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

Comments

- - - [Deactivated] on 06/11/2015 - 21:39
      
      Yes. I don't know what IGA he shops at, but the one near me has absolutely ridiculous prices. e.g. I don't buy coke - and I forget the price now - but I remember involuntarily laughing the last time I saw it. I wandered in there a few months ago and saw cauliflower or broccoli (forget which) for $10 or $12 each!
  - Diji1 on 07/09/2015 - 02:10
    
    +1
    
    I don't think the operators of poker machines are stealing anything including Woolworths.
    - ilikeradiohead on 07/09/2015 - 18:27
      
      Diji1, didn't you know that the definition of stealing is "people voluntarily putting their money into the local pub's poker machine while downing a lukewarm middy".
- Diji1 on 07/09/2015 - 02:08
  
  +2
  
  I think it's because more and more Australians are realising that food doesn't come from Coles and Woolworths.
  
  What?
  - [Deactivated] on 07/09/2015 - 19:27
    
    -2
    
    If you're gonna respond with a dumb question then I won't bother.
    - DeafMutePretender on 09/09/2015 - 00:17
      
      +1
      
      You've both given each other responses you both deserve.
Brainwhacker on 07/09/2015 - 06:31

+1

Coles flybuys are always better, $50 after spending $70 for 4 weeks, last year was even better. Nothing from EDR so far
- divergent on 07/09/2015 - 09:23
  
  +1
  
  What the? Every time I get these four week offers, from either Coles or Woolies, it's always $140 spend a week. What are you guys doing to only have to spend $70 or $50 or $30, for christs sake. I never take them up because we simply don't spend $140 a week on groceries. Maybe I just live in a rich area???
  - Donaldhump on 07/09/2015 - 10:43
    
    +3
    
    im the same vote, me neighbout got spend $50 get 1000 points… me i have to spend $100 to get 500….
    you get rewarded more for being a supermarket sl*t
    - megadeth on 07/09/2015 - 18:14
      
      I have to spend $80 for 4 weeks to get $50 off… Guess, Coles have some kind of data mining to track your "typical weekly spend" and then they offer you to stretch it a bit further to give you the $50 back… If you start going to Woolies for a month your offers should be back to normal…
  - davlap on 07/09/2015 - 19:20
    
    +1
    
    I have 2 cards for coles and 2 for woolies, registered one each for me and wife. Whichever one doesn't get used gets the best offers.
    
    Coles is currently giving $50 for 4 weeks x $180 shop, but woolies have just offered 4 weeks x $30 shop for $50 voucher.
    
    A couple of weeks ago had 4 x instant $10 off a $40 shop at woolies.
    
    Woolies offered some other voucher just before that we did not use because it clashed with another Coles big spend offer. I suspect as woolies get us spending there, the offers will require more spends.
    
    Like with Coles we are spending more there than we really want to, but we also get 5% team member discount (working at Coles), so the bigger spends give us another $9 or $10 off each time.
snajper on 07/09/2015 - 07:21

+1

Too greedy….. it was taking its customers for a ride…. well deserved payback from its customers… I use to shop 70% of the time at Woolworths, 20% at Coles and 10% at ALDI. Now it is more like %50 at Coles, 40% at ALDI and 10%at Woolworths.
I was at Woolworths yesterday and one of their "specials" was a box of tissues reduced from $4.20 to $2.10 or something. I thought that box of tissues was always around $2 mark… but what do I know
c64 on 07/09/2015 - 07:25

+3

i really don't understand why anyone would use coles online shopping with their prices being ~8% more than the woolworths online prices (which are the same as instore). plus woolworths discount coupons seem to be readily available at the moment.
verio on 07/09/2015 - 07:29

+7

Liquor land in my opinion is catching up with danmurphys

Are you serious? I don't know, maybe you have different Liquorland stores in your area, but I have never seen a Liquorland store that offered the same range/prices as Dan Murphy's.
- veej on 07/09/2015 - 08:53
  
  First Choice Liquor would be more comparable to Dan Murphys in size than LL and would be a better comparison.
  - macrocephalic on 08/09/2015 - 08:58
    
    I've, personally, found that the range of non-wine products at FCL is worse than DM.
- divergent on 07/09/2015 - 09:28
  
  I didn't know you could use your EDR card in Dan Murphys, or is it a non-EDR Woolies brand? I always shop at First Choice for specific wine specials, and Dan Murphy's for Woodstock. Liquorland, no matter how convenient, just can't match on price.
- smalltime0 on 07/09/2015 - 17:29
  
  +2
  
  My experience of Liquor-land has always been that it is the most expensive out of the options for almost anything.
  Typically I find Dan Murphy's to be the best for price, Thirsty Camel has some great specials and it usually more convenient to get to and BWS is more convenient than Dan Murphy's and is even comparable in price sometimes.
WaterMark on 07/09/2015 - 07:32

+2

I believe they are losing market share due to Master Home Improvement. I read somewhere each store loses $100k a week on average. Masters are cutting heir losses from Woolies
- snajper on 07/09/2015 - 07:34
  
  Yeah they entered that market too late… Bunnings was way too established to start competing..
- SlickMick on 07/09/2015 - 08:25
  
  +5
  
  You can't lose market share starting from 0. Masters are increasing market share, just not profit.
- wako on 07/09/2015 - 08:56
  
  +1
  
  Im not surprised they are loosing so much.
  
  I have had so many bad experiences in masters sofar. If it wasnt 5 mins down the road compared to 15 for bunnings, I would always be at bunnings…
  
  I find masters staff never seem to know whats going on, always moving the 1 damn item I want from one place to another. The staff blaming there system. And there price matching policy is a nightmare …
  - macrocephalic on 08/09/2015 - 09:00
    
    I actually much prefer the Masters near me to the Bunnings. The staff are more helpful (not sure about knowledgeable) and because it's quieter it's a nicer place to shop.
- noshopping on 07/09/2015 - 11:16
  
  +1
  
  I can't believe how much staff they have at Masters. Two Masters stores I have visited recently have more staff than Bunnings.. and dare I say customers. To top it off all the staff at Masters are completely clueless compared to Bunnings. :o
SlickMick on 07/09/2015 - 08:28

+1

I've heard business commentators say that Woolies were in a very strong position in supermarkets - Coles had no chance of gaining market share if Woolies were competent. But they got greedy and thought they could increase margins - and that's when Coles saw an opportunity and attacked.
Woolies are struggling to convince consumers that they're sorry for trying to rip us off and and are going low-price again.
- cloudy on 07/09/2015 - 08:51
  
  +3
  
  U read kinda correctly.
  
  Woolies had always been as cheap or cheaper than Coles. But they're margins we're higher and stayed higher coz of more efficient supply chain.
  
  But instead of under cutting Coles back when west farmers bought them out, they choose not to under cut, and allowed Coles to mimic woolies supply efficiencies and then cut prices to win back market share. If I remember correctly back in the early 2000's there were complaints about supermarket undercutting prices killing off the independent supermarkets and ACCC chairman warned against this predatory behavior.
  
  Sometimes u cut prices and u can be seen as a corporate bully, or if you don't, you are seen as ripping off the customer.
mikzter on 07/09/2015 - 09:00

+4

After reading someone's comment on higher quality meat at Coles you might be interested in this. I live in a small country NSW town, a few years ago I was having a beer at the pub when a couple of cow cockys came in after the cattle sales. One said, did you see who bought that last lot? (where they round up all the manky cows that nobody bid on into one lot) The other said, 'yup, the Woolies guy' at which they both pissed themselves laughing. If you ever wondered why Woolies meat is consistently poor quality that probably partly explains it.
- eatwell365 on 07/09/2015 - 11:27
  
  Compared to meats got from Aldi, Butcher or Coles, I found the beef fillet cuts in Woolies have a layer of fat on the edge or in the middle. Why do I pay $50/kg for the fat (on eye fillet) that not supposed to be consumed.
- mousie on 08/09/2015 - 21:53
  
  Was it Jamie Oliver?
[Deactivated] on 07/09/2015 - 10:18

+5

Where does one start. Woolworths is heading down the same path as Coles group before the buyout from Wesfarmers. Poor management and no future vision.

Other key points why Woolworths is stuffing up:

EDR compared to Fly Buys is crap. A EDR card is only good to store your 4 cent off fuel vouchers (Woolies seems to be obsessed in saving docket paper)

5% off gift cards. Any one with business/economic knowledge would know it's better to offer 5% added value than to take $5 off the purchase price of the gift card.

Big W. Oh dear is it Specsavers, a Partyland or a liquidation store. Drop zone is embarrassing - just throw the junk in the trash, few people visit the optical department and the Party section is just tacky. Whilst Kmart (under Wesfarmers) has been transformed, Big W only recent transformation has been to the signage.

Masters. Perhaps they should call it Megamart. Bad service and rude staff (perhaps the boss reminds them how much they are losing per week). Staff at the South Morang, vic store will even deny replacement warranties even when you have a printout of the manufacturers T&C that clearly states that remedy.

Overseas pri#ks for promotions.. for a business that wants you to buy locally they can't even do it themselves. I really don't get why you need Oliver or that "FAT" guy from Modern Family to promote your store. Surely it is not too hard to find some Australian based celebrity instead..

Greed. Woolworths has a profitable supermarket and liquor business. Concentrate on making them better instead of mimicking your competitors. Bunnings is king and Woolworths should have purchased Hardware House a decade ago if they ever wanted to succeed in that sector.
Donaldhump on 07/09/2015 - 10:41

everyday rewards never gives you the bonus points…. sick of ringing them up.
chiefbodge on 07/09/2015 - 11:20

+2

Liquorland is not cheap - wesfarmers owned 1st choice is comparable to dans but they have a lot fewer outlets in SA at least.

Our family shop far more at coles because it's physically closer and tends to be very slightly cheaper on price more often than woolies is.

If my closest woolies was in the same shopping centre as coles I'd look at the catalogue each week and go to both to get the products that I need - buy in bulk if it's a good special and does't spoil.

SA doesn't have Aldi yet but I've been to it in other states and really don't get the fuss. I'm mostly happy to eat home brand products and always stock up on brand names when they are 30%-50% off so I really don't see how Aldi would be of any benefit.

All the supermarkets (including aldi) are a rip off for meat, fruit and veg and I wouldn't dare buy from them unless on special or I was feeling really lazy.

I don't really understand why woolies is losing the supermarket war at the moment - the prices are pretty similar really. I don't really get why people would have an allegiance with a certain supermarket - makes the most sense just to buy from wherever is convenient and cheap for what you want.
- mmd on 07/09/2015 - 21:09
  
  Liquorland is not cheap - wesfarmers owned 1st choice is comparable to dans but they have a lot fewer outlets in SA at least.
  
  The Woolies equivalent of liquorland is BWS. They are usually in more convienent locations.
  However they have a lower range and are more expensive compared to 1st choice/Dan Murphy's.
netsurfer on 07/09/2015 - 11:47

-1

Because they are not enough bargains.
centrelink on 07/09/2015 - 12:05

Yeah just don't call Woolworth woolies, they don't deserve a nickname, especially if they try to nickname themselves.
[Deactivated] on 07/09/2015 - 12:54

+1

In the beginning EDR seemed pretty good, I was getting gift cards regularly. Now they've ditched sending cards out and you have to redeem points in some other way. Some ecard or something. I don't know if my auto-rewards thing is active or whether I have to reactive it.

At the end of the day I go where it is the cheapest. I have no loyalty to an effing grocery store. Anyone who pledges their loyalty to a store is a clown.
burningrage on 07/09/2015 - 12:58

I think you may find Coles' fortune reversed since they introduced the 4c shop-a-docket fuel discount.

That being said, I think the reason for Coles' winning over Woolworths come down to Marketing.
Sweetnsour on 07/09/2015 - 13:25

Its all the small differences that make the total experience. That total experience is what makes customers return or choose other options. Price is an aspect but convenience of location, parking, clean trolleys. Coles do it all well together. They listened and management was given the tools to make to the needed changes. They are seeing the "fruits" of their investment.

Now woolworths can decide to cut costs to maintain dividends or invest further…
bardlee on 07/09/2015 - 14:10

I almost tripped over some tumble weeds in the aisles at Masters it was so dead.
Lancerx on 07/09/2015 - 14:22

+1

Honestly, for day to day grocery buying, I don't see much advantage coles had over woolies (since I mostly buy through catalogue specials). I would probably say there's more coles express than caltex woolies, and flybuys better market itself as the better point system (but actual fact is dollar per point for flybuys is fairly low) .

Woolies should fire their marketing department if they wanna stay ahead of the game.

Having said so, if you want your everyday price to stay low, start supporting Woolies & Masters etc whenever possible. The game between them is always about trying to kill each other to gain monopoly.

It will come one day when Coles monopoly the customer base, they will start raising their price again to take advantage of that. CWH comes to mind..

Competition is always good for us consumers..
c64 on 07/09/2015 - 15:15

+3

i don't find aldi that useful. their range of products is very limited, the range of products i buy is narrow and they never seem to overlap much.
ganymede on 07/09/2015 - 15:30

+1

I am not sure why Woolies is losing market to Coles, I find Woolies cheaper especially those on sales and with codes posted here on OzB.
ganymede on 07/09/2015 - 15:37

I don't understand our fascinations with big box stores like KMART, BigW and Target. KMART is a good example, a failing business in the US but thriving here in Oz!? We are complaining made in China craps buy we still support buying craps that are destined for the landfill in less than a year?
Cluster on 07/09/2015 - 15:47

+1

Woolworths is frequently cutting back on offers for customers. In 2010 WOW abolished the 4c petrol discount for BigW purchases. Sometime last year they changed the Qantas frequent flyer offer from 1 point per $1 over $30 to 0.5 points.

WOW also appears to be quite bad at advertising. My father had no idea a Masters store was opened in Adelaide for a few weeks until I pointed it out to him. He watches commercial TV and never noticed the ads. When I recorded one and showed him he had no idea it was for the new store. The ads are just so… generic and sound like those inane shouty ads from Harvey Norman. Fire the advertising 'creatives'

Masters in Adelaide has a very poor selection of plants. I don't know why they bother to stock washing machines and fridges. How many people think 'I need a new fridge' and immediately think of a hardware store?

The automatic checkouts at Coles are much better than at Woolworths stores. It's quite common to walk into Woolies and see two out of five auto checkouts faulty, while Coles has up to 15 available and they all work.

In my mind WOW does only one thing right: Dan Murphy's. Prices are generally much better than other booze shops in my area and the range is enormous.

ALDI is coming to Adelaide next year. I expect Foodland will be pounded out of existance within a few years and Woolworths will keep bleeding badly.
- tumsum on 07/09/2015 - 19:14
  
  very subjective.
  - Cluster on 08/09/2015 - 12:11
    
    Reading most other posts, they happen to be very subjective too. Down voting an opinion means someone believes what I think is wrong. Fair enough. It doesn't go very far in changing my mind with a one line response however.
[Deactivated] on 07/09/2015 - 15:48

I know someone thst works at a Woolworths supermarket and can tell you management are panicking.

They have been ordered to cut staff, cut hours, employ 14-yr-old kids as they work for $11/hr instead of $23 for adults.

Personally I shop at Coles whenever I can even though I have the 5% rewards card (not a true ozbargainer I hear you say) but I still have some morals.

I will not shop at a store that does not respect its customers, nor its staff, whoch is very important as they are baring the brunt of angry customers, not the pissweak manager in the back office.

Sorry to the woolies shareholders, but I say: serves them right. Maybe one day they will learn to appreciate their customers that put food on their table (the senior management and board of directors Im talking about).
eatwell365 on 07/09/2015 - 16:58

+2

Woolworths board of directors may read this thread and say, " WOW. What a bargain! I learn more here than to pay hundreds and thousands to our management team and consulting firm to figure these out." " Thank you OZB!" We will give you OZBers an exclusive discount code to shop online.
huntress_love on 07/09/2015 - 17:04

+2

I think it's Masters that killing them, as it doesn't have any real point of different to attract customers and just way to far from where I live. I hate they don't have same prices, different in different areas. Been a bargain hunters I don't have time to try different postcode to see who has it cheaper. But than again I don't go to hardware store often.

When coming to WW or coles, I prefer WW as they have better discount on fresh food. I always though their price is cheaper then coles. I go to coles because it's closer to home, so if it's not a planned shop. I always think coles is stinger has they only discount meat, and bakery item the day before expiry and some cakes already have mold on it, would never buy it just in case.

I've never shopped coles online as there no good discount and fairly sure our locate store which is small wouldn't do pickup. Love the WW online codes, as you can get discount on special and easier to buy discount 5%off giftcard.

Flybuys is good, especially for the $10 you get for 2000 points, but don't count that on shopping as it'll take a while, mostly when I remember to do the survey for the 500 points or look for bonus points to get my next $10. (not a huge swayer)

We regularly go to Aldi for our weekly shop unless either of the big ones have really good discount on stuff Aldi don't have or is much cheaper on special. We usually buy fresh food so don't go to either of the 2 very often now.

Would like to have a butch or local business with good prices, but our local store usually have more expensive fruit and veg and the tiny butchish place is also a lot more expensive. I understand the concept of supporting local business, but if they are not competitive, with the cost of living always going up, it's just not feasible to pay more for things.
- Neoika on 07/09/2015 - 17:08
  
  +1
  
  Good summary!
scratchback on 07/09/2015 - 17:52

I don't think so. You could get QFF point from everyday rewards card though you have to spend above $30.
1 QFF point is worthy of more than 4 cents if you use it to upgrade your flight and as I know Woolies used to pay qantas 5 cents and now 3 cents to buy the point.

Coles is better is because their management team is much better than woolies. Most of their on sale items are what I am intrigued and woolies is the opposite.

ALDI? I tried a couple of times but finished with empty basket. Most items are merely 5% cheaper and cheap for reason, the quality is bad and they charge extra on credit card.
- Lancerx on 07/09/2015 - 21:11
  
  +1
  
  The extra fee on cc will make me never step foot in Aldi..it's just plain stupid! Probably only good for people on welfare I guess..
  
  If I can run a small business not charging amex fee, so can the big retailer!
  - inherentchoice on 08/09/2015 - 10:37
    
    The Aldi cc fee is 0.5%. If you have an ING Direct card you will get 2% cashback so you make a profit of 1.51%!
    - Lancerx on 08/09/2015 - 11:11
      
      Why would I settle for less…I run a business turnover probably less than 1% of theirs, and I'm happily offer my customer no charge on Amex, and I still make money, and cc fee is probably least of my worry in business expenses. Why do they have to be greedy then? even with visa & MC FFS?!
      
      So if they can't do that, Aldi don't get my business..simple as that..
    - inherentchoice on 08/09/2015 - 11:56
      
      @Droid11:
      Suit yourself. Heaps of their products save me more than 20% without compromising on quality.
- eatwell365 on 08/09/2015 - 05:57
  
  Found that as well. Only selected items I would get from Aldi.
  1. Organic pasta
  2. Premium cereal
  3. Eucalyptus oil
  4. Free range eggs
  5. Bread
  6. Meat
  Suggestions?
  - geek001 on 08/09/2015 - 08:53
    
    +1
    
    Pretty much everyday things if you don't really care about the brand. All these are cheaper than Coles/Woolworths, unless they are on special, which then means that the price is comparable to Aldi's.
    
    Natural cheese slices
    Frozen vegetables
    Caged eggs
    Peanut butter
    Chocolate!!!!
    Mushrooms
    Chicken
    Frozen Hashbrowns
    Toilet paper
Tasmaniac on 07/09/2015 - 19:19

I remember a couple of years ago when I went into Coles after shopping my whole life at Woolies. The first thing that struck me was how ordinary the fresh food section was, not only were their prices higher than Woolworths but the fruit and veg where all battered and bruised like they didn't give a sh*t about the quality of what they were selling. I've since discovered that they are quite competitive across the board on most of their items but that first impression still sticks with me to this day.
outofdateyesterday on 07/09/2015 - 19:36

Coles are moles, Woolies are bullies.
- DeafMutePretender on 08/09/2015 - 03:07
  
  <Tones>
  
  Turf the Colesworths
  
  </Tones>
tonyjzx on 07/09/2015 - 20:33

surely this is normal market forces? it used to be pretty much two main players… coles and woolworths with franklins and whoever else making up a slim share

now with aldi, iga, costco and whatever the fork that means the duopoly is collapsing and if both dont get in the ass evenly then one will get it more…which is a good thing

coles and woolworths should be forever contracting with stronger new players coming in

really… stuff them, as they say, past results isnt an indicator of future performance
Munificent on 07/09/2015 - 20:56

+1

If prices are similar between Coles and Woolworths, and the distance between the 2 stores is about the same for the OzBargainer, wouldn't you rather go to Woolworths to get your guaranteed 5% discount using the giftcards?
Or am I missing something..
- cloudy on 09/09/2015 - 17:16
  
  To be honest, even if woolies is a little further I'd drive and pay the 30 cents extra petrol for the 5% discount.
  
  Plus petrol purchased with wish gift card is equal to around 6-7c off petrol on top of the 4c voucher, so I nearly always go woolies.
  
  But from reading the comments, people like getting fly buyersr points. I've personally did the maths and I reckon fly buyers points are not worth the effort. You have the spend thousands of dollars to get the smallest of gifts.
  
  Intant 5% discount from wish cards for the basics is a no brainer for me.
rgr on 07/09/2015 - 21:04

I'm hoping Lidl also come to Australia, and maybe Amazon could come here too when they get their supermarket business up. Coles and Woolworths need to be severely challenged in this monopoly of theirs.
- Davo1111 on 08/09/2015 - 01:15
  
  +1
  
  i wouldnt get too excited by lidl…. its just aldi
- inherentchoice on 08/09/2015 - 10:40
  
  +1
  
  But Lidl is coming to Australia!
  
  http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/could-this-be-the-al…
mmd on 07/09/2015 - 21:23

Wesfarmers also own Officeworks and Kmart tyre and auto.
I'm pretty sure Officeworks has major market share.
Woolies doesn't even have a competitor in those fields.
dasher86 on 07/09/2015 - 21:58

At least in my area the Coles supermarkets are cleaner, better organised and have less stock outs.
Woolworths stores feel old and outdated, nothing against IGA but the woolies seem like them not part of a big duopoly.
sal78 on 07/09/2015 - 23:02

we love woolies. their animal cards, and other programs were hugely popular. so much that I only shopped at woolies to collect all the characters for my kids. now its the school sticker program and all the parents at dchool are collecting stickers for school.

ppl may find this weird but i can only grocery shop at my local woolies or coles. i get stressed wheni go to a new/u familliar supermarket because i cant find anything and it takes twice as long. i shop at the same regular places only, know where everything is.

I dont think i've ever bought food at Aldi.. just everything else besides food.

I occasionally go to Supa IGA.. their meat and bakery is really good.
- veej on 08/09/2015 - 08:55
  
  I would have been more impressed with the animal cards if they had sourced local product. They came from the Netherlands of all places.
srr on 07/09/2015 - 23:17

We go to Aldi for whatever is good and cheaper there, than to Woolworths for the rest. Hardly ever to Coles - everything is worse there, almost no specials on meat, the range is lower and the meat is in the gassed packs brought from who knows where. Woolworths contrary to that has in store butchery. I also love their bread, especially when it's on sale at 7PM for $1 per loaf.

Also, what I found is that stores are very different depending on location. We were mostly shopping at Coles when were living in a previous place, everything was better there.
mikzter on 07/09/2015 - 23:34

Up until a few years ago I really only shopped at Woolies. The big change was when Coles ramped up it's gluten free and health food aisle. Over the past couple of years they have added more and more products. I have checked the same in Woolies but they have appeared to only make a luke warm, Ho Hum effort in offering these products and in two years there has only been a small improvement. I have checked Aldi and IGA and they are even worse than Woolies in this regard. Only Coles appears to have realised just how many people actually shop with this focus and have responded.
GourmetFoodie on 08/09/2015 - 09:40

+3

Sole reason I don't use them? Because I tried doing an online delivery 3x with them. EVERY SINGLE TIME the driver was more than 2-3 HOURS late with final delivery arriving past midnight one time and close to midnight another time.

Coles has NEVER been late. Over 25 orders with them. In fact within my 2-3 hour "window" they give me a specific 30-45 minute period where it will be arriving and it is ALWAYS there!

Coles value my time which for someone doing online ordering, is the most important thing.

Also when I have complained to Woolworths about my experiences, their call centre operators were unhelpful and border line rude.

Coles call centre operators are AMAZING. I love them. They go out of their way to be helpful and build customer loyalty.

So that folks is why Woolworths sucks in my humble opinion.
ozdancer75 on 08/09/2015 - 14:39

The game changed when Westfarmers took over Coles, ever since then woolworths has been losing marketshare. For a farmers collective they are pretty good at getting companies to perform. At the moment they own:

Coles
Bunnings
Officeworks
Kmart
Target
- bonezAU on 08/09/2015 - 15:05
  
  +1
  
  Liquorland, First Choice Liquor, Vintage Cellars, BI-LO, Coles Express, Kmart tyre and auto… not to mention insurance, chemicals, mining
  
  Wesfarmers has 100% interest in many other subsidiaries across Australia, New Zealand, India, New Caledonia, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Indonesia, China, Bermuda and Singapore. These include BBC Hardware, Coles Ansett Travel, Coles Group Superannuation Fund, Coles Property Management, Comnet, Fosseys, GJ Coles & Coy, Grocery Holdings Pty Ltd, Harris Technology, Howard Smith, Katies Fashions, Loyalty Pacific, Masters Home Improvement New Zealand, Morley Shopping Centre, now.com.au, Theo's Liquor, Tooronga Shopping Centre, Tyremaster, Viking Direct and World 4 Kids.
  
  They're pretty big.
TRENT86 on 08/09/2015 - 16:03

I think it's because they are losing too much money on Masters which is holding back deep discounts @ woolies
CheapCoffee on 08/09/2015 - 18:05

+1

Here is a relevant article from the Age today. Has Woolies passed its use-by date
- eatwell365 on 09/09/2015 - 06:53
  
  +1
  
  the article writer has been following ozbargain?
  - CheapCoffee on 09/09/2015 - 14:20
    
    I felt like that too hahaha. Wouldn't be surprised… This thread has been on the front page for a while now, and OzBargain is a relatively popular Australian website.
MelBourne on 08/09/2015 - 19:59

+2

I just wanted to post this, as I always voice my opinion on this matter, and Im someone who tries not to be a loud-mouthed, hot head with vocal opinions about everything.

I try to avoid Coles and Safeway as much as possible, and will go to the butcher for meat, the markets or the Veggie shop for my fruit and Veg, and will try to support independently owned shops for other niche products like Alcohol and Flowers (you get the picture).

Obviously there are some items that go on sale, and are too good to pass up, as well as a few products which you just don't know where to get aside from the Supermarket… So I definitely do enter the local Coles once a week or a Safeway whenever I'm near one - But I don't go out of my way to go to these supermarkets.

Obviously I like a good deal, and I don't want to be ripped off, But I don't spending just a bit extra on some products if it means Im supporting a more independent or small business.

After a surgery recently, and regularly requiring heaps of Medication for my recovery, I've been debating the cost difference between the small pharmacy and Chemist warehouse. Apparently Chemist warehouse has a big monopoly and of course can bulk buy all medications at a phenomenal price and under cut almost every other chemist business out there. The problem is, I've been told by the local chemist, is that once they buy up all the smaller and independent pharmacies in town, they can then jack up the prices and we wont have a choice but pay whatever they say - because there wont be any choice! (Just like what has happened with Bunnings and Masters IMO).

What I do is ask the pharmacist to match the lower prices (which can be huge by the way, $60 instead of $100 is a common saving for me) but then add a few dollars so that I can actually pay them a small profit. If they can actually match chemist warehouse, they are not making any profit, and sometimes cant match chemist warehouse because they are cheaper than the small pharmacies purchase price.
Jalif on 08/09/2015 - 21:46

Masters. The hardware store that thinks trades start work at 9am.

Woolworths is burning money to keep Masters open, which means less money for promoting and running the core business.

Coles is currently out marketing and out pricing Woolworths.

The sooner Woolworths divests Masters the better.
magikz on 08/09/2015 - 22:04

I personally prefer Woolie's rewards over Coles's Flybuys. I don't think I've used FlyBuys once. Whereas the Woolies rewards gives me something instant after I've finished shopping xx amount. Nowadays I only shop when either Coles or Woolies offers me a voucher at the end of my shop. Woolies also lets me add the cost of Opal to get the voucher. For example tonight I spent $120 ($100 Opal, $16 on a shoulder of pork, and $4 on frozen vegetables). I get a $20 voucher. The groceries are enough to make me 6 frozen meals.

I then have a $20 voucher to spend in 7 days. Coles has also offered me spend $60 for 4 weeks and get a $50 voucher. I'll make this up in long life items and use the $20 from Woolies on meat for the next 6 days.

It's all about playing both sides and maximising the vouchers.
snajper on 09/09/2015 - 07:42

Both Woolworths and Coles are market bullies that rip us all off. It is just that Coles is better at masking their greed and possibly slightly less greedy than Coles. What is a worry for them is that big international and competitive overseas supermarkets are entering the game that are way to big to be bullied out of the market or taken over.
geek001 on 09/09/2015 - 09:08

Woolies has leadership problems, with their chairman and CEO gone, hopefully whoever coming in will provide some real competition to Coles and have some clear direction in their business. I went into Woolies and Coles last night to get some cough drops(because they are literally right next to each other), Coles has it for $4.05, Woolies has it for $4.99. The only things cheaper at Woolies are specials and reduced bakery items. It is not good enough to be perceived as cheap with their cheap, cheap campaign, they actually need to be cheaper than their competition!

I don't know what they are doing with Masters either. Are they targeting tradies or a weekend DIYer? If they are targeting tradies, what's with the appliances? If they are targeting DIY, they should hire skilled staff to give expert advice, not retail staff. That's why when you ask the staff for opinion, they say "I don't know, I only work here". If they are going to start something, then put some effort in it, look at what happened to their Dick Smith misadventures. Dick Smith seems to be making money now under new management instead of making losses under Woolies.

Dan Murphy's is the only business I see doing well, consistently beating other people on price.
neonlight on 09/09/2015 - 10:04

EDR sucks in many ways. Flybuys kills it. Coles stores have better environment, more spacious and clean.

Aldi is only good for special buys and selected goods, cheap but you don't get the quality
- geek001 on 09/09/2015 - 10:50
  
  I don't get it. Why are there so many people knocking EDR vs Flybuys? To me, they are pretty much the same. Can someone give me specifics please?
  
  Re: Aldi, quality is a bit subjective, isn't it? I find Aldi fresh foods seems to be fresher and not as bruised because they are individually packed. I feel a bit guilty about the amount of packaging trash that I generate though.
  - neonlight on 09/09/2015 - 11:00
    
    Simple, with Flybuys you can convert to Flybuy dollars from points and then you pay groceries with it.
    - geek001 on 09/09/2015 - 11:06
      
      Isn't that the same with EDR, where you convert your points to Qantas Frequent Flyer points? You can choose to convert the points to a gift card if you wanted to?
    - geek001 on 09/09/2015 - 11:14
      
      In fact, QFF points are worth 25% more than Flybuys. $2000 spend at Coles = 2000 Flybuys points gets you $10. $7500 spend at Woolies = 7500 QFF points gets you $50 gift card. To get $50, you will need to spend 10000 Flybuys points.
    - neonlight on 09/09/2015 - 13:07
      
      +1
      
      @geek001:
      
      The problem is if you spend less than $30 you don't get points? I usually spend less than $30.
      
      To top it off Coles Mastercard can also build up points, and if you have Coles insurance you also get points. Every thing counts.
    - Neoika on 09/09/2015 - 13:37
      
      @neonlight: The big difference is not Flybuys versus EDR.It is you can get Woolies's 5% off egiftcard easily but not Coles giftcard.
      
      Flybuys only gets you measly 0.5% to 1.5% rebate.
    - neonlight on 09/09/2015 - 14:26
      
      @Neoika:
      
      Yes I use e-giftcard at Woolies as well. But generally speaking, I like shopping at Coles.
      
      If Bus tickets are sold at Coles, I would shop less at Woolies. 5% giftcard is via Entertainment book and doesn't have anything to do with why Woolies is losing marketshare!?
      
      If you have a EB why double up?
      
      Also Woolies petrol is inferior compare to Coles Shell (at least in my area, I know I get 50-80KMs less if I pump at Woolies same grade RON91/95). So here's another reason why I spend $30 at Coles rather than Woolies.
      
      EDR offers are so poor, not rewarding.
srr on 09/09/2015 - 16:42

+1

I dont' get the points thing at all. Spend $2000 to get $10? Seriously?
Falchoon on 09/09/2015 - 16:43

I have a Woolies, Coles amd Aldi all within a stone's throw of each other in my local area and Woolies/Caltex and Coles/Shell servos about a km down the road next to each other. There is a Big W nearby as well and K-Mart coming soon but at the moment about 10-15km away. No nearby Masters, the nearest one is about 20km away, been past a few times but never been in. There is a Bunnings being built nearby now but won't be open for 6 months or so yet.

I mainly shop at Woolies, mainly because, being the tight OzBargainer that I am, petrol works out to be a bit cheaper there because my car runs on 95 RON PULP fuel which is cheaper than the 98 RON that is the only PULP avaiable at Coles/Shell. Sometimes buy non-food stuff on special from Aldi but quality can be hit and miss and similar items are generally available elsewhere for much the same price.

Independents like IGA are generally too expensive and (like Aldi) only have limited range so I end up going to Woolies or Coles anyway so haven't really got time for going to multiple stores, so just do 99% of shopping at Woolies now.

I have Rewards/Flybuys for both shops and use them wherever possible when shopping but don't really spend enough to accumulate many points.

I find Coles self-service checkouts harder to use than Woolies. Often the Coles machine seems to have a hissy fit and I have to get the supervisor to swipe their card in the machine to re-set it.

K-Mart recently had a big refurbishment and I have trouble finding stuff now. Big W has been the same for ages and is easier (for me) t find stuff. Product range seems similar at both shops. I've noticed Big W and K-Mart can be a bit cheaper on things that are stocked by both the supermarket and department store ie washing laundry liquid.

I used to have Coles car insurance but I shopped around before renewing last time and found a cheaper price elswhere.
timpo on 09/09/2015 - 17:08

+1
Well from my experience the reason I don't like to shop at Woolworths is:

Big W wouldn't let me return a tablet with a dent in it since I bought it online and took too long to return it. So i stopped shopping at woolworths and it has cost them much more than letting me return the tablet :)

Woolworths doesn't carry good flavored milk in WA

Woolworths sells extremely dodgy meat at the deli counter and only lasts 1-2 days in the fridge.

A lot of Woolworths have smaller isles which is a total pain if there is people traveling opposite directions with trollies.

So in conclusion Big W sucks and coles has better products and store layouts :)
mopsis on 09/09/2015 - 19:17

Only good thing about Woolies is that you can buy 5% off gift cards through Cashrewards and use them in conjunction with 4c off docket for petrol. Better deal than Coles. But I buy most of my fresh goods at local grocers. Only do minimal @Woolies to get the 4c docket.
outofdateyesterday on 09/09/2015 - 20:54

What do you call Woolworths when it burns down? Coles.
frostman on 10/09/2015 - 09:46

+1

-your masters suck. They are over staffed with idiots that are clueless about your products.

^ LOL

The whole self-scan is a stupid flaw.
Previously Supermarkets would hire up to 9 staff on a single line scanning.

Now they got rid of staff (imagine the yearly savings) and forced us to scan our own items without even passing the discounts down to the products.
- tonyjzx on 09/11/2015 - 13:28
  
  To be fair, why would you think efficiencies get passed down to the customer? They streamline so they can increase profits for their shareholders.
  
  If Ford or Holden makes their cars in India or China would you expect a cheaper car?
  - frostman on 09/11/2015 - 16:06
    
    If Ford or Holden makes their cars in India or China would you expect a cheaper car?
    
    Damn right yes,
    
    Why do you think the 2002 BMW 325CI was ~ $76,000 RRP and the 2002 BMW 325i ~ $66,000?
    Essentially it's the same car, same engine and almost everything wit a few tweaks not worth $10,000.
    The CI is a coupe, with 2 less doors and all the other central equipment that come with it. the CI is made in Germany and the other in South Africa
    
    Look at the toothpaste, you will find the Sensodyne made in Thailand at like $5 on sale, whilst the one made is Australia $8 if you're lucky
    
    if you cut costs by cutting quality, then you should pass some of the savings to the consumers.
    Do you honestly think BMW can sell you the BMW car made in Germany, as that made in SA?

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