’s why I wanted to bring together the food plan... ...Read more »

The upcoming “lunch!” is Australia’s first dedicated trade exhibition for the multi- billion dollar food-to-go market. Based on an award- winning UK exhibition, the concept is being launched in Sydney on 6-7 August 2012. The event will be held at the Royal Hall of Industries in Moore Park, Sydney. The “lunch!” anticipated to be run annually, altering between Melbourne and Sydney each year. The Exhibition’s director, Richard Wright said, “The food-to-go market is constantly expanding... ...Read more »

  Australian supermarket chain Woolworths has launched Speak Up, a new, externally-hosted hotline – delivered by Deloitte – for Woolworths suppliers to report trading concerns of a serious nature after standard procedures have been exhausted.Issues, which can be reported anonymously, include fraud, corruption, threatening behaviour, people or product safety risks, theft, conflict of interest, bullying and harassment. Woolworths says that the delivery by Deloitte assures a greater level... ...Read more »

Coles Supermarket Group has issued guidelines to the buyers that it employs on ways to avoid engaging in conduct that might be considered ‘unconscionable’ in dealings when negotiating prices with suppliers to Coles. The supermarket chain has sent a document to all of its buyers offering examples of unconscionable behavior and negotiating practices that might be said to infringe the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Act 2010. This legislation is enforceable by the Australian Competition... ...Read more »