Coles or Woolies - Your Choice

200602 in woolies
Originally uploaded by superciliousness.

I am a "pom". I am going to have a whinge. I am NOT a "whinging pom" though. I'd have a whinge about this no matter where I was in the world.

Grocery prices here in WA are high, very high, skyscraper high. Not sure why although only two major supermarkets competing against each other with no cheaper end like Lidl or Aldi can't help.

There are weekly specials. Not many and not very special most of the time. What I noticed as soon as we hopped off the place was a complete lack of BOGOF's. Buy One Get One Free is very popular in the UK and so is "3 for the Price of 2". From books to baby wipes, if you saw this offer you could be sure that it wouldn't be on something obscure like caviar for instance. Here, you hardly ever see these types of offers.

Finally someone is doing something about it. And it's an ex pat Pom!

Choice (the equivalent of "Which" by all accounts) is a consumer advocate. Not that the consumer in Australia is very vocal. Take this example for instance - years ago in the UK people got fed up of ATM charges and rebelled. The national papers got involved with the result that the banks decided to drop ATM charges so you could get your money out anywhere with no charge. The odd exception continued but on the whole, the rip off was stopped. Here, we have just had ATM charges added on across the board. Did anyone speak up and say NO THANK YOU? Nope, we all just rolled over and accepted it like good little Aussies.

Obviously the guy in charge at Choice has had enough of the big two supermarket bullies and the whimpering government, and is putting his foot down. Good on him I say.

Choice is going to be taking on the might of the big two supermarkets (Woolies and Coles) in a campaign to bring down Australia's grocery prices which are among the highest in the developed world.

In a suprise and extraordinary move, the chief executive of Choice, Nick Stace, has ordered his policy and campaign teams to drop all other issues and shift their attention to the grocery sector. This may have something to do with the fact that the Government has recently pulled the plug on a new website from Choice giving the bare bones on grocery retailing.

As Nick puts it, "I am shocked and disappointed at the decision by the consumer minister to side with supermarkets rather than consumers. Supermarket prices are higher in Australia than many other developed countries and CHOICE agreed to deliver GroceryChoice because we believed we could make a difference for consumers.

"In five days' time the start of a revolution in supermarkets was about to begin with consumers given up-to-date information on 1000 products, rising to 5000 within weeks. To pull the site five days before launch shows that we were on the money and the supermarkets are worried about losing out to consumer demands.

"This is a bad day for consumers but a day that makes CHOICE more determined than ever to campaign with consumers for a more competitive grocery sector and lower prices.

"The minister's suggestion of an industry-based website to provide grocery price data is like putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank."

Nick has even gone online with a video to ask for consumers support in this, you can view the video by clicking here, please take a look and add your voice.

Nick, go for it, you have my full support!!!

Comments

[Emma]

Hi,

I am from N.Z & have been living in Perth for the last 9-10months, I would like to agree that food prices here are extremley expensive compared to that of N.Z.

[Karen]

Hi

I have been a resident in Perth for 42 years so I don't know what other people pay elsewhere. I have however noticed the enormous increase in price the supermakets have been steadily introducing. With a large family to feed don't think it went unnoticed even at the start of the hike which was some time ago now.
I am also aware with friends and relitives in different fields of agriculture that they do not benifit in price increases as do these retail giants.
I have simply now learn't to shop direct from the grower and bulk up and only on occasions do I buy from the retailers.
If everyone adopted this maybe it would give these guys something to think about.