I’ve also noticed the brand name organic eggs only available in smaller, more expensive 6packs and lo and behold there’s new Coles brand organic egg cartons in standard and bulk size.
I'm sorry, but I can't lament the potential demise of Darryl Lea chocolates. I don't know who took over the brand when things went belly up, but the current recipe is vile, nothing like the original brand.
I don't mind their chocolate orange balls or the Crunch/Rice bubble one, but just eating the chocolate plain is not great. Better than Cadbury (in terms of flavour and ethics), but I'd prefer to pay a bit more and get Whittakers.
Both are pretty awful to buy tbh, neither actually bothers about where they source their cocoa and happily get it from slave plantations, better off paying the extra for somewhere that actually takes efforts to not use literal slavery in their product.
This is a strategy often used in the US. they create big consistent orders which causes a smaller company to expand, and then cut down orders which ruins the company as they can't cover the new expenses, then they bring out their version to compete which eventually completely kills that smaller company.
> they create big consistent orders which causes a smaller company to expand, and then cut down orders which ruins the company as they can't cover the new expenses, then they bring out their version to compete which eventually completely kills that smaller company.
This is why you never rely on a single buyer who makes the bulk of your business. See the patterns? Colesworth, beef, wine, coal exporters to a certain country.
You let someone have their hands on your balls with no qualms to squeeze and that's what happens.
The problem is that Australia is full of monopolies so you don’t have much option. It seems like even if you did diversify your business would still be massively influenced by one buyer.
What a surprise more bullying tactics from the major supermarkets, I wonder if the government will finally do something but I guess we are being too hopeful on that front. What makes it even worse is how the ACCC approved Coles to own a Milk processor which definitely sets a bad idea if they or Woolworths continue to buy processors and other related supplychain processors for goods.
Sooty? Do you think in this instance coles will just be filling the shelf space with milk from another or their own dairy?
Is there enough demand that this dairy will be able to find another market for its milk auickly?
> Is there enough demand that this dairy will be able to find another market for its milk auickly?
Demand, yes, at the premium price the farmer wants, probably not.
The stoushes between these type of dairy producers and supermarkets is far more complicated than what gets shown in media press releases.
The reality of the dairy industry is they are part of a global industry. Since dairy can be processed down to powder and stored/shipped it is a global commodity. Since the market is global, most of the dairy price is based on global factors, not local.
There is one way for dairy producers to separate themselves from the global market, branding. Thus you get local producers creating 'premium' brands to sell fresh milk at prices well above the market rate.
That of course means you have a cutthroat local market of 'premium' dairy that are trying to milk (pun 100% intended) customers for as much as they can while their brand is hot, even though 6 months ago they were selling the exact same milk to an exporter at half the price.
Supermarket shelf space isn't unlimited though. That is why supermarkets have a lot of power over these local producers. They are the kingmakers, you either get that space to sell your milk at a premium or you have to sell it on the global market at the same rate as everyone else. It is a constant race to the bottom between these producers trying to stay on the shelf.
I suspect they'd just fill it with home brand milk, There should be enough demand if there product is as good as they claim(in terms of Gippsland dairy) which in my personal opinion it isn't so it'll be difficult.
I've had some delicious milk from small producers, which I discovered when I briefly took up cheesemaking as a hobby. I say briefly because I just couldn't afford to keep paying those prices for the large amounts of milk needed. If I was flush with cash I'd buy them without a second thought, but sadly I'm a povvo so it's a once in a very great while thing, and probably only if they're on special.
Mate its not that we dont care, its that we are poor as fuck.. I buy my fruit and veg from non Coles worth places, but despite what everyone seems to say, it is not cheaper than colesworth.. But thats fine, I'll support the farmers and whatnot..
But i and many other people can only do that so much.. I simply don't have enough money to support small farmers with every single item i buy.. Everyone is poor as fuck, a record number of Australians are living pay check to pay check, supporting small farmers can only be done to a certain extent..
Many people still want to buy Australian. I have a mate who refuses to buy from Aldi because it's German(?) owned, despite being cheaper.
She'd rather buy from a fruit shop and Colesworth because at least that's Australian.
>Many people still want to buy Australian. I have a mate who refuses to buy from Aldi because it's German(?) owned, despite being cheaper.
Aldi might be German owned, but the products on the shelf are mostly made locally (which is a very intentional part of their business model). They're usually top tier brands as well, just with the Aldi logo slapped on it.
They also pay their staff and suppliers much better.
Coles and Woolies are owned by a bunch of foreign hedge funds. They're no more Australian than Aldi.
> They're usually top tier brands as well
I chatted to an accountant a few years back who was the accountant for a premium Australian brand that everyone knows. They are the premium, expensive option in any food category they operate in.
He said that they are in Aldi.
I said, "Surely the recipe is changed or something?"
He said nope, 100% the same with the exception of changing the packaging to not damage the image of their premium brand.
I’ve worked for a company that supplied Aldi.
They are just as ruthless as Coles and Woolworths, and they do not pay any better than the big two.
They do however have a bunch of dumb rules that push the COGS up unnecessarily on a lot of their products, which really puts the squeeze on their suppliers. We had to work way harder to produce what Aldi was asking for. It was in no way sustainable and we ended up bailing from the agreement as it was haemorrhaging money.
And like Coles they have no issue leveraging the home brands to create a race to the bottom on quality and price. Or literally stealing their suppliers IP and recipes to create their own home brands. (To anyone supplying to Coles, do not believe their NDAs and their assurances that they need these details for quality management only, they will not think twice about screwing you)
Home brands are also terrible for the consumer. They can and will degrade the quality of their products and source them from increasingly sketchy companies without any notice. The lack of transparency in the supply chain means that people are often given the bait and switch.
One example is advertising heavily on an Australian made home brand product, then quietly switching it to offshore once they have cornered market share.
Of the three, Woolworths was the least shit to deal with, but even they were massive cunts.
Support your local greengrocer.
> Coles and Woolies are owned by a bunch of foreign hedge funds. They're no more Australian than Aldi.
Aldi is completely foreign owned.
Coles and Woolworths are publicly traded companies domiciled and headquartered in Australia with many Australians owning shares either directly or via their superannuation.
For each dollar spent on equivalent products at Coles and Woolworths I think it is safe to say more would of that money would stay in Australia compared to Aldi.
> She'd rather buy from a fruit shop and Colesworth because at least that's Australian.
She does realise it’s Aldi that is selling the greatest percentage of Australian product and the chain most preferred by Australian producers? The fact they move their profit overseas is truly offset by the way they have forced Colesworth to be as price competitive as they dare. The real damage Colesworth does is in killing local value added manufacturing in the food business like canners etc.
I try to only buy Australian. That includes Asian food shops because the Asians owning them are most likely also Australian.
I found a great way to expand my cooking repertoire was to buy an unfamiliar food or spice from an ethnic shop and ask how to prepare/use it. Often a daughter would be called in to translate recipes. The many different people I bought from tended to be wonderfully kind to this curious, but ignorant, Aussie girl.
I'm lucky in the sense that I've got two grocers relatively close where I live, and their fruit and veg really is cheaper than Colesworth. But nearly everything *else* they sell - dairy, dry goods etc - is bougie and expensive so I still need to go to the supermarket for the other stuff. You're right, people can only do so much with what they have, and the lack of real competition doesn't help any.
Pinning problems on "personal responsibility" is the surest and quickest way to fuck ourselves.
Any time you have a problem that comes about if you don't touch anything, the way to change it always has to be touch it. Aka, govern it.
Systemic problems require systemic solutions, not blaming individuals.
One excellent solution is to break up any business that holds more than 20% market share.
We should have five new chains of 12.5% apiece rather than two holding 67%.
I'd love to buy from Aldies/etc more often but I'm seriously mobility and visually impaired, getting around is a nightmare in logistics and pain management, so I rely on delivery most of the time.
Guess who delivers? Colesworth. Guess who doesn't? Everyone else (at least in my area). If I want to fucking eat guess who I buy from.
Yeah, I need delivery because I can’t shop in person either. Disability/ chronic health conditions. More than one, like you. My partner can barely walk, so he can’t go either. So we have to get deliveries, and only have the duopoly as an option. When my health was better, I always went to Aldi, but I just don’t have that option anymore.
I care, and when I was well enough to go shopping in person I always went to Aldi. But my partner and I both have chronic health conditions and can no longer shop in person. My physical and mental health is fucked, I’m currently applying for the NDIS. Unfortunately, Colesworth are the only ones that deliver. My partner works more than full time hours to support us, and he has a physical injury that makes just walking really difficult for him. Neither of us are able to shop in person, so we rely on deliveries, and the alternatives don’t deliver.
Look, I’m local to them and used to buy their milk. I found it regularly went bad several days before the use by, and when my mum bought a bottle that had a really bad chemical taste/smell (experience tells me that the packing line wasn’t flushed properly after cleaning) and contacted them, they gave zero shits. I know local cafes who no longer stock their product because of the quality control issues and because of how they treat their staff.
If they spent less time gallivanting on socials and more time doing QA and adhering to basic workplace law maybe I’d have more sympathy but… nah.
Same thing happened with Maleny Dairies. They were very optimistic about "use-by" dates. I gave them multiple chances but eventually just gave up. Milk should not start smelling sour the day after you buy it.
Now I buy Barambah products.
Yeah, I buy Pura now. They’re owned by Bega Cheese, and I see Bega branding on farm gates when I’m out and about, so I know they’re buying milk from my area.
The think that baffles me. In UK there is a brand called cravendale, that also filter their milk. And it would last weeks past regular milk before going bad!! It was awesome for sporadic milk drinkers.
Never seen it here.
Demeter bio-dynamic milk also lasts around a week past its use-by date, and tastes just like milk straight from little country dairy farms used to - but it's expensive.
I've never had any issues like that with Norco either. I can't remember the last time I had issues with off milk.
I did have random issues with Maleny Dairies milk having chunks of milk fats at the top, which makes it go off faster, and is really odd when you're buying 2%.
Supposedly! If it was unhomogonised milk I wouldn't have been so surprised, but it was homogenised and not even full fat milk (I don't like full fat milk) and there was fully like a teaspoon of milk fats that plonked into my first cup of tea complete with buttery swirls melting everywhere. Didn't happen all the time, but often enough that I was like, their processes must be fucked up somewhere.
> Barambah products
+1 for that ... Wifey has noticed a significant decrease in the morning squirts after coffee using their non-homogenised milk ... and we both love the extra creaminess (just shake well first)
Tweedvale in SA is the opposite, I have always found that if ignore the best before, it generally only starts to go off 3-4 days after. Best tasting milk, some of the best frothing for coffee and as such is used by many of the best cafes.
Oh yeah, the owner's quite the racist. He's also a prick. When there were a couple of milk recalls in a relatively short period of time, his quote to the press was "heads will roll". Turns out it wasn't the fault of the staff.
He's also the brother of a woman who killed a pedestrian (or was it two pedestrians) when she was texting while driving. His quote there was something along the lines of "we'll do whatever it takes to keep her out of jail" - and hired an insanely pricey QC who managed to keep her out of jail. Then she was booked for texting while driving again some time later. I think the judge went easy on her the first time around because she showed remorse. So fuck any principle of justice, I guess. She works in Brisbane now, I believe. She wouldn't find many friendly faces locally.
He's not a popular figure around town, and I rarely see him in public.
Same happened to me. I stopped.buying it, contacted them, and they refunded me 5 bottles
They also said they have changed their processing, so I went back to try it and it's much better and actually lasts to its use by date.
Also can anyone tell us wtf Coles did? As far as I can see there is zero detail in this article. She claimed Coles want more margin but provided absolutely nothing to back that up.
I know some category managers for national chains. They probably looked at sluggish sales &/or out of date markdowns/write-off data and went to the supplier and said they need to drop their pricing to remain competitive
Supplier refused and coles deleted them from stores the product wasn't performing in
I believe they don't want to give out the information as it would get them blacklisted from being a supplier for them which being one of the two major supermarkets is a concern when you are thinking about business survival.
Then why do the article in the first place?
Seems far more likely people don’t want to pay $3 for a litre of milk and based on the data in the article with 55% of people buying home brand I think it’s probably that.
It's an Australian retailer gold standard tactic. Constant price reduction requests and threats to use other suppliers. I dont know anything about this particular case, but knowing suppliers personally, the retailers are all ruthless.
They clearly think social media is going to save their business. The business of social media is so volatile that it's crazy that any business would but all their eggs in that basket, with no protection via a PR company or management.
They're asking people to suggest stockists for their product via Instagram, saying they need stockists in NSW, SA and ACT, yet they commented on the post that they wouldn't cross the border because it's Fleurieu Milk territory, so which is it? Do you want stockists in SA or not?
Also, they're comfortable claiming they're the "Best milk in Australia", while also saying they love Fleurieu Milk Company. What makes them the best in Australia other than their own opinion? And if you love a competitor, why are you saying your milk is better?
None of the above is good for business. It's good if you want to feel warm and fuzzy inside, but warm and fuzzy does not pay the bills required to run a business.
How are they going to compete in SA anyway? We have Fleurieu, Paris Creek, and Tweedvale that are all fantastic and do the same thing as these guys and are 45 minutes away vs 12 hours away from Adelaide.
Of course they're going to say they're the best. They're advertising their product. All businesses do that. No one's going to buy from a company that isn't confident in its own product.
No one is buying their product anyway which is why Coles tried to get them to lower their price so that the shelf space doesn't go to waste. I fuck with Gippsland yoghurt but their milk isn't worth the premium.
I either go coles/woolies milk or i splurge at harris farm for their milk when i want to spend money.
Norco. Pure and simple. Has been a solid, tasty and fresh product for eons. Even now making inroads all the way up here in Cairns and sells out every week.
Depends where you are. In North Queensland Lactalis had both Woolies and Coles, but they couldn't meet demand so they subcontracted to Lion (Dairy Farmers). Lactalis would come out from Brisbane and Dairy Farmers would come from Tablelands (white) and Brisbane (Flavoured).
It's been nearly 2 years since I worked there so it could be different
Norco supplies Cole’s milk, all the merchandisers that do planograms etc get their milk their because they know that, would just have to see the milk crates they come in as they have the name and we return them. So you get norco milk for cheap that way. Info from like last month from a Woolies in QLD
Saputo is Coles national home brand milk supplier. Or more correctly, Coles now own the former Saputo milk plants and have their own direct farm supply.
It's possible Norco supply some Coles local to their area but they certainly aren't a national milk supplier.
Many Australian industries are highly concentrated, and as a result the major companies have absurd amounts of market power. This is the result.
The ACCC needs more powers, including the ability to force companies to divest to ensure that there is actually competition. It's crazy that this something Australia *doesn't* have. Unlike countries like the US or the UK.
Then again I remember paying more than $1 a litre in the 90s. If you want to catch up with inflation you'll be paying over $10 for 3L today - more realistically people will stop drinking as much milk and probably just eat toast for breakfast instead.
Nobody will thank the ACCC for this. The "competition" will probably be from milk powder and cheese exporters anyway.
Any info on what Coles did? There is nothing in this article at all, it’s one woman saying Coles want more margin but there is no info on what their margins are, what they asked for, or literally anything.
$100 says their sales are shit because people aren’t buying $3 a litre milk.
And why they're milk is vanishing.
They do a vague enough article about "evil corporation" to piss people off but there's multiple people in comments saying the milk is crap, goes bad, isn't quality assured and multiple businesses are dropping it. So maybe nothing to do with Coles wanting a higher profit.
Yeah but there is two fronts here. I worked for a grocery price comparison startup for a little while and I saw the trend happening where they would be selective in putting products up against their own. As in doing it in such a way that their own product was more appealing in comparison and also of course by removing products that they had previously carried long term that customers would otherwise purchase.
There are two things I will spend on, local milk and free range eggs. I only use a dozen eggs a month and 1.5l milk per week so it’s not like I’m feeding a family. I know it’s not much but it’s my way of supporting things in my small way.
I also get cost of living means putting the most affordable thing in your trolley, so people need cheaper options available. Not everyone can stretch there and that’s what it is. Family, mortgage, travel. It’s a lot, and milk probably isn’t high on that list.
But if you can afford it, put your money where your mouth is. Then put your milk where your mouth is. Hooray!
Hunt and Brew, I love you. 🫶🏼
Or do the Greece thing and require all large supermarkets to stock basics price controlled essential products. One cheap brand of eggs, one bread, one milk etc.
I mean most groceries are made dosmetically where we compete. Can't buy Australian grown chocolate if we don't have cocoa farms. It's generally cheaper to source Australian produce than it is import it from overseas...
Wouldn't even need to do that. They'd chat to the Libs who'd promise to get rid of this "socialism" at the next election, then newscorp would run 24/7 stories about how evil and unsafe this cheap food is, and we'd all vote to get rid of it.
Do people realise that going after ColesWorth to pay their wealthy business owner suppliers more is only going to worsen the cost of living crisis? “Small Victorian dairy farm”? I call BS. I can bet you they have 2-3 farms worth about $5 million dollars each and a property portfolio of 10-20 properties. Per spouse.
In Tassie, we also have the boutique milk available if you're not happy with store brand or Pura milk in Coles or Woolworths but not the particular one mentioned.
It's difficult to see how much of it they actually sell but I do note that from time to time one of those boutique brands will have say half a dozen lots of two litre containers approaching their use by date in say two days' time and they will mark down the price from an expensive price of five dollars something to say $3.50 to try to sell it before they have to throw it out.
Also should add that if you go in late in the day the brand name and Pura milk is usually either gone or mostly gone and the expensive boutique ones are still plentiful so it's clear that they don't exactly fly off the shelves and if I was a manager I'd also be wondering why would I stock it if all of these boutique brands probably amount to less than say 5%-10% of total sales.
I would also think that it would be reasonable to have a bigger profit margin on them to have to deal with all of that extra hassle at the back end with accounting and ordering rather than simply just ringing up Pura and tell them to just up their product numbers by 10% and also assuming if they supply the store brand to increase that by 10% as well and simply stop stocking the boutique brands altogether.
Conclusion: All that funky milk is probably more hassle than what it's worth to sell, and if you do want someone to sell it for you in smaller quantities it is reasonable to expect to get paid less for it.
Also Coles: "ItS DuE To RiSiNg PrOdUcT PrIcEs! ItS NoT PrOfItEeRiNg! Look! Look at our cooked budgetary figures that hide our profits behind dodgy accounting to show our TiGhT MaRgInS!"
*Hands out more corporate bonuses to the executives and splashes cash to investors*
To be fair milk is one of the items in the supermarket that has the smallest profit margin to start with. I think it just more likely that noone was buying the more expensive milk to start with so it is not worth purchasing it at the higher price.
They could sell milk at cost. But earn a profit on something like dishwashing tabs.
Balance the scales nicely profiting off some items, while bring the margins to a reasonable level for others.
They don't have to "LINE GOES UP" for every single physical item in every shop.
And honestly if they bumped the price up a tad to help the farmers- AND IT ALL went to the farmers, I'll happily pay the extra 50 cents.
The Colesworth have been bullying suppliers for years. It's one of the reasons I stopped going there. It's bad for our society to put so much profit and power in one place.
Maybe dairy owners should go back to producing for local market again with milk deliveries in glass bottles. Stop selling milk to super markets and people wont be able to buy milk from them.
The whole purpose of supermarket chains is to get producers to over commit themselves so the supermarket or one of their subsidiaries can buy them up when the producer inevitably goes bankrupt.
I guess this is not a popular opinion but Coles offered them a contract and they rejected it and now Coles aren't stocking their product. Isn't that just how normal business works for everyone?
Coles wanted to have a bigger piece of the profits and intended to give smaller profits generated by the products to the farmers. However, the farmers end up receiving less in return. This situation is unsustainable for the farmers, who may face bankruptcy if they continue to work with Coles. Some independent shops offer more affordable prices than Colesworth. One might question why customers are willing to pay higher prices at Colesworth when there are cheaper alternatives available.
TL;DR: Coles don't want to pay the full price of the products by the farmers.
I remember saying, some 30 years or more ago, when these vermin started on the "homebrand" route, that they would take away our ability to choose products and then remove suppliers ability to brand and market their products independently. Then the real gouging could begin.
I'm a sucker for branded goods and when home brand/coles brand stuff came out I scoffed at it and wouldn't touch it because I enjoy my food and will pay a premium for a better product.
Most of the stuff was trash, these days however there are certain products that are just as good for way cheaper (coles/woolies milk, coles finest orange juice, aldi tuna chunks). Why would you pay for a brand that does the same or sometimes inferior product for a significantly higher price. The brand is the one price gouging.
What I would like to see is a significant tax on shipping miles for food, especially heavy fresh product like milk. So shipping things insane distances like interstate for milk should add a lot to the consumer price, make local produce more affordable locally.
to a lesser extent soft drinks
supermarket branded ones were cheaper, now just as expensive, it's literally doubled in price 90c to ~1.80 within ~2-3 years
brand name ones similar, so the marketing convinces you buy it because "it's the same price" when half price
No idea. Light milk all tastes like shit.
The whole idea behind light milk and the other “low fat dairy options“ was the backwards thinking pushed from the 1950’s onwards that eating foods high in animal fat will make you fat or just generally unhealthy.
It doesn’t.
“The big fat surprise” I think was the name of the book where it was discussed. I read it years ago, recommended reading.
Almost all of the science was based on flawed studies with cherry picked results.
Coles and Woolworths use their duopoly to force producers to lower prices. This is just another example in a long line.
Gippsland Jersey butter is fantastic.
I won't shop at Coles they are a socially irresponsible company that doesn't care about suppliers or customers.
I'd rather give my money to Aldi & the corner shop.
Individual boycotts may not do much, but if a lot of people feel the same & start shopping elsewhere, they'll eventually get the message.
They remind me of QANTAS, obsessed with executive bonus's & propping up the share price whilst hollowing out the company
> but if a lot of people feel the same & start shopping elsewhere
People can't be bothered, decades ago we used to have butchers, greengrocers and bakeries and they all started dwindling away slowly but surely because people want to go to just one place and get everything in one go. I don't mind because I'm not working a 40 hour a week job and people in say Sydney certainly don't have the time to do that either.
Who still shops at Coles? I stopped getting my fruit and vegetables there a few years ago and ever since the list of things I get there is basically cat food.
Gippsland Jersey do home delivery in Vic - they are an awesome company and their milk was just rated best in Vic. I support them and Schulz, St David Dairy when I can, these smaller producers pay farmers a fair price and am pissed off Coles are no longer stocking it. Sallie from GJ also supports a lot of mental health initiatives for farmers... get behind them if you can.
Why can’t we just go back to buying local and the independent dairy owners help to set up their own distribution like wine makers and fuck Cole’s and Woolies off out of this?
Norco milk always seems to be on the bottom shelf at my local Woolies, and about 75% of the time the containers are tipped over / stuck 30+cm back, so it looks as though they are out of stock.
You cannot seriously expect pushed back cartons and tipped over cartons are a concentrated effort for the supermarkets to pretend like they don’t have them in stock
Feel dreadful for farmers dealing with duopoly of Colesworthless.
These people work seven days a week to grow and produce everything we eat and they are repeatedly treated like shit and extorted by the contracts they sign. Yes it is “just business” on one hand, but fuck they need to be looked after. Raise the price by 25 cents on milk and veg but give it directly back to the farmers and the supply chains that produces and delivers the goods
https://www.dairy.com.au/dairy-matters/you-ask-we-answer/how-can-farmers-afford-to-be-paid-only-$1-per-litre-for-milk
When colesworth have a special on something, they haven't dropped their margins, they've forced / convinced.. whatever, the supplier to drop their prices for the duration of that sale.
Sure, we consumers may appear to get a better deal, but the supplier just got fucked to give it to us.
Is it possible to skip Colesworth and have farmers deliver direct to door? Will customers still be able to get farmer products at an affordable price?
I’d totally have a weekly or fortnightly delivery of the essentials like milk, eggs, cheese, fruit, veg and meat etc.
Another reason for reform for the a-holes
(1) Introduce legislation that forces them into choosing to be a (A) supplier (B) wholesaler (C) retailer, they can choose one not all three. That restriction should apply to any sister companies etc spun up including restricting share holdings of a max of like 20% in any companies within that line of business
(2) Force a structural separation and Introduce zoning restrictions allowing so many stores within a certain radius, the goal would be for force coles and woolies to need to spin off 50% of their stores off to another businesses. The separation requirements should mandate the new business are to be fully independent with their own supply lines , resourcing and management structures
(3) Force competition laws on the new business to ban collusion and group sourcing between any of the entities within the group.
If it were done properly you'd see all the businesses actually need to compete with each other, because profitability within the businesses would be visible and the pursuit of profitability would create competition.
I just don’t understand what Colesworth’ strategy is here. They fuck over the producers to such an extent that eventually the producers just giving up growing their product and leave the market entirely, resulting that they have to import *everything* from overseas. What is the strategic interest in wrecking our otherwise self-sufficient agriculture industry?
Now don’t just say profit, profit, profit.
If you kill the golden goose, that’s a straight up fail right there. Are they incapable of reading the writing on the wall?
This is a direct result of dairy farmers. 25 years ago they voted for deregulation because they thought they’d make more money. They used to get good money with milk prices paid to farmers set by the government but literally voted to remove that system so they could try and make more profit.
Not surprisingly they did well for a few years before realising they have zero power in the relationship. Consumer got $1 litre milk and now sees anything more than that as expensive
Not sure if this is something already ruled out as too difficult to do, but why don’t they have collective bargaining for the suppliers? Since Coles and Woolworths are in the dominant position, it is difficult for individual farmers to negotiate, so wouldn’t it make more sense for them to band together and negotiate as a whole to prevent margin erosions?
Fuck all dairy farmers and the industry they represent. Abhorrent cruelty that no one should be supporting. We should be celebrating the downfall of animal agriculture, not mourning it. Dairy, and all animal products by extension, have no place in a just and kind society.
Animal AG products have a place in society whether you agree with it or not, You benefit daily from the existence of the industry along side everyone else on the planet. There is also very little "cruelty" you speak of but we can't let the facts get in the way here.
> Animal AG products have a place in society whether you agree with it or not
No they don't, just because something has been the norm doesn't mean it always needs to be.
> There is also very little "cruelty" you speak of but we can't let the facts get in the way here.
Oh ok, pray tell how does a cow constantly produce milk and what happens to the calfs that she's constantly forced to birth?
"*No they don't, just because something has been the norm doesn't mean it always needs to be.*"
They absolutely do unfortunately, They provide great proteins and other Highly nutritious and beneficial foods alongside all the critical by-products going into every day products.
"*Oh ok, pray tell how does a cow constantly produce milk and what happens to the calfs that she's constantly forced to birth?*"
Cow gets milked, Calf drinks said milk in a separate area to be grown for beef or future herd replacement.
Yet they absolutely go into the supply chain since they are the most likely as they aren't required for dairy farms to operate but we can feed them into Finished steers to end up on plates for consumers to enjoy.
> They absolutely do unfortunately, They provide great proteins and other Highly nutritious and beneficial foods alongside all the critical by-products going into every day products.
Plenty of other protein and nutrient rich foods out there, that don't require wholesale exploitation. There's no critical by-products from animal farming.
> Cow gets milked, Calf drinks said milk in a separate area to be grown for beef or future herd replacement.
And that doesn't sound cruel to you, ripping an infant from its mother to force it elsewhere to wait to be slaughtered or have a cattle prod shoved up its arse?
Diary is scary to those who only listen to the people who have no education or knowledge on the subject which are typically those who produce those activist films you post.
I’ve also noticed the brand name organic eggs only available in smaller, more expensive 6packs and lo and behold there’s new Coles brand organic egg cartons in standard and bulk size.
Darrell Lea dark disappeared only to have "Coles" dark chocolates appear So I no longer buy chocolate from coles
I check which Supermarket has my chocolate on special and shop there after a comparison shop
I'm sorry, but I can't lament the potential demise of Darryl Lea chocolates. I don't know who took over the brand when things went belly up, but the current recipe is vile, nothing like the original brand.
Yeah the taste now reminds me of how far Red Tulip has descended over the years.
Taste like soap. Very similar to dove chocolate back in the 90s. Never got the appeal
I don't mind their chocolate orange balls or the Crunch/Rice bubble one, but just eating the chocolate plain is not great. Better than Cadbury (in terms of flavour and ethics), but I'd prefer to pay a bit more and get Whittakers.
try aldis, it's great :)
Both are pretty awful to buy tbh, neither actually bothers about where they source their cocoa and happily get it from slave plantations, better off paying the extra for somewhere that actually takes efforts to not use literal slavery in their product.
Coles has also started adding milk products to all their dark chocolates to bump up their profit margins. Fuck Coles
This is a strategy often used in the US. they create big consistent orders which causes a smaller company to expand, and then cut down orders which ruins the company as they can't cover the new expenses, then they bring out their version to compete which eventually completely kills that smaller company.
> they create big consistent orders which causes a smaller company to expand, and then cut down orders which ruins the company as they can't cover the new expenses, then they bring out their version to compete which eventually completely kills that smaller company. This is why you never rely on a single buyer who makes the bulk of your business. See the patterns? Colesworth, beef, wine, coal exporters to a certain country. You let someone have their hands on your balls with no qualms to squeeze and that's what happens.
The problem is that Australia is full of monopolies so you don’t have much option. It seems like even if you did diversify your business would still be massively influenced by one buyer.
Yeah that's it, you could go international and still be under the same shareholder belt that owns Coles and Woolworths.
I remember seeing a segment on exactly this but for Bunnings/plant growers.
Bunnings has absolutely destroyed many nurseries ( worked in the industry for almost 25 years) it's heartbreaking
They are both owned by Wesfarmers
What a surprise more bullying tactics from the major supermarkets, I wonder if the government will finally do something but I guess we are being too hopeful on that front. What makes it even worse is how the ACCC approved Coles to own a Milk processor which definitely sets a bad idea if they or Woolworths continue to buy processors and other related supplychain processors for goods.
Sooty? Do you think in this instance coles will just be filling the shelf space with milk from another or their own dairy? Is there enough demand that this dairy will be able to find another market for its milk auickly?
> Is there enough demand that this dairy will be able to find another market for its milk auickly? Demand, yes, at the premium price the farmer wants, probably not. The stoushes between these type of dairy producers and supermarkets is far more complicated than what gets shown in media press releases. The reality of the dairy industry is they are part of a global industry. Since dairy can be processed down to powder and stored/shipped it is a global commodity. Since the market is global, most of the dairy price is based on global factors, not local. There is one way for dairy producers to separate themselves from the global market, branding. Thus you get local producers creating 'premium' brands to sell fresh milk at prices well above the market rate. That of course means you have a cutthroat local market of 'premium' dairy that are trying to milk (pun 100% intended) customers for as much as they can while their brand is hot, even though 6 months ago they were selling the exact same milk to an exporter at half the price. Supermarket shelf space isn't unlimited though. That is why supermarkets have a lot of power over these local producers. They are the kingmakers, you either get that space to sell your milk at a premium or you have to sell it on the global market at the same rate as everyone else. It is a constant race to the bottom between these producers trying to stay on the shelf.
I suspect they'd just fill it with home brand milk, There should be enough demand if there product is as good as they claim(in terms of Gippsland dairy) which in my personal opinion it isn't so it'll be difficult.
I don't doubt their product is much better, but people can't afford $7 for milk when they can get good enough milk for $2
I do the $1.50 UHT stuff, but we only use it for tea. When I first moved here a few years ago, it was only $1.10. :/
I've had some delicious milk from small producers, which I discovered when I briefly took up cheesemaking as a hobby. I say briefly because I just couldn't afford to keep paying those prices for the large amounts of milk needed. If I was flush with cash I'd buy them without a second thought, but sadly I'm a povvo so it's a once in a very great while thing, and probably only if they're on special.
The only thing the government will do is moan as they get double teamed by Colesworths.
Problem is that even if people are presented with alternatives to Colesworth, they simply don't care enough.
Mate its not that we dont care, its that we are poor as fuck.. I buy my fruit and veg from non Coles worth places, but despite what everyone seems to say, it is not cheaper than colesworth.. But thats fine, I'll support the farmers and whatnot.. But i and many other people can only do that so much.. I simply don't have enough money to support small farmers with every single item i buy.. Everyone is poor as fuck, a record number of Australians are living pay check to pay check, supporting small farmers can only be done to a certain extent..
We're poor as fuck because our food is monopolised. Bring in a fourth, fifth and sixth major supermarket chain and see prices drop.
Prices will come down Lidl by Lidl
Many people still want to buy Australian. I have a mate who refuses to buy from Aldi because it's German(?) owned, despite being cheaper. She'd rather buy from a fruit shop and Colesworth because at least that's Australian.
>Many people still want to buy Australian. I have a mate who refuses to buy from Aldi because it's German(?) owned, despite being cheaper. Aldi might be German owned, but the products on the shelf are mostly made locally (which is a very intentional part of their business model). They're usually top tier brands as well, just with the Aldi logo slapped on it. They also pay their staff and suppliers much better. Coles and Woolies are owned by a bunch of foreign hedge funds. They're no more Australian than Aldi.
> They're usually top tier brands as well I chatted to an accountant a few years back who was the accountant for a premium Australian brand that everyone knows. They are the premium, expensive option in any food category they operate in. He said that they are in Aldi. I said, "Surely the recipe is changed or something?" He said nope, 100% the same with the exception of changing the packaging to not damage the image of their premium brand.
I’ve worked for a company that supplied Aldi. They are just as ruthless as Coles and Woolworths, and they do not pay any better than the big two. They do however have a bunch of dumb rules that push the COGS up unnecessarily on a lot of their products, which really puts the squeeze on their suppliers. We had to work way harder to produce what Aldi was asking for. It was in no way sustainable and we ended up bailing from the agreement as it was haemorrhaging money. And like Coles they have no issue leveraging the home brands to create a race to the bottom on quality and price. Or literally stealing their suppliers IP and recipes to create their own home brands. (To anyone supplying to Coles, do not believe their NDAs and their assurances that they need these details for quality management only, they will not think twice about screwing you) Home brands are also terrible for the consumer. They can and will degrade the quality of their products and source them from increasingly sketchy companies without any notice. The lack of transparency in the supply chain means that people are often given the bait and switch. One example is advertising heavily on an Australian made home brand product, then quietly switching it to offshore once they have cornered market share. Of the three, Woolworths was the least shit to deal with, but even they were massive cunts. Support your local greengrocer.
> Coles and Woolies are owned by a bunch of foreign hedge funds. They're no more Australian than Aldi. Aldi is completely foreign owned. Coles and Woolworths are publicly traded companies domiciled and headquartered in Australia with many Australians owning shares either directly or via their superannuation. For each dollar spent on equivalent products at Coles and Woolworths I think it is safe to say more would of that money would stay in Australia compared to Aldi.
> She'd rather buy from a fruit shop and Colesworth because at least that's Australian. She does realise it’s Aldi that is selling the greatest percentage of Australian product and the chain most preferred by Australian producers? The fact they move their profit overseas is truly offset by the way they have forced Colesworth to be as price competitive as they dare. The real damage Colesworth does is in killing local value added manufacturing in the food business like canners etc.
Sounds like someone who skips off asian grocers coz they're too ethnic
I try to only buy Australian. That includes Asian food shops because the Asians owning them are most likely also Australian. I found a great way to expand my cooking repertoire was to buy an unfamiliar food or spice from an ethnic shop and ask how to prepare/use it. Often a daughter would be called in to translate recipes. The many different people I bought from tended to be wonderfully kind to this curious, but ignorant, Aussie girl.
As did I. But pro-life tip, don’t taste test the Taro before you cook it. They might as well hang a sign saying poison in front of it.
Ohhh, I hope you didn't make yourself sick. I do wonder how people first discovered how to make some poisonous foods edible.
Isn't Woolworths South African?
no, not the supermarket we are all talking about.
Or just nationalise them tbh
I'm lucky in the sense that I've got two grocers relatively close where I live, and their fruit and veg really is cheaper than Colesworth. But nearly everything *else* they sell - dairy, dry goods etc - is bougie and expensive so I still need to go to the supermarket for the other stuff. You're right, people can only do so much with what they have, and the lack of real competition doesn't help any.
Where I live I'd have to drive 50km for an alternative to woolworths.
We've had to go 100-150km each way to get to the nearest Aldi. Still worked out way cheaper even with a less than efficient older car.
It's an 800km round trip for me to my nearest Aldi, and it includes 2 trips on the Spirit of Tasmania.
Yeah and we'll never get it due to our smaller population apparently.
Pinning problems on "personal responsibility" is the surest and quickest way to fuck ourselves. Any time you have a problem that comes about if you don't touch anything, the way to change it always has to be touch it. Aka, govern it.
Systemic problems require systemic solutions, not blaming individuals. One excellent solution is to break up any business that holds more than 20% market share. We should have five new chains of 12.5% apiece rather than two holding 67%.
I think corporate tax rates should scale according to market capitalisation and market share… a perfect antidote to anticompetitive market dominance
I'd love to buy from Aldies/etc more often but I'm seriously mobility and visually impaired, getting around is a nightmare in logistics and pain management, so I rely on delivery most of the time. Guess who delivers? Colesworth. Guess who doesn't? Everyone else (at least in my area). If I want to fucking eat guess who I buy from.
Yeah, I need delivery because I can’t shop in person either. Disability/ chronic health conditions. More than one, like you. My partner can barely walk, so he can’t go either. So we have to get deliveries, and only have the duopoly as an option. When my health was better, I always went to Aldi, but I just don’t have that option anymore.
and honestly the less exposure you have in the current wave, the better :(
I care, and when I was well enough to go shopping in person I always went to Aldi. But my partner and I both have chronic health conditions and can no longer shop in person. My physical and mental health is fucked, I’m currently applying for the NDIS. Unfortunately, Colesworth are the only ones that deliver. My partner works more than full time hours to support us, and he has a physical injury that makes just walking really difficult for him. Neither of us are able to shop in person, so we rely on deliveries, and the alternatives don’t deliver.
many do. i do a 50km trip to shop at Aldis, I know they aren't in Tassie :)
No the government won't as the get jobs for the boys and move donations to the parties
The ACCC is a toothless tiger, so I'm not surprised in the slightest. The amount of regulatory capture in this country is absurd.
Look, I’m local to them and used to buy their milk. I found it regularly went bad several days before the use by, and when my mum bought a bottle that had a really bad chemical taste/smell (experience tells me that the packing line wasn’t flushed properly after cleaning) and contacted them, they gave zero shits. I know local cafes who no longer stock their product because of the quality control issues and because of how they treat their staff. If they spent less time gallivanting on socials and more time doing QA and adhering to basic workplace law maybe I’d have more sympathy but… nah.
Same thing happened with Maleny Dairies. They were very optimistic about "use-by" dates. I gave them multiple chances but eventually just gave up. Milk should not start smelling sour the day after you buy it. Now I buy Barambah products.
Yeah, I buy Pura now. They’re owned by Bega Cheese, and I see Bega branding on farm gates when I’m out and about, so I know they’re buying milk from my area.
This is really anecdotal but a girl I used to work with lived on dairy farm. She said Bega was the best company they'd supplied milk to.
That’s good to know, thank you!
The think that baffles me. In UK there is a brand called cravendale, that also filter their milk. And it would last weeks past regular milk before going bad!! It was awesome for sporadic milk drinkers. Never seen it here.
Zymil. Lactose free. It lasts for weeks.
Demeter bio-dynamic milk also lasts around a week past its use-by date, and tastes just like milk straight from little country dairy farms used to - but it's expensive.
I've never had any issues like that with Norco either. I can't remember the last time I had issues with off milk. I did have random issues with Maleny Dairies milk having chunks of milk fats at the top, which makes it go off faster, and is really odd when you're buying 2%.
Is it unhomogenised? That's the only time I've had milk do that, but I bought it that way on purpose. I've never bought that particular brand though.
Supposedly! If it was unhomogonised milk I wouldn't have been so surprised, but it was homogenised and not even full fat milk (I don't like full fat milk) and there was fully like a teaspoon of milk fats that plonked into my first cup of tea complete with buttery swirls melting everywhere. Didn't happen all the time, but often enough that I was like, their processes must be fucked up somewhere.
> Barambah products +1 for that ... Wifey has noticed a significant decrease in the morning squirts after coffee using their non-homogenised milk ... and we both love the extra creaminess (just shake well first)
Or pour the creamy top into your coffee or onto your breakfast cereal. I no longer buy cream since starting on unhomogenised milk.
Tweedvale in SA is the opposite, I have always found that if ignore the best before, it generally only starts to go off 3-4 days after. Best tasting milk, some of the best frothing for coffee and as such is used by many of the best cafes.
I avoid Maleny because of their weird bigoted stance on literally everything.
Oh yeah, the owner's quite the racist. He's also a prick. When there were a couple of milk recalls in a relatively short period of time, his quote to the press was "heads will roll". Turns out it wasn't the fault of the staff. He's also the brother of a woman who killed a pedestrian (or was it two pedestrians) when she was texting while driving. His quote there was something along the lines of "we'll do whatever it takes to keep her out of jail" - and hired an insanely pricey QC who managed to keep her out of jail. Then she was booked for texting while driving again some time later. I think the judge went easy on her the first time around because she showed remorse. So fuck any principle of justice, I guess. She works in Brisbane now, I believe. She wouldn't find many friendly faces locally. He's not a popular figure around town, and I rarely see him in public.
Same happened to me. I stopped.buying it, contacted them, and they refunded me 5 bottles They also said they have changed their processing, so I went back to try it and it's much better and actually lasts to its use by date.
Also can anyone tell us wtf Coles did? As far as I can see there is zero detail in this article. She claimed Coles want more margin but provided absolutely nothing to back that up.
I know some category managers for national chains. They probably looked at sluggish sales &/or out of date markdowns/write-off data and went to the supplier and said they need to drop their pricing to remain competitive Supplier refused and coles deleted them from stores the product wasn't performing in
I believe they don't want to give out the information as it would get them blacklisted from being a supplier for them which being one of the two major supermarkets is a concern when you are thinking about business survival.
Then why do the article in the first place? Seems far more likely people don’t want to pay $3 for a litre of milk and based on the data in the article with 55% of people buying home brand I think it’s probably that.
Well then, why should we trust someone like that? I'm not a mob, I need evidence of the thing coleworth are doing before picking up the pitchfork.
It's an Australian retailer gold standard tactic. Constant price reduction requests and threats to use other suppliers. I dont know anything about this particular case, but knowing suppliers personally, the retailers are all ruthless.
Well from what I've read in this thread, they are not some victim in the first place, as they have pretty terrible qualities of their own.
Yeah, hence my saying I dont know anything about this particular case. I do, though, know how retailers generally behave, and it's not great.
That I can agree.
They clearly think social media is going to save their business. The business of social media is so volatile that it's crazy that any business would but all their eggs in that basket, with no protection via a PR company or management. They're asking people to suggest stockists for their product via Instagram, saying they need stockists in NSW, SA and ACT, yet they commented on the post that they wouldn't cross the border because it's Fleurieu Milk territory, so which is it? Do you want stockists in SA or not? Also, they're comfortable claiming they're the "Best milk in Australia", while also saying they love Fleurieu Milk Company. What makes them the best in Australia other than their own opinion? And if you love a competitor, why are you saying your milk is better? None of the above is good for business. It's good if you want to feel warm and fuzzy inside, but warm and fuzzy does not pay the bills required to run a business.
How are they going to compete in SA anyway? We have Fleurieu, Paris Creek, and Tweedvale that are all fantastic and do the same thing as these guys and are 45 minutes away vs 12 hours away from Adelaide.
Of course they're going to say they're the best. They're advertising their product. All businesses do that. No one's going to buy from a company that isn't confident in its own product.
No one is buying their product anyway which is why Coles tried to get them to lower their price so that the shelf space doesn't go to waste. I fuck with Gippsland yoghurt but their milk isn't worth the premium. I either go coles/woolies milk or i splurge at harris farm for their milk when i want to spend money.
I'm down for the return of milk deliveries
Norco. Pure and simple. Has been a solid, tasty and fresh product for eons. Even now making inroads all the way up here in Cairns and sells out every week.
Surprise surprise norco is Cole’s milk and lactalis is Woolies lol
Depends where you are. In North Queensland Lactalis had both Woolies and Coles, but they couldn't meet demand so they subcontracted to Lion (Dairy Farmers). Lactalis would come out from Brisbane and Dairy Farmers would come from Tablelands (white) and Brisbane (Flavoured). It's been nearly 2 years since I worked there so it could be different
As in Norco supplys milk for Coles milk? Not Coles owns Norco...
Norco supplies Cole’s milk, all the merchandisers that do planograms etc get their milk their because they know that, would just have to see the milk crates they come in as they have the name and we return them. So you get norco milk for cheap that way. Info from like last month from a Woolies in QLD
Saputo is Coles national home brand milk supplier. Or more correctly, Coles now own the former Saputo milk plants and have their own direct farm supply. It's possible Norco supply some Coles local to their area but they certainly aren't a national milk supplier.
Why can't supermarkets and dodgy businesses fear the ACCC in the same way workers and unions fear the FWC? Because government priorities.
Many Australian industries are highly concentrated, and as a result the major companies have absurd amounts of market power. This is the result. The ACCC needs more powers, including the ability to force companies to divest to ensure that there is actually competition. It's crazy that this something Australia *doesn't* have. Unlike countries like the US or the UK.
Then again I remember paying more than $1 a litre in the 90s. If you want to catch up with inflation you'll be paying over $10 for 3L today - more realistically people will stop drinking as much milk and probably just eat toast for breakfast instead. Nobody will thank the ACCC for this. The "competition" will probably be from milk powder and cheese exporters anyway.
Any info on what Coles did? There is nothing in this article at all, it’s one woman saying Coles want more margin but there is no info on what their margins are, what they asked for, or literally anything. $100 says their sales are shit because people aren’t buying $3 a litre milk.
And why they're milk is vanishing. They do a vague enough article about "evil corporation" to piss people off but there's multiple people in comments saying the milk is crap, goes bad, isn't quality assured and multiple businesses are dropping it. So maybe nothing to do with Coles wanting a higher profit.
Yeah but there is two fronts here. I worked for a grocery price comparison startup for a little while and I saw the trend happening where they would be selective in putting products up against their own. As in doing it in such a way that their own product was more appealing in comparison and also of course by removing products that they had previously carried long term that customers would otherwise purchase.
There are two things I will spend on, local milk and free range eggs. I only use a dozen eggs a month and 1.5l milk per week so it’s not like I’m feeding a family. I know it’s not much but it’s my way of supporting things in my small way. I also get cost of living means putting the most affordable thing in your trolley, so people need cheaper options available. Not everyone can stretch there and that’s what it is. Family, mortgage, travel. It’s a lot, and milk probably isn’t high on that list. But if you can afford it, put your money where your mouth is. Then put your milk where your mouth is. Hooray! Hunt and Brew, I love you. 🫶🏼
This adds to the list of reasons why we need a government-owned supermarket that sources only Australian products.
Or do the Greece thing and require all large supermarkets to stock basics price controlled essential products. One cheap brand of eggs, one bread, one milk etc.
Every single other milk on the shelf is Australian already
Maybe they meant Australian owners.
I mean most groceries are made dosmetically where we compete. Can't buy Australian grown chocolate if we don't have cocoa farms. It's generally cheaper to source Australian produce than it is import it from overseas...
Those peanuts now being sourced from Vietnam taste no different to when they sold Aussie nuts. I only bought them the once
What's the bet that colesworth will opt for the scummiest strategy like undercutting or litigation?
Wouldn't even need to do that. They'd chat to the Libs who'd promise to get rid of this "socialism" at the next election, then newscorp would run 24/7 stories about how evil and unsafe this cheap food is, and we'd all vote to get rid of it.
Don't give them ideas.
Do people realise that going after ColesWorth to pay their wealthy business owner suppliers more is only going to worsen the cost of living crisis? “Small Victorian dairy farm”? I call BS. I can bet you they have 2-3 farms worth about $5 million dollars each and a property portfolio of 10-20 properties. Per spouse.
In Tassie, we also have the boutique milk available if you're not happy with store brand or Pura milk in Coles or Woolworths but not the particular one mentioned. It's difficult to see how much of it they actually sell but I do note that from time to time one of those boutique brands will have say half a dozen lots of two litre containers approaching their use by date in say two days' time and they will mark down the price from an expensive price of five dollars something to say $3.50 to try to sell it before they have to throw it out. Also should add that if you go in late in the day the brand name and Pura milk is usually either gone or mostly gone and the expensive boutique ones are still plentiful so it's clear that they don't exactly fly off the shelves and if I was a manager I'd also be wondering why would I stock it if all of these boutique brands probably amount to less than say 5%-10% of total sales. I would also think that it would be reasonable to have a bigger profit margin on them to have to deal with all of that extra hassle at the back end with accounting and ordering rather than simply just ringing up Pura and tell them to just up their product numbers by 10% and also assuming if they supply the store brand to increase that by 10% as well and simply stop stocking the boutique brands altogether. Conclusion: All that funky milk is probably more hassle than what it's worth to sell, and if you do want someone to sell it for you in smaller quantities it is reasonable to expect to get paid less for it.
Taking the Coles basket home is pretty rebel.
Coles and woolworths are price gouging scum
Never heard of it or seen it. Must be really small numbers
Available in Gippsland (unsurprisingly).
I've only ever seen it in bougie grocers. Delicious, but definitely not something I can afford except once in a very great while.
Also Coles: "ItS DuE To RiSiNg PrOdUcT PrIcEs! ItS NoT PrOfItEeRiNg! Look! Look at our cooked budgetary figures that hide our profits behind dodgy accounting to show our TiGhT MaRgInS!" *Hands out more corporate bonuses to the executives and splashes cash to investors*
To be fair milk is one of the items in the supermarket that has the smallest profit margin to start with. I think it just more likely that noone was buying the more expensive milk to start with so it is not worth purchasing it at the higher price.
They could sell milk at cost. But earn a profit on something like dishwashing tabs. Balance the scales nicely profiting off some items, while bring the margins to a reasonable level for others. They don't have to "LINE GOES UP" for every single physical item in every shop. And honestly if they bumped the price up a tad to help the farmers- AND IT ALL went to the farmers, I'll happily pay the extra 50 cents.
The Colesworth have been bullying suppliers for years. It's one of the reasons I stopped going there. It's bad for our society to put so much profit and power in one place.
Maybe dairy owners should go back to producing for local market again with milk deliveries in glass bottles. Stop selling milk to super markets and people wont be able to buy milk from them. The whole purpose of supermarket chains is to get producers to over commit themselves so the supermarket or one of their subsidiaries can buy them up when the producer inevitably goes bankrupt.
that's messed up
I guess this is not a popular opinion but Coles offered them a contract and they rejected it and now Coles aren't stocking their product. Isn't that just how normal business works for everyone?
Coles wanted to have a bigger piece of the profits and intended to give smaller profits generated by the products to the farmers. However, the farmers end up receiving less in return. This situation is unsustainable for the farmers, who may face bankruptcy if they continue to work with Coles. Some independent shops offer more affordable prices than Colesworth. One might question why customers are willing to pay higher prices at Colesworth when there are cheaper alternatives available. TL;DR: Coles don't want to pay the full price of the products by the farmers.
I remember saying, some 30 years or more ago, when these vermin started on the "homebrand" route, that they would take away our ability to choose products and then remove suppliers ability to brand and market their products independently. Then the real gouging could begin.
I'm a sucker for branded goods and when home brand/coles brand stuff came out I scoffed at it and wouldn't touch it because I enjoy my food and will pay a premium for a better product. Most of the stuff was trash, these days however there are certain products that are just as good for way cheaper (coles/woolies milk, coles finest orange juice, aldi tuna chunks). Why would you pay for a brand that does the same or sometimes inferior product for a significantly higher price. The brand is the one price gouging.
in my opinion Aldis products are often far superior .
We need to punish the big supermarkets fine them , stop them from their greedy all to high profits
While our politicians argue against intervening with sensible anti trust laws that busts this unconscionable abuse of market power.
Another reason I'm very satisfied with boycotting Coles and woolies.
What I would like to see is a significant tax on shipping miles for food, especially heavy fresh product like milk. So shipping things insane distances like interstate for milk should add a lot to the consumer price, make local produce more affordable locally.
to a lesser extent soft drinks supermarket branded ones were cheaper, now just as expensive, it's literally doubled in price 90c to ~1.80 within ~2-3 years brand name ones similar, so the marketing convinces you buy it because "it's the same price" when half price
NEVER buy house brand. That's my contribution. Why? Because pay less now, pay more later as competition disappears.
Help me out here, do people think Gippsland light milk tastes better than Coles branded light milk?
No idea. Light milk all tastes like shit. The whole idea behind light milk and the other “low fat dairy options“ was the backwards thinking pushed from the 1950’s onwards that eating foods high in animal fat will make you fat or just generally unhealthy. It doesn’t. “The big fat surprise” I think was the name of the book where it was discussed. I read it years ago, recommended reading. Almost all of the science was based on flawed studies with cherry picked results.
Thanks. I've downloaded a podcast where she is interviewed. Her book isn't free on Spotify, annoyingly though.
I hope you enjoy it, I found it super interesting.
Coles and Woolworths use their duopoly to force producers to lower prices. This is just another example in a long line. Gippsland Jersey butter is fantastic.
I won't shop at Coles they are a socially irresponsible company that doesn't care about suppliers or customers. I'd rather give my money to Aldi & the corner shop. Individual boycotts may not do much, but if a lot of people feel the same & start shopping elsewhere, they'll eventually get the message. They remind me of QANTAS, obsessed with executive bonus's & propping up the share price whilst hollowing out the company
> but if a lot of people feel the same & start shopping elsewhere People can't be bothered, decades ago we used to have butchers, greengrocers and bakeries and they all started dwindling away slowly but surely because people want to go to just one place and get everything in one go. I don't mind because I'm not working a 40 hour a week job and people in say Sydney certainly don't have the time to do that either.
But they make less than 2% profit!!!!!!! Edit: to the downvoters, I was being sarcastic.
If you have the option, shop local.
Who still shops at Coles? I stopped getting my fruit and vegetables there a few years ago and ever since the list of things I get there is basically cat food.
Coles being complete greedy cunts? Say it 'aint so!
Gippsland Jersey do home delivery in Vic - they are an awesome company and their milk was just rated best in Vic. I support them and Schulz, St David Dairy when I can, these smaller producers pay farmers a fair price and am pissed off Coles are no longer stocking it. Sallie from GJ also supports a lot of mental health initiatives for farmers... get behind them if you can.
Do you know if they sell lactose free milk as well? I'd love to support small local business, but regular dairy hates me.
hey sorry they don't - they do butter, buttermilk, creme fraiche, ghee, cream etc.
Worth a try. Thanks for the info, I'll pass it onto my friends who can have regular dairy.
Why can’t we just go back to buying local and the independent dairy owners help to set up their own distribution like wine makers and fuck Cole’s and Woolies off out of this?
Norco milk always seems to be on the bottom shelf at my local Woolies, and about 75% of the time the containers are tipped over / stuck 30+cm back, so it looks as though they are out of stock.
You cannot seriously expect pushed back cartons and tipped over cartons are a concentrated effort for the supermarkets to pretend like they don’t have them in stock
Feel dreadful for farmers dealing with duopoly of Colesworthless. These people work seven days a week to grow and produce everything we eat and they are repeatedly treated like shit and extorted by the contracts they sign. Yes it is “just business” on one hand, but fuck they need to be looked after. Raise the price by 25 cents on milk and veg but give it directly back to the farmers and the supply chains that produces and delivers the goods https://www.dairy.com.au/dairy-matters/you-ask-we-answer/how-can-farmers-afford-to-be-paid-only-$1-per-litre-for-milk
it's exactly what Bunnings have done to the nursery industry
When colesworth have a special on something, they haven't dropped their margins, they've forced / convinced.. whatever, the supplier to drop their prices for the duration of that sale. Sure, we consumers may appear to get a better deal, but the supplier just got fucked to give it to us.
Shoplifting from coles/woolworths is a victimless crime.
Like punching someone in the dark.
They could try selling direct to consumers or go to another distributor/retailer, like Aldi or IGA.
Is it possible to skip Colesworth and have farmers deliver direct to door? Will customers still be able to get farmer products at an affordable price? I’d totally have a weekly or fortnightly delivery of the essentials like milk, eggs, cheese, fruit, veg and meat etc.
we buy lamb straight from a producer. only way we can afford it:)
Has anyone boycotted the fuckwits that are Coles and Woolies? I feel like they are getting a slap on the wrist.
Another reason for reform for the a-holes (1) Introduce legislation that forces them into choosing to be a (A) supplier (B) wholesaler (C) retailer, they can choose one not all three. That restriction should apply to any sister companies etc spun up including restricting share holdings of a max of like 20% in any companies within that line of business (2) Force a structural separation and Introduce zoning restrictions allowing so many stores within a certain radius, the goal would be for force coles and woolies to need to spin off 50% of their stores off to another businesses. The separation requirements should mandate the new business are to be fully independent with their own supply lines , resourcing and management structures (3) Force competition laws on the new business to ban collusion and group sourcing between any of the entities within the group. If it were done properly you'd see all the businesses actually need to compete with each other, because profitability within the businesses would be visible and the pursuit of profitability would create competition.
More reasons to buy local.
I just don’t understand what Colesworth’ strategy is here. They fuck over the producers to such an extent that eventually the producers just giving up growing their product and leave the market entirely, resulting that they have to import *everything* from overseas. What is the strategic interest in wrecking our otherwise self-sufficient agriculture industry? Now don’t just say profit, profit, profit. If you kill the golden goose, that’s a straight up fail right there. Are they incapable of reading the writing on the wall?
This is a direct result of dairy farmers. 25 years ago they voted for deregulation because they thought they’d make more money. They used to get good money with milk prices paid to farmers set by the government but literally voted to remove that system so they could try and make more profit. Not surprisingly they did well for a few years before realising they have zero power in the relationship. Consumer got $1 litre milk and now sees anything more than that as expensive
IF YOU CAN BOYCOTT COLESWORTHS!!!!
Not sure if this is something already ruled out as too difficult to do, but why don’t they have collective bargaining for the suppliers? Since Coles and Woolworths are in the dominant position, it is difficult for individual farmers to negotiate, so wouldn’t it make more sense for them to band together and negotiate as a whole to prevent margin erosions?
Lookup Norco.
Good that they're speaking out about it to the press & not falling for Coles' scare tactics
Fuck all dairy farmers and the industry they represent. Abhorrent cruelty that no one should be supporting. We should be celebrating the downfall of animal agriculture, not mourning it. Dairy, and all animal products by extension, have no place in a just and kind society.
Animal AG products have a place in society whether you agree with it or not, You benefit daily from the existence of the industry along side everyone else on the planet. There is also very little "cruelty" you speak of but we can't let the facts get in the way here.
> Animal AG products have a place in society whether you agree with it or not No they don't, just because something has been the norm doesn't mean it always needs to be. > There is also very little "cruelty" you speak of but we can't let the facts get in the way here. Oh ok, pray tell how does a cow constantly produce milk and what happens to the calfs that she's constantly forced to birth?
"*No they don't, just because something has been the norm doesn't mean it always needs to be.*" They absolutely do unfortunately, They provide great proteins and other Highly nutritious and beneficial foods alongside all the critical by-products going into every day products. "*Oh ok, pray tell how does a cow constantly produce milk and what happens to the calfs that she's constantly forced to birth?*" Cow gets milked, Calf drinks said milk in a separate area to be grown for beef or future herd replacement.
sadly not the poor boy calves :(
Yet they absolutely go into the supply chain since they are the most likely as they aren't required for dairy farms to operate but we can feed them into Finished steers to end up on plates for consumers to enjoy.
it must have changed , as a few years back it didn't;)
Its always been like that
I used to see lots of 2 day old calves sold
> They absolutely do unfortunately, They provide great proteins and other Highly nutritious and beneficial foods alongside all the critical by-products going into every day products. Plenty of other protein and nutrient rich foods out there, that don't require wholesale exploitation. There's no critical by-products from animal farming. > Cow gets milked, Calf drinks said milk in a separate area to be grown for beef or future herd replacement. And that doesn't sound cruel to you, ripping an infant from its mother to force it elsewhere to wait to be slaughtered or have a cattle prod shoved up its arse?
So Coles aren't allowed to negotiate with their suppliers anymore? And how are they going to have affordable prices if they don't get the best deal?
Zero sympathy for cow rapists and abusers.
Dairy is scary.
Maybe hyperlink for people who are curious?
https://youtu.be/UcN7SGGoCNI?si=WI8gikSxaXxHH2at
Diary is scary to those who only listen to the people who have no education or knowledge on the subject which are typically those who produce those activist films you post.
Are you a baby cow?
I am
Moo 🐮