What this Woolies win means for you
“Down down, prices are down.” It’s the jingle we’ve all had stuck in our heads for the last seven years, but it seems Coles’ earworm won’t be enough to save them from Woolworths’ looming domination.
Pre-2010, Woolies sat on top of the Australian supermarket industry for years before their red rival overtook them with that annoyingly catchy jingle. But for the first time in seven years, Woolies appears to be climbing its way back to the top.
After its dismal knock-off “Cheap cheap” advertising campaign, the downfall of Masters and Big W’s struggles, Woolies decided it was time to turn things around, replacing their CEO with Brad Banducci, who quickly took action.
Homebrand was changed to Essentials, a number of poorly-performing supermarkets were closed, and the rest were renovated. And it appears this tactic has worked.
Between October and December last year, Woolies started overtaking Coles in sales growth, and the gap has only widened since then.
But why? Well, Banducci believes Coles and Aldi are too obsessively focused on price. “We are realistic about our ability to close the gap on [price perception] given our broader agenda on range, freshness and community.”
Have you found yourself shopping at Woolies more this year? Or are you loyal to Coles, Aldi or another supermarket? Let us know in the comments.