Why Coles wants to change the way you shop
Coles' managing director John Durkan has revealed that the supermarket chain will be working toward a new goal to place more of their own brand products on shelves.
In a strategy day briefing on Thursday, Durkan revealed that Coles wants 40 per cent of all products sold in stores to be its own label within five years.
Durkan said the supermarket chain was working to build an “own brand powerhouse”, which he claims would not reduce customer choice.
Durkan said Coles was responding to the high demand for the supermarket's private label range.
“The last thing we need to do is push stuff onto consumers that they don’t want,” he said.
“We need to make sure we have the right products with the right quality and right price … we are never going to take away choice.”
Durkan revealed that the proportion of Coles-branded products to overall sales was currently in the “high 20s” as a percentage.
In fresh categories, such as meat, it was above 50 per cent – unlike dry grocery lines, which were considerably lower.
Mr Durkan said the supermarket will now focus on the dry grocery lines where there was not a “value proposition”.
“There is lots of opportunities in this space … it’s a choice for customers,” he said.
In recent years, both Coles and Woolworths have increased their private-label ranges – allowing them to earn more profits as they face rising competitors, such as Aldi and other supermarket giants.
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