This Month
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
After Woolies brawls, Coles busts supermarket profit myths
Political theatre and business bashing won’t deliver a magic bullet for bringing down grocery prices - because there isn’t one.
- Updated
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
We’re still waiting for the silver bullet for grocery prices
Cost of living pressures may have led to the current rush of grocery inquiries, but we’re no closer to finding the solution.
- James Thomson
Emerson rejects ‘populist’ supermarket break-up call
An independent review has rejected the forced break-up of Coles and Woolworths, finding the ideas backed by the Coalition and Greens lacked “credibility”.
- Ronald Mizen
Meta’s smart glasses are becoming AI. We took them for a spin
What happens when a columnist and a reporter use AI glasses to scan groceries, monuments and zoo animals? Hilarity, wonder and lots of mistakes.
- Brian X. Chen and Mike Isaac
March
Vitality Brands snaps up PE-owned beauty business Essano
Vitality Brands, best known for selling Australia’s No.1 sunscreen under the Cancer Council brand, has agreed terms to acquire Kiwi natural beauty player Essano.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Greens push supermarket break-up powers
Despite Anthony Albanese ruling out any move to break up the big grocery chains, the Greens want the competition watchdog to get new divestiture powers.
- Tom McIlroy and Ronald Mizen
Loyalty schemes are not what they seem, consumer groups warn
A Senate inquiry into the pricing practices and market share of companies including Coles and Woolworths has heard customers cannot properly assess changing specials.
- Tom McIlroy
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Why Coles will put some cost-of-living heat back on suppliers
Leah Weckert says Coles worked with suppliers when their costs were soaring. Now inflation is coming down, the conversation needs to change.
- James Thomson
Supermarkets could cause family farms to vanish in 10 years: suppliers
Growers have told a Senate committee into supermarket pricing that the loss of small farmers will eventually threaten Australia’s food security.
- Tom McIlroy
Bunnings unseats Woolworths as most trusted brand
The hardware giant replaces the nation’s largest grocery chain as the most trusted brand in 2023 after a three-year hiatus.
- Carrie LaFrenz
Farmers fear ‘commercial retribution’ in supermarket contracts
Fruit and vegetable producers who speak out about aggressive behaviour from supermarkets risk “retribution”, the first day of a Senate inquiry is told.
- Tom McIlroy and Ronald Mizen
February
Guzman y Gomez pushes back IPO plans as losses widen
The Mexican-themed restaurant chain is backed by Barrenjoey and TDM Growth Partners. Global sales soared 30 per cent in the first half of the financial year.
- Carrie LaFrenz and Primrose Riordan
KMD shares crumble to all-time low as weather wreaks havoc on sales
Unseasonably warm weather hurt sales of puffer jackets at Kathmandu, compounding an already weak consumer environment.
- Carrie LaFrenz
- Exclusive
- Retail
Woolies CEO says shoppers want ‘value’ not ‘broader conversations’
After a bruising political bunfight over Australia Day merchandise, the Woolworths boss says shoppers want the retail giant to “focus on delivering value”.
- Carrie LaFrenz and Jemima Whyte
Wesfarmers won’t make money off lithium at current prices
CEO Rob Scott concedes the group won’t make money off lithium at current prices, but says longer term it can deliver good returns to shareholders.
- Updated
- Carrie LaFrenz and Brad Thompson
What is a Stanley cup and why are people going crazy for them?
Stanley mania is a story of how marketing, influencers and the power of social media converged to produce a cultural phenomenon.
- Hiroko Tabuchi
Limit supermarket mark-ups to ease price pressure, government told
New forced divestiture powers targeting supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths should be urgently considered by federal parliament, the outspoken crossbencher says.
- Tom McIlroy and Cindy Yin
Why you won’t be getting a fancy St Valentine’s bouquet this year
Australians are expected to spend $20 million less on flowers on the day of romance this year, but florist Kellee Pham hopes consumer confidence bounces back.
- Gus McCubbing
Supermarkets point to surging supplier requests for higher shelf prices
Coles received more than 70 requests per week on average over the past two years – double the level of supplier requests in 2021.
- Updated
- Carrie LaFrenz
Growers lash out at Coles, Woolworths for ‘predatory’ prices
Fruit Growers Victoria says supermarkets wield so much pricing power that they are forcing growers to sell below the cost of production.
- Carrie LaFrenz
