Why Is Woolworths Losing Market Share?

[Deactivated] on 06/09/2015 - 14:48
Last edited 08/09/2015 - 15:55 by 1 other user

I shop most of the time at Coles 5 mins from my home. I like their loyalty fly buys program, there is a Coles express near my work where I can use my 4c docket, i have a Coles MasterCard and Coles home,car, life insurance and quadriple my fly buy points.
Liquor land in my opinion is catching up with danmurphys
Bunnings trounces masters
Kmart smashes bigw.
For me the inconvenience of location of woolworths, caltex and poorly designed everyday reward program lead to its slow demise.
That is why in my opinion woolworths is falling behind. Newish player aldi is expanding. Lidl is coming.What do you think?

Well ozbargainers have spoken. Wow management if you are reading, listen to your customers and try to improve on the following:
- your edr sucks. No one wants to accumulate points after $30. Make it 1 point per dollar from 1st dollar you spend.
Do 2000 pts for $10 off like your rival and dump your qff .
- your marketing sucks. No one likes scantily clad pom singing ridiculous song . Get a bunch of weirdos like your rival and start playing some catchy songs. Get yourself aligned with masterchef, mkr etc.
- your website sucks, your drivers are always late. Just fire those clowns and get some decent drivers and web designers.
-your self serve checkout terminals suck. They are slow unresponsive poorly layout.
-your masters suck. They are over staffed with idiots that are clueless about your products.
-your response to your customers suck . We want gluten free,halal,kosher varieties not just cheap home brand stuff that we can get at aldi.
The only thing that works for you is dan murphys and your animal cards

Food & Grocery

Related Stores

Woolworths
Woolworths

Comments

  • cypher67 on 06/09/2015 - 14:51
    +111

    Should change the titles to "Why I think Woolworths is losing market share"

    • RedLights on 06/09/2015 - 21:13
      +2

      And then you looked at their 1yr share price.

    • [Deactivated] on 07/09/2015 - 06:25
      -4

      It is factual that woolworths is losing market share, not just my own opinion. I am trying to spell out some of the possible underlying explanations .

      • lonewolf on 07/09/2015 - 16:05
        +4

        Having family members as well as some friends working in woolworths (finance and sales sectors), Woolworths has dropped considerably compared to where they once were. They are still making a tonne of cash but yes they have dropped somewhat and coles down down campaign really rocketed. Aldi is also on its way up.

        • T1OOO on 07/09/2015 - 19:32
          +3

          It's that their business is platoing but also that other companies in their portfolio like masters is smacking them hard

        • jaru07 on 07/09/2015 - 20:35
          +12

          @T1OOO:

          Woolies is moving into philosophy and mathematics? Maybe they should try Socrating like Coles :P

        • massafiri on 07/09/2015 - 20:51

          @T1OOO: This ^ Master's isn't giving a great ROI and Coles Group is growing strong… investors are selling to jump ship.

    • ronnknee on 07/09/2015 - 18:18
      +2

      Or remove the question mark from the title; either way would make much more sense.

    • cameldownunder on 08/09/2015 - 15:26

      You see a pattern where there isn't. Today Woolworth is loosing market share, next year it's Coles. It's seasonal, it's fluctuating.
      My preference goes to Woolworth. I had bad seafood from Coles. But that's just local. But local is where I shop.

  • Costanza on 06/09/2015 - 15:03
    +3

    They promote cheap (instead of quality) when cheapskates are the least profitable market and many of them have moved to aldi.
    They are using an overexposed pom to promote the brand.
    They use ugly branding on their home/own brands instead of just giving them their own identity like aldi do.

    • Skinnerr on 07/09/2015 - 02:56
      +4

      i prefer that pom to the alternative whosit? figurehead of coles.

    • ItsMeAgro on 09/09/2015 - 22:21

      For me the biggest pain point are the self-serve checkouts.

      They are woeful everywhere (seriously guys - you want me to use self-serve, but you give me a slower scanner and need a staff member every 5 seconds for something? Nope.) but at least Coles still has a normal register or two open.

      My local woolies recently started having zero real registers open most of the time, for no detectable reason. Just a fast lane and ten slow, crappy self-serve checkouts. Woolies went from having 50% of my business to zero.

      • c64 on 18/09/2015 - 09:31

        i find the coles self-serve checkouts sluggish. i amuse myself by seeing how many times i can press 'finish and pay' button before it finally responds.

  • gooddealmate on 06/09/2015 - 15:04
    +14

    I agree.. Everyday Rewards is no where near as good as flybuys.

    On saying that, they have just sent me a deal offering $100 free shop if I spend $50 a week for the next 4 weeks.. Thats just too good to refuse.

    • imtahir7 on 06/09/2015 - 15:42

      i got one saying spend 30 bucks a week for 4 weeks and theyll give me $50.

      • gooddealmate on 06/09/2015 - 16:29
        +2

        Yes it's dependent on how much you normally shop there and your history I think, haven't used Woolworths in a while so presuming that's why the offer is larger than normal.

        • Colombian on 06/09/2015 - 19:11

          I also got the $100 free after 4 weeks spending $50 each week. Long time since I don't go to Woolworths though, Coles is closer to me, and as said above, Flybuys is better than everyday rewards. This time I'm going to go to Woolworths for 4 weeks :)

        • cheapy on 06/09/2015 - 19:39

          Correct. Theres now a deal for $100, if you spend 50$ per week over 4 weeks, and then spend $100 in one transaction.

        • nismo on 06/09/2015 - 19:51
          +4

          Much better than my 3 x $100 to get $30 GC, ah the perks of being loyal (not).

        • Hirolol on 07/09/2015 - 19:52
          +1

          @nismo:
          Its a joke isnt it.
          Whenever i see the email i just delete straight away.

        • nismo on 08/09/2015 - 07:46
          +1

          @Hirolol:

          Exactly. The previous one was something like spend $140+ per week for 3-4 weeks. No thanks.

        • gmtlightonline on 09/09/2015 - 12:27

          Mine also same.. 30 bucks a week for 4 weeks and they give $50
          wow Im loosing something?!! ;)

      • PJC on 06/09/2015 - 19:27
        +4

        Mine offers to spend $20 per week for 4 weeks to get $50. Even I can't resist that!

        • zoinks on 17/09/2015 - 19:19
          +1

          Me too. I hardly ever shop there but am doing small shops for 4 weeks

      • bluedufflecoat on 07/09/2015 - 11:28

        Mine is crap. Spend $70pw to get $50… no thanks.

      • jellykingdom on 07/09/2015 - 13:04

        Mine was 3x $90. Terrible! Last time was 3x $50

    • grasstown on 06/09/2015 - 20:07
      +3

      I got this offer and will try use it, but this offer is why I dislike woolies. Saving is so much effort. Timing your shopping to make sure you do the spend each week cycle for 4 weeks, then having a deadline to use the credit. Other times they have had in the same period like a code for deli, a code for fruit, a code for choc etc all with minimum spends. It was a joke

    • Peck on 07/09/2015 - 10:41
      +2

      Coles sent me a $50 free shop if I spend $50 x 4 weeks, it was a struggle and ended up to be a bit of hassle, but I reached my goal. Coles and Woolies near each other West Ryde, and price comparison is easy. My guesstimate is that Coles equal or cheaper in 90% of goods, especially fruit & veg.

    • Supernanny on 07/09/2015 - 12:01
      +1

      They did not honour that for me last time I did it. I went to the trouble of ringing everyday rewards. They said a gift card would be posted since the reward was not applied on my everyday reward card. No gift card arrived. I avoid these promos now since in effect that one got me to spend more than I would normally. Once bitten twice shy.

      • Schezwon on 08/09/2015 - 20:15

        Omg, same thing happened to me from woolies, most of the promos don't even work, even though i activated it and spent the amount, I'm like at the check out, wondering why. ..

    • vr4indian on 07/09/2015 - 12:31

      do they consider OPAL purchase as valid for this promotion?

    • Neoika on 07/09/2015 - 13:48
      -2

      Probably you should compare Woolies egiftcard with Coles Flybuys,ignoring EDR.

      Flybuys wont give you 5% off while egiftcard does.

      It is not easy to get 5% off Coles giftcard.

      The irony is if you use less often your EDR,you ususally get better offer.So just treat it as an offer generator,do not use it when you do your normal shopping(even your can earn QFF from the transaction).

    • Schezwon on 08/09/2015 - 20:13

      I have not received any offer like that, which state are you from?

  • QuickToThePointless on 06/09/2015 - 15:05
    +12

    What do you think?

    I think that the title is stated as fact and the body of the topic goes on to list a series of opinions and personal preferences.

    • nismo on 06/09/2015 - 19:53

      In other words, it's a pointless question ;)

  • UncommonName on 06/09/2015 - 16:19
    +27

    Lol, this post sounds a lot like an iPhone fanboy's take on Android. :p

      • Kikkoman56 on 06/09/2015 - 23:48
        +7

        This is different.

        Dwarves are actually rubbish!

        • DeafMutePretender on 07/09/2015 - 00:58
          +3

          This is different.

          Kikkoman Soy Sauce is actually rubbish!

        • CrazyMexican on 07/09/2015 - 02:12
          +1

          @DeafMutePretender: this is…. Never mind :x

        • eatwell365 on 07/09/2015 - 07:42

          @DeafMutePretender: what soy sauce do you use?

        • gimli on 07/09/2015 - 08:12

          @eatwell365:

          Uncle Toby

        • Peck on 07/09/2015 - 10:45

          @DeafMutePretender: Metamucil is more rubbish. Label says "With 100% Natural Psyllium" but it actually contains approx 33% psyllium, and probably the balance is sugar (Curiously the full analysis not on the label)

        • dazweeja on 07/09/2015 - 12:32

          @peck:

          Probably not sugar as nearly all of their range contains Aspartame instead. I'd prefer sugar personally.

        • c64 on 07/09/2015 - 14:39

          @peck:

          why not just buy psyllium husk, it is ~80% fibre, zero carbs and a lot cheaper

        • Peck on 07/09/2015 - 19:12

          @mtg: Funny that you should say that :)) I just did today, and threw out a $16 jar of Metamucil.

        • Hirolol on 07/09/2015 - 19:55
          +1

          @mtg:
          Where do you recommend is the best place to buy psyllium husk?

        • c64 on 08/09/2015 - 13:33

          @Hirolol:

          psyllium is mostly soluble fibre. you could also eat some unprocessed wheat bran which has a high insoluble fibre content. each type of fibre feeds the gut bacteria living in different parts of your colon. apparently gut health has a profound effect on your overall health.

          getting your fibre from a variety of real foods is probably preferable, eg, fruit & veggies, oat bran (coles brand = 22% fibre) & frozen berries (raspberries in particular).

          you can get psyllium husk from woolworths (macro organic psyllium is $16/kg tomorrow) or coles (i think coles' brand is ~$17/kg) or chemist warehouse etc. unprocessed wheat bran (~40% fibre) is much cheaper (~$3.80/kg) but a little less palatable. you only consume a little at a time so the packs last for a couple of months (keep in an airtight container).

        • 01011010 on 08/09/2015 - 14:54

          @peck:

          yes but the Psyllium that's included is 100% natural.

        • gimli on 08/09/2015 - 15:00
          +1

          @01011010:

          how did we end up talking about Psyllium…

        • Peck on 08/09/2015 - 15:53

          @Hirolol: Woolworths!! hehe. But seriously they do actually have macro organic 500gm bags for $9.79

        • Hirolol on 08/09/2015 - 17:39

          @peck:
          Do you mix it with water the same as metamucil?

        • c64 on 08/09/2015 - 18:49
          +1

          @Hirolol:

          you put a teaspoon or tablespoon into a mug of water, stir and drink. the soluble fibre absorbs water (~50ml/g) and forms a jelly like blob (let it sit for 5 mins in the cup if you want to see that). it's pretty flavourless, not horrible but also not tasty. like eating grass i suppose. i find it curbs my appetite a bit. i guess it also interferes with nutrient absorption so there is a balance to be had.

          according to the catalogue, the woolworths bags are on special for $8.00 wednesday. i've never used that brand before.

        • Peck on 08/09/2015 - 22:46
          +1

          @Hirolol: Yep but go careful. It can be atomic!

        • 01011010 on 09/09/2015 - 08:24
          +2

          @Gimli:

          i know its just 'psylli'

      • gimli on 07/09/2015 - 16:09
        +2

        I guess my sarcasm was lost

        • rompastompa on 08/09/2015 - 15:34

          It's OK, I found it.

        • mskeggs on 09/09/2015 - 20:37

          I smiled.

  • geek001 on 06/09/2015 - 16:30
    +4

    I used to shop at Coles and Aldi, then about a few years ago, Coles started reducing the variety in the stores and replacing them with products with their own branding. So I started shopping at Woolworths and Aldi instead. I am finding Woolworths has started to do the same thing lately. Luckily, I have built up a history of products that I buy from both on their loyalty programs. So I check the apps on my phone before I go shopping now.

    • smalltime0 on 07/09/2015 - 17:22
      +3

      I actually think Woolworths started the mass home-brand assault on its shoppers.

      • Schezwon on 08/09/2015 - 20:21
        +1

        Yep, they spam us with Homebrand, Select and macro range. I try my best to avoid it.

  • Davros on 06/09/2015 - 16:58
    +4

    Woolworths website sucks and it has been mentioned plenty.
    It used to be perfectly fine and I did $120+ every week using it plus probably another $50 instore.
    Now they just the $50 and I know of at least 6 other couples who have done the same.

  • inherentchoice on 06/09/2015 - 17:13
    +9

    I think Coles is doing better with just subtle differences that make the overall shopping experience more positive.

    I find their stores brighter and cleaner and their staff are definitely more friendly. I go shopping nearly every 2nd day but usually only to buy about $10 at a time. They also have some "down down" prices that are always cheaper than Woolies.

    Anyways I think Woolies is losing more market share to Aldi than to Coles.

    Aldi has quite an efficient system, though it means less staff to help you and slow checkouts, their smaller and organised stores do provide genuine savings that are quite appealing. Even the fruit has barcodes (i. e. it's pre packaged, except bananas).

    This article might provide some good insights:

    http://m.smh.com.au/business/retail/aldi-well-placed-for-woo…

  • djones145 on 06/09/2015 - 17:22
    +1

    I think they are lose market share based on sales dollars due to ozbargain and their coupon deals lolz
    when you sell 37 packets of toilet paper for peanuts and also the other deals they have, they prolly get more sales/revenue but less profit!

    also I love woollies as they do opal, and have the dollar deals with opal (like save 5 bucks for 30 spent) and get points, and get fuel vouchers and be able to use amex (which I get more points)

    also the dominos were a great offer

  • [Deactivated] on 06/09/2015 - 17:51
    +7

    The biggest problem is probably the points as someone mentioned. I buy often, and only buy around $20 worth of items, so I rarely earn any points…

    I have moved to my local IGA which is close enough to save money after accounting for fuel costs or a bus trip.

    • nismo on 06/09/2015 - 19:57
      +8

      Yeah it sucks that woolies rip you off the first $30, you don't get any reward points. They really need to match Coles/Flybuys to compete.

      • Pigey on 08/09/2015 - 00:29
        +1

        Yep, I don't even bothering scanning my EDR if it's <$30.

        Then again I don't scan it even above $30 as the less I scan, the better offers they give me.

        • nismo on 08/09/2015 - 07:47

          I think I should do the same, make them think I'm not shopping there for a while :-)

        • bargainslut on 12/09/2015 - 12:38

          I'll give this a try, makes a lot of sense.

    • eatwell365 on 07/09/2015 - 07:51
      +1

      I try to minimise my shopping in Woolies.

      I can be wrong but these are my thoughts:
      Hassle of parking.
      Price is rip off when things are not on special.
      Try to push home brand and make up other brands, I may as well try Aldi as quality is assured,
      eg. Aldi pre packed grass fed Scotch eye fillet - $36 per kilo. Woolies sell normal scotch fillet for $50 per kilo.
      Breads - need to buy two for special, when I can get one cheaper in IGA everyday.
      Insurance is cheaper but no personal service and find it harder to deal with when claim. Tried and dropped out,

      • drprox on 07/09/2015 - 09:32
        +1

        Totally agree on the steak, Aldi thrash the other two mercilessly in this department.

  • Diji1 on 06/09/2015 - 18:06
    +1

    I unfortunately do not have an Aldi in my state so I am paying the farce competition duopoly prices. I prefer Coles for a number of reasons:

    1) Fresh meat actually seems to be consistently higher quality at Coles. A lot of Woolworths red meat looks pink(er) rather than dark red coloured which as i understand it is due to a treatment to a allow it to last longer.

    2) Woolworths carry bags piss me right off because the handles break apart. They also leave a dark green residue on the skin and clothes of the person carrying them after a minute or two. It's disgraceful that they've bought in 15c bags that do this.

    3) The self-service checkouts are poorly designed and slow to the point of being confusing compared to Coles eg. you press a button, nothing happens, you press it again just as it changes to the next screen because apparently they can't afford hardware that runs as fast as my 15 year old HTC Universal touchscreen device.

    4) Coles branding is just … more pleasant. The intangibles of corporate design etc. - well Coles is more "me" as far as a supermarket can be me. It's a shitty relationship that will end just as soon as Aldi turns up but fwiw, I just like Coles better,

    • Colombian on 06/09/2015 - 19:15

      jeez!!! I went to Woolworths today after long time and that self checkout was a pain in the ass. Responsiveness of the machine is very slow, and besides that, I had to call the assistant because the machine couldn't scan my rewards card from my mobile. He said it doesn't work with mobiles.

      • nismo on 06/09/2015 - 20:04

        There must be different systems in use, coz my card scans and also scanned the coupon from here just yesterday (both on mobile).

        Ours are slow though, much slower than Coles, especially when waiting in between scans, Coles is much quicker to let you scan the next thing..

    • ilikeradiohead on 07/09/2015 - 12:59

      I used to prefer the woolies self checkouts because they didn't weight the products, so if you were just buying a single item you didn't have to put it down, but they changed it to copy coles.

  • Ughhh on 06/09/2015 - 18:14

    For me the inconvenience of location of woolworths, caltex and poorly designed everyday reward program lead to its slow demise.
    That is why in my opinion woolworths is falling behind. What do you think?

    My woolies has been a little meh lately, it's also probably because you don't shop at my local woolies.

    On the serious note, aldi is opening in the same mall as woolies soon, well see how competitive they are.

  • niknah on 06/09/2015 - 19:21

    The coles in my area are all xpress types. So I mainly go to woolworths.

  • cheapy on 06/09/2015 - 20:26
    +2

    As for the question its clear that Woolworths got very sloppy in the last few years, while Coles capitalized on their growth in Bunnings and Officeworks, etc. To compound matters, Masters was an expensive disaster, and cross promotional advertising worked more effectively in Coles advertising Masterchef.

    Alongside this, Aldi has torn a gaping wound in its competition too (where in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, there are now as many Aldi's as there are Coles/Woolies).

  • nomoneynoproblems on 06/09/2015 - 22:23
    -3

    I've read "Woolworth" so many times and it just feels wrong to me. You will always be and I will continue to say "Safeway".

    • ThirdRonnie on 07/09/2015 - 10:53
      +4

      It's Woolworth's. "Woolworth" is an American outfit. "Safeway" is a Victorian thing for some obscure state-specific legal reason. It's Woolworth's in the rest of Australia.

      • smalltime0 on 07/09/2015 - 17:25

        Didn't Woolworths buy Safeway? Since the brand was strong, they just stuck with it ever since.

        • amkssg on 08/09/2015 - 00:11
          +1

          Correct, just that they have not "stuck with it ever since". They began rebranding the Victorian "Safeway" stores to "Woolworths" in approximately 2008-ish. If I am correct, they only stores that still carry the safeway brand are those in Country VIC, and NSW stores near the NSW/VIC border.

          Edit: Just googled about it. Apparently, Woolies dumped the Safeway brand in 2008.

    • zappy32 on 07/09/2015 - 13:11
      +1

      They were called Roelf Vos Supermarkets when I was growing up in Tasmania.

    • Baysew on 07/09/2015 - 17:45

      Woolworths killed off the "Safeway" brand seven years ago.

      (http://www.news.com.au/national/safeway-brand-killed-off/sto…)

    • Hirolol on 07/09/2015 - 20:03

      Safeway will always have a place in my heart mate but sometimes you just gotta let go and move on with life.

  • megadeth on 06/09/2015 - 22:24
    +2

    I used to live about 2 min drive to Woolies but we quit doing bulk of the groceries from there in 2011 after getting ripped off for 4 years (2001-11), Got Costco membership and never looked back. Not to mention that we've moved now and again on the mercy of the Colworths again… :( Don't see Costco or Aldi coming to NT anytime soon…

  • [Deactivated] on 06/09/2015 - 22:53
    +3

    Why on earth do people even go to Woolworths and Coles? They're bloody vultures. Support local businesses and not the manipulative corporate scum.

    In answer to your question. I think it's because more and more Australians are realising that food doesn't come from Coles and Woolworths.

    • GameChanger on 06/09/2015 - 23:54
      +18

      Which local businesses? All are over priced and can't compete with the big stores.

        • DeafMutePretender on 07/09/2015 - 01:01
          +4

          Why can't they compete? Take a guess. I'm sure you're smart enough to figure that out.

          Because consumers prefer to spend their money at Colesworths?

        • [Deactivated] on 07/09/2015 - 16:54
          -2

          @DeafMutePretender:

          hooray!!

        • Audisez on 07/09/2015 - 18:54
          +2

          You think you are smart for supporting uncompetitive businesses? Take a look at the decline of the Australian car manufacturing industry, and how much taxpayers money was wasted in trying to support them.

        • [Deactivated] on 07/09/2015 - 19:26
          -2

          @Synk:

          These businesses are everyday Australian working people.
          The car manufacturing industry was not even Australian owned.

          By your logic we shouldn't support our farmers either.

        • Audisez on 07/09/2015 - 21:24
          +2

          @tendollar: My point has nothing to do with whether or not a business is Australian owned or not, it is simply that it isn't the smartest ideas to so adamantly support uncompetitive businesses and if our agriculture industry was continuously draining billions of dollars over a few decades with little to no benefit then I think that we shouldn't support our farmers either.

        • macrocephalic on 08/09/2015 - 08:57
          +1

          "Why can't they compete? Take a guess. I'm sure you're smart enough to figure that out."

          Economies of scale. If any small business got large enough to effectively leverage the economies of scale like woolies and coles do - then you'll hate them as well.

        • [Deactivated] on 06/11/2015 - 21:32

          @arcticmonkey: You're hinting one-off stores would reduce prices if more people shopped there. That's just not true. They'd just smile a bit more often, attribute it to "postive customer experience" and not reduce prices - just like anyone would.

          They charge more because it costs them more to buy in the first place - not because less people are buying it. Those places have always charged more. Ok, they might reduce meat from $30/kg to $29/kg - but they're not going to reduce it to $20/kg when it costs them $25.

          Back in the 1970s most suburbs where I live had a minimum of two corner stores, sometimes more - but only one Coles OR a WW for a 20-30km radius. In fact, that's where the small corner stores bought their stuff from too, and whacked 60% on, LOL.

          Meat has always been more expensive at a local butcher. And I'm not seeing anything cheaper in green grocers like several years ago - unless it's more akin to compost than food. And IGA prices are laughable ($7 for 2L of homebrand ice cream - wake up to yourselves IGA!).

    • Willy Bargin on 06/09/2015 - 23:56
      +5

      That why I try to support IGA , pretty much the same price but I know the profits go to the store owner . And he live local , supports local farmer , jobs .

      I gave up on woolworths when I found out they are Australia largest poker machine holder . They steal with one hand and give back penny to the community with the other . Coles is not much better . But I rather Coles seafood and my family rather Coles bread ( the one with the 5c red kite )

      • DeafMutePretender on 07/09/2015 - 01:01
        +7

        Isn't IGA more expensive than even Colesworths? It was the case last time I went.

        • eatwell365 on 07/09/2015 - 07:55
          +1

          I shop the specials and price lockdown items in IGA. Other Items - make sure you know the price to compare.

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