Today
Woolworths NZ faces criminal charges for allegedly misleading shoppers
The Commerce Commission was not satisfied that “specials really are special”, leading to legal action against the supermarket and its rival Pak’nSave.
- Carrie LaFrenz
Yesterday
Hit to Woolworths sales from strike grows to $140m, expected to rise
The supermarket giant agreed to a pay deal with the union on Saturday, ending industrial action. But it will take weeks to restock stores and warehouses.
- Carrie LaFrenz and David Marin-Guzman
This Month
- Opinion
- Business People of the Year
Weckert stamps her mark on Coles amid tumultuous year for supermarkets
Leah Weckert, one of the Business People of the Year for 2024, has fared well amid a barrage of criticism from politicians over grocery prices.
- Carrie LaFrenz
Amazon is quietly turning into a major rival for Coles and Woolworths
Goldman Sachs estimates it is now the second-largest online retailer in Australia, but sales are still a fraction of the big supermarkets. Will that change?
- Updated
- Carrie LaFrenz
- Opinion
- Letters to the Editor
End RBA scapegoating and come up with policy solutions
Readers’ letters on the Reserve Bank pile-on; supermarket “discounts”; a lost opportunity to protect the environment; support for the social media age ban; and rooftop solar.
- Updated
- Retail
Woolworths strike bill tops $50m as disruption spreads to Dan Murphy’s
The nation’s largest supermarket operator has applied for an urgent tribunal order to keep unions from blocking access to distribution sites in Victoria and NSW.
- Updated
- Carrie LaFrenz and David Marin-Guzman
Supermarket giants use the $5 Oreo to argue their discounts are real
The ACCC has accused Woolworths and Coles of misleading shoppers. The retailers say the regulator doesn’t understand how pricing works.
- Carrie LaFrenz and Tom McIlroy
Woolworths shelves empty across Melbourne as union blocks deliveries
The scenes are reminiscent of the panic shopping and supply chain problems during the COVID-19 years.
- David Marin-Guzman
‘Santa’s on strike’: Woolies warehouse staff pack it in
Hundreds of picketing workers fighting Woolworths for better pay and conditions have delayed a warehouse reopening, leaving supermarket shelves bare. How the day unfolded.
- Updated
- Gus McCubbing
November
Meet the skincare company with 460pc growth
Identifying a niche is easy. Filling it – at scale – is the challenge, as these successful founders discovered.
- Lauren Sams
RBA on the right track
Readers’ letters on the Reserve Bank’s inflation strategy; Alexander Downer’s criticism of Labor over the ICC arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu; the ACCC inquiry into the supermarkets; the Victorian government under Premier Jacinta Allan.
- Updated
- Supermarket wars
Coles says focusing only on low prices sent customers away
Appearing at a competition inquiry, chief executive Leah Weckert says experience has shown shoppers want more than just cheap products.
- Updated
- Carrie LaFrenz
- Opinion
- Opinion
Supermarket grilling just a political distraction
The primary driver of the Coles and Woolworths business model is volume, not margin as the politicians or regulators would have us all believe.
- Robert Hadler
Shoppers’ anger makes ‘Colesworth’ the word of the year
The language researchers who help compile Oxford University’s Australian dictionaries track the words that have gained prominence over the past 12 months.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
Woolworths suppliers put on ‘holiday’ for price pushback, ACCC hears
The competition regulator’s public hearings have been told some producers did not receive any orders from the supermarket if they refused to drop prices.
- Carrie LaFrenz
ACCC takes on Woolworths boss in rare intervention
The supermarket giant appeared at a public hearing on Monday as the regulator investigated the market power of it and its biggest rival, Coles.
- Carrie LaFrenz and Tom McIlroy
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The moment the ACCC boss put the heat on Woolies
The competition regulator is clearly sceptical about the way the supermarket giants use discounts, and whether the market is really competitive.
- James Thomson
Populist attacks on supermarkets serve no one
Readers’ letters on attacks on Coles and Woolies; social media age bans; Archbishop of Canterbury’s resignation; a fix for high-density development; the UN climate conference; and the Senate’s financial services inquiry.
Supermarkets face earnings crunch if loyalty schemes are dismantled
Macquarie warns of a drag on the performance of Coles and Woolworths if the competition watchdog disrupts their customer retention programs.
- Carrie LaFrenz
Make university free, but beware the professional student
Readers’ letters on the downside of fee-free uni; supermarket competition; the US election result; lessons for a future female US president; approvals for renewables; and the impact of extreme weather.
