[AMA] I Worked at Head Office for Coles. Ask me anything

John Stone on 13/06/2018 - 21:37
Last edited 13/06/2018 - 21:38 by 1 other user

I was reading the thread about the guy who worked at Coles/Woolworths and saw that there were quite a few misconceptions from staff and the general public about products, pricing, policies etc.

I have recently left my role at Coles. However I did not work in a store. Instead I was working in Head Office in a number of roles including Merchandising, Ranging, Supply Chain, Distribution and Marketing. I do however have a lot of experience in store and I can safely say that in my head office role, I have knowledge that even a store manager would not have or be privvy to.

So feel free to ask anything and I will try to answer!

Introduce Yourself

Related Stores

Coles
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closed Comments

  • John Stone on 13/06/2018 - 21:41
    +17

    As an example. If you see something in a Woolworths or other Coles store that your local Coles does not stock request a staff member to do a "Range Request". It needs to be a department manager or store manager for them to know what it is. They can then request the item. The request gets sent off to space planning at head office. This is the team that deals with the layout for the store. Each item has particular facings. Example - Coke in a medium sized store might have 8 facings, Pepsi 6 etc.

    If the store has room to reduce facings of a product below the minimum required for that store type (so the new product can fit) AND the local distribution centre holds stock for that item the range request will be approved. Usual turnaround time for approval is about 1 week. However because of store processes it might take another week or two for the item to appear on shelf. This is because somebody then has to generate a ticket at some point, somebody has to find the stock and fill it etc.

    • scrimshaw on 13/06/2018 - 22:12

      Can you tell us anything interesting about slotting fees? How much would you charge a company if they wanted to put some baked goods on your shelves?

      Has there been any disputes between 3rd party companies and Coles in terms of who gets what space (e.g Coles Homebrand stuff taking priority over others)

      • John Stone on 13/06/2018 - 22:20
        +1

        In terms of slotting fees, it is definitely not called that at Coles/Australian retail. To be honest it is one of the areas I probably have the least knowledge in. I can't give you a solid figure without asking some ex colleagues unfortunately.

        In terms of disagreements, yes. There has been many disagreements with Coles and certain suppliers. Sometimes this means that pricing agreements do not get updated, whilst other times it means that products from certain suppliers are withdrawn for short periods of time. Coles have been known to be pretty ruthless on some suppliers, and I am pretty sure this is knowledge even outside of the company. Coles homebrand products and any other low margin product as a rule of thumb usually takes pride of space in either the top shelf or the bottom shelf. I think however this is a pretty universal thing, as our eyes are drawn to the middle shelves and the higher margin products.

    • This Guy on 17/06/2018 - 20:27

      I added the extra as I have come across too many staff members (at your competitor) who call a coworker and introduce as a store manager.

      I have also ordered unstocked items in bulk at your competitor though a department manager (obviously stocked by their distributor).

      Corporate policies work great on paper, but are often ignored by or unknown to staff.

  • scylla on 13/06/2018 - 21:49
    +9

    How are the weekly sale items chosen?

    • John Stone on 13/06/2018 - 22:04
      +17

      Weekly sales items are usually locked in about 14 weeks from promotion.
      They are usually decided based on meetings with suppliers and what kind of discounts the suppliers can offer.

      Each buying team also does it differently as the promotions for certain categories differ.

      • SnoozeAndLose on 13/06/2018 - 23:04

        Weekly sales items are usually locked in about 14 weeks from promotion.

        longer if it is not a local stock

      • tik tok on 14/06/2018 - 08:47
        +2

        So are all discounts offered, offered by suppliers/manufacturers ?
        I have always wondered, if they can offer stuff for half the price, then why not just sell it at that price and have a constant stream of customers. Guess it reduced the perceived value ? You'd be the best person to answer.

        • popcornready on 16/06/2018 - 15:01
          +2

          You could probably do a job for a smaller salary than you are on now? So why don’t you?

        • elgrande on 17/06/2018 - 18:46

          The big discounts are often loss leaders. Part funded by the supplier and part funded by the supermarket.

        • tik tok on 17/06/2018 - 21:33

          @elgrande: How do you know its part funded by the supermarket ? What incentive does the supermarket have ?

  • Zedsdeadbabyzedsdead on 13/06/2018 - 21:53
    +31

    Do you think peace will reign free in the Korean peninsula?

  • TheBilly on 13/06/2018 - 21:59
    +2

    Who owns the most poker machines out of the two giants?

    • John Stone on 13/06/2018 - 22:04
      +1

      I have no idea of Woolies ownership so I cant comment on that

    • Zedsdeadbabyzedsdead on 15/06/2018 - 10:58
      -6

      North Korea?

    • DemocracyManifest on 16/06/2018 - 14:44
      +2

      This is a easy question, Woolies through ALH. Coles have spirit hotels but there arent many around mostly in QLD from memory.

    • elgrande on 17/06/2018 - 18:47

      Woolies

  • battler on 13/06/2018 - 22:05
    +3

    How much does a manufacturer pay to put their product on an 'end' (end of aisle or other similar promoted location) for a week?

    • John Stone on 13/06/2018 - 22:10
      +2

      There is usually not direct payment. It usually is via a volume rebates that are negotiated with individual suppliers. However these decisions are usually nationwide. For example if Coke 24 pack is on an end, it will be on the same end in every store in the nation. Not necessary the location, but the end number, ie End 3)

      The decisions for the ends is usually one of the first things to be completed as the information needs to be passed onto the space planning team to allow them to design what the end will look like. For example stacked on the floor, on shelving, in supplier tiered (cardboard) shelving etc.

  • vinni9284 on 13/06/2018 - 22:07
    +1

    Hi John,

    Any reason why the fruit has no mini bar coded stickers on them rather than having the supplier logo for accurate priced scanning?

    I have noticed that at checkout, the checkout person very often makes pricing errors on the type of fruit that is "assumed" rather than actual?

    For example, the apples on special that i get is not priced correctly and the more expensive apples are entered into the POS.

    Woolworths has a incorrect pricing system, where you get the item free if discovered where Coles has a "wriggle" clause to opt out of this error for fruit.

    If i scanned an item on the self-checkout and entered the wrong item that is cheaper "inadvertently" I would get accused of theft.

    I advise anybody that purchases fruit at Coles undertake a comprehensive bill check after purchase as in my view, ripping us off is a common practice for checkout staff errors

    • indium on 14/06/2018 - 05:53
      +4

      You don't get the item for free if it's operator error entering in the wrong product or if a different product ticket was placed in front of the item. Only get the free item where the item scanned at a higher price than the items ticket on display.

      Staff often don't follow the scanning policy though in both supermarkets and you might get lucky or unlucky depending on the staff member. I've found the best way to get free items is to not say anything until you've paid then go to the service desk.

      • vinni9284 on 15/06/2018 - 08:31
        +2

        "I've found the best way to get free items is to not say anything until you've paid then go to the service desk."

        Yes, you have hit the nail on the head.

        After the transaction/payment is always with me too!

        Cheers

        • ih8un on 15/06/2018 - 20:19

          Can you elaborate how and why this works more so than questioning it at the time of scanning?

        • vinni9284 on 16/06/2018 - 09:05
          +1

          @ih8un:

          There are times I cannot supervise every scanning process, considering that they do have a small screen to compare. And sometimes, the screen is skewed/pointed away from direct sight.

          Furthermore, there is an aura of being impatient as they scan quickly and there are others behind waiting with their groceries full on the conveyor.

          Regardless if I check the scanning process on their screen or not, I pick up my bags of shopping after purchase and go to a quiet area, and check my receipt.

          Once again, they can afford expensive RF tagging for meat etc, self-checkouts eliminating several wages for young kids .. where customers queue like cows in a race .. etc …and I'm sure that they can afford a small bar-coded sticker for fruit/vegs for mistake-proofing rather than the logo that that covers (at times) bruising or any anomaly of fruit/veg that you are purchasing.

          I'm sure that the scanner/check-out person doesn't do this on purpose as they are under the pump at times.

          Prevention is better than cure .. as the cliche goes.

    • [Deactivated] on 15/06/2018 - 16:26

      I notice woolworths price all the different types a particular fruit/veg the same eg all varieties of mandarin are the same price/kg. So it doesnt matter if you/operator gets the variety wrong

    • GregMonarch on 17/06/2018 - 06:43
      +1

      I advise anybody that purchases fruit at Coles undertake a comprehensive bill check…

      Yeah tell me about it. Bought some tomatoes for $4.90/kg I think, a bit over a week ago. They were hydroponic ones with the stems attached. But I only wanted 3 so I took the loose ones people had broken off. The checkout girl charged me for more expensive ones. At the car I realised I'd paid over $3 more, walked back across the car park, and was told, "Always take ones with stems attached." Right. So if everyone did that who would take the loose ones. How about staff either learn the different shape of the tomatoes in stock, or ask the customer which ones they are instead of assuming they're the most expensive ones.

      • vinni9284 on 17/06/2018 - 10:50
        +1

        They were hydroponic ones with the stems attached.

        Sounds like Truss Tomatoes.

        Totally agree!
        You take the amount you are happy with and not a whole bunch because it assists the checkout person with identification.
        Plus if you take more, they usually rot by the time you use the extras.

        However, I can understand where the checkout person could make this error.

        As suggested on my previous post, if supermarkets invested in little min-bar coding for fruit/veg .. like normal grocery items, we will not be in this predicament.

        There are already stickers on many fruit/veg, however it's the supplier logo. So basically the bar-coding can be integrated with it. It's not hard.

        I just wonder how much these businesses profit with these type of errors, where the customer "assumes" that the scanned items are correct, but are being overcharged due to incorrect scanning.

        Many customers go for ticketed specials, so in essence, they can't be at a loss due to incorrect scanning.

        This probably offsets the self-checkout losses, but then they are saving 100's of thousands per year of not employing people.
        Soon more savings off abolishing plastic bags.

        … then more savings of forcing closures of supermarkets and pushing massive warehouses for online shopping.

        Already, you can see that many Shell outlets are becoming "mini-supermarkets"

        So I would say, in my view, many clustered supermarkets in one major suburb will start to disappear.

        Cheers

  • John Stone on 13/06/2018 - 22:13
    +1

    This sounds more like a store training issue rather than something that the company is trying to intentionally do. Trust me, there has been no memo to stores to request them to ensure that customers have the highest priced item possible scanned in….or has there????

    If you check on the stickers of products such as apples there should be a 4 or 5 digit number. Such as 42118 (for example granny smith apples). If you type that number on the sticker into the Self Checkout the item will come up.

    • John Stone on 13/06/2018 - 22:14
      +1

      You can also use shortcuts on the self checkout. 1 = bananas 6 = carrots etc.

      • [Deactivated] on 15/06/2018 - 21:23

        Already know 1 for Bananas.
        I want a list of all the shortcuts i know the old self checkout system used to display them on screen when you selected the photo the new one doesn't.

        Cannot stand Coles current self checkout system i used to use the 279(flybuy card number) code without having to pull out the card now system demands you to scan it. Thank goodness some other Wesfarmers stores still accept it.

    • vinni9284 on 13/06/2018 - 22:21

      Thanks John,

      These companies invest in so much money on adopting Lean Logistics/Manufacturing;

      • Introduction of self-checkouts to reduce staff numbers.
      • RF Tagging for expensive items.
      • Abolishing of plastic bags (OK, more importantly, the environment benefits and obviously so does Coles coffers/shareholders)

      Can't they invest in a bar-coding system for fruit/veg to ensure accuracy for the customer?
      I'm sure they can!

      Once again people, check your bills!!!!

      Anyway thanks for your reply

      • John Stone on 13/06/2018 - 22:38
        +1

        Hopefully something like that is on it's way.
        Fresh Produce operates differently to the other departments in the store. All stock is ordered manually.
        Grocery/Dairy/Meat etc, run on a system called Easy Ordering.

        It is basically a computer ordering system that forecasts sales for a day, and ensures that there is enough stock on hand to meet forecast plus a "safety stock" and minimum presentation standards. These systems rely on accurate stock on hand numbers. If the stock on hand numbers are out, then easy ordering thinks that there is stock in the store and won't send it any more. It is only when this SOH level is reset that it will then realise and send more. Obviously there is stock on hand drift with theft, wrong counts by somebody, misplaced stock, misentered stock etc.

        If Fresh Produce goes onto the Easy Ordering model then there will be a greater need for Stock on hand count to be accurate, therefore greater importance on customers entering the correct details. However I believe Easy Order Fresh Produce is still a while off, if at all.

        • SnoozeAndLose on 13/06/2018 - 23:00

          How about cannibalization? SOO of other line ? weather? local events etc?

        • John Stone on 13/06/2018 - 23:11
          +1

          @LoveBargain15:

          All of this is factored into when forecasts are created. The Easy Ordering system creates a baseline forecast based on information that it is given. Discount %, In catalogue, previous sales etc. This forecast is then amended by CDP's (Category Demand Planners). They then have to make a human decision based on tens or hundreds of other factors such as weather, local events, Christmas, public holidays etc. Even pension on/off week, socioeconomic factors of the store and car park shutdowns/maintenance are taken into consideration. Obviously a lot of this requires feedback from individual stores.

          For promotional items this forecast is then further tweaked based on State and Store Day 1 and Day 2 promotional sales.

          For example, if at a state level Coke 24 pack is forecast to sell 100,000 units in a week and Day 1 sales is 50,000, forecasts need to be bumped up to about 300,000 so that orders for the rest of the week match demand.

        • SnoozeAndLose on 14/06/2018 - 06:44

          @John Stone:

          You could tweak the forecast to match the system, but will the supplier able to match is another story.

          KPI is already set by then, so whatever you want try to do to update the forecast it become useless.

      • burningrage on 14/06/2018 - 21:37
        +2

        While the plastic bags ban is mentioned, I just want to put it out there I don't agree to this and the peril of duopoly means I can't go anywhere else.

        Coles, being the loser of the duopoly should have taken a differential stance against woolies which is increasingly becoming more like Qantas everyday (by getting political).

        I hope the glory days of Coles spanking Woolies arse (like when it first introduced the 4c fuel discount) is coming again.

        • vinni9284 on 15/06/2018 - 08:28
          +1

          "I hope the glory days of Coles spanking Woolies arse (like when it first introduced the 4c fuel discount) is coming again"

          The problem now with this luring "tactic" of customer rewards is not that beneficial as you think.

          Where I am located, there are other Service stations with in the vicinity that are not on the main roads, like many Shells etc .. and I can tell you, I have a BP off the main road and it is usually 2 cents cheaper than Shell factoring the 4 cent Coles discount.

          In my view, they jack up the prices to offset the discount and in some cases, are still more expensive than many others.
          But there are times that they are cheaper, but like 1c/ltr with their competitors however this frequency is rare.

          Cheers

        • [Deactivated] on 16/06/2018 - 11:57
          +3

          Could not agree more.

          Look at Commonwealth bank with all their BS politically correct activism yet the one thing that potentially could save a whole community from potential harm/terrorism (reporting suspicious deposits to the relevant government authority) they failed.

          Lesson for Australian CEOs if reading this. BE the best bank/supermarket/business and leave the politics to The Greens (probably not!), The ALP and The Coalition.

  • Godric on 13/06/2018 - 22:14
    +1

    Theft from self-serve, is this 'budgeted' for?

    & What is Coles doing to prevent further theft and false scans @ the self serve checkout?

    • John Stone on 13/06/2018 - 22:27
      +4

      Unfortunately I have not worked within loss prevention to know the plans for self checkouts.

      However, I do know, that yes, theft just like wastage is budgeted for. Although scarily at store level wastage and shrinkage are both accounted for under the same entry.

      • This Guy on 17/06/2018 - 20:58

        At different retailers to yours shrinkage, wastage and store use are logged under different codes. Stores with higher than average in one category are informed. Staff with higher than average stats are asked for explanations.

        Shrinkage and waste normally affect staffing budgets, not purchasing budgets, so there would have been no reason for you to have any involvement.

  • Zachary on 13/06/2018 - 22:17

    How much did you get paid and why did you recently leave your role at Coles?

    • John Stone on 13/06/2018 - 22:24
      +6

      Whilst I will not reveal my exact salary, I was paid 6 figures, although this was a TFC (Total Financial Contribution) package (included super). I was also given a car and a phone as well as a incentive based bonus which could be up to $20,000 depending on what and how many KPI's I hit.

      The Why? - I was working 14 hour+ days. It's ok to do for a period of time, but it is no lifestyle! I was offered an opportunity in another role (with a better lifestyle) that I could not turn down as well!

      I believe Coles offers all salaried staff TFC packages. It can be one of the dangers of a young person who does not understand what it means. They could offer a department manager $80,000 TFC, but in reality it is a lot less than that once super is taken out.

        • singlemalt72 on 14/06/2018 - 08:03
          +8

          That is not as much an age issue as it is a occupational thing. Hourly wages are for people in lower-level positions (generally). Salaries are for management/professional level jobs (though this varies with job sectors).
          Salary is great, but you generally tend to find yourself working long hours in these positions as you are paid to manage the job and meet targets, not to show up, do repetitive tasks and then leave.

        • Ughhh on 14/06/2018 - 12:45
          +8

          You sound really really young.. No offence.

        • kingmw on 14/06/2018 - 19:49

          After a while, even high hourly wage is not worth the impact on your life/sleep/recreation.

        • kingmw on 14/06/2018 - 19:57
          +6

          @dig bick: I doubt they have very frugal lifestyles if they have no savings..

          Most people rent or buy a place that is way above their income (especially with the massive price hikes recently). Lots of people buy flashy cars on credit and send their kids to private schools which is not a frugal lifestyle.

          Frugal would be 2nd hand car, rent a cheap place, minimal eating out, no gambling or drinking much alcohol, shop at Aldi/home brand or buy discount stuff only, purchase mainly 2nd hand items etc. If they were doing this and earned 6 figures had no savings then the world has gone to shit..

          This is frugal.
          http://www.businessinsider.com/5-of-warren-buffetts-most-fru…

        • Zachary on 15/06/2018 - 00:29
          -1

          @singlemalt72: oh…my bad then…

          @dig bick: ….me…? 😅

          @Ughhh: ….yes….

        • John Stone on 15/06/2018 - 00:45
          +4

          Yeah not going to lie dude but you sound very young and inexperienced. Salary and wage have nothing to do with younger and older people.

          Also if you have taken up a mortgage anytime recently you would know that it is almost impossible to be filthy rich :P

        • Zondor on 15/06/2018 - 09:30
          -5

          Six figures isn't a big figure depending on what state you live in.

        • Gotchas on 15/06/2018 - 10:16

          @Zondor:
          100001 or 999999?

        • [Deactivated] on 16/06/2018 - 12:10
          +3

          Lower wages are here to stay. Get used to it (excludes pollies and public servants)

          The cost of living is being pushed up by two main factors (a melodramatic response to so-called climate change and greedy property tycoons).

          The ALP response to negative gearing (welfare to the tycoons) if elected is rubbish. If Australians are only entitled to one first home owner grant/s the same should apply with negative gearing and it should apply retrospectively with a phase out period for those wealthy enough to have more than one investment property.

          Will not even mention the coalition as they really do not give a stuff about renters or first home buyers struggling in the current market.

        • Charity on 16/06/2018 - 20:00

          @HARSHREALITY: the idea of the 1st home owners grant is BS in itself. It sounds good on the surface, and probably had good intentions, but in reality it just makes every home $7000/14000/21000, etc more expensive, because many people also have access to it and price it in. Except if you don't, then you are $7000+ behind "everyone" else

        • Zondor on 12/07/2018 - 14:02

          @Zondor: Not sure why the negs, seen the house prices in Sydney?

      • Associatedpeanut48 @ Coles on 14/06/2018 - 19:38

        What level of management were you in?

        • John Stone on 15/06/2018 - 00:25
          +1

          lol you are assuming I was in a management role?

        • [Deactivated] on 15/06/2018 - 09:15
          +13

          "Associated" haha trying to fish and kiss ass back at head office ?

        • Associatedpeanut48 @ Coles on 17/06/2018 - 11:06

          @Michegianni: It's an AMA. Why would you assume I'm trying to fish or kiss any ass? Did it occur to you that I could be in a senior position? I was being curious like everyone else.

        • Associatedpeanut48 @ Coles on 17/06/2018 - 11:07

          @John Stone: Was just trying to peg your salary on the 6 figure spectrum.

        • This Guy on 17/06/2018 - 21:16
          +2

          @peanut48:

          "I was paid 6 figures, although this was a TFC" implies $100-130k. I don't know how Cole's operates, but with most other retailers to have as wide exposure in such specialised areas OP would have had to come in as a grad ($80k + super, car and phone would be a six figure package).

  • ChillBro on 13/06/2018 - 22:51
    +2

    Do you have any idea why Coles annoyingly does not match their online price? Do they want people to go to Woolies that much?

    • John Stone on 13/06/2018 - 22:54

      Can you give any examples of this. It isn't something I have worked on, but it is also something I have not noticed myself.

      • ChillBro on 13/06/2018 - 23:09

        I can only think of one off the top of my head: a few weeks ago Coles had fuze ice tea on sale on their site. I went in store and asked them to match, they refused, so I went next door to woolies and bought the same items at the same discounted price.

      • Charity on 16/06/2018 - 20:02

        it's true. Not on every item, but some items.

      • GregMonarch on 17/06/2018 - 06:52

        Happens to me all the time. You receive an email advertising prices, stating your local store suburb, and saying "order online or in-store"… but the store price isn't marked down. So you show staff on your phone and they say, "Oh our price is different to online."

        Chicken breast or thigh fillet are two I notice the most. But also remember it happened with apples a few months ago. I was in WW and looked up apples in Coles. It showed something like $1.90/kg, but when I walked in there were something like $5.

        • Associatedpeanut48 @ Coles on 17/06/2018 - 21:27

          Not anymore, might be worth checking it again.

    • Associatedpeanut48 @ Coles on 14/06/2018 - 07:55
      +1

      You might want to check again. There used to be a slight difference in pricing to cover the higher costs of a human being picking, packing and delivering the order. Even then it was only marginally higher and worth it compared to the convenience. Also they are the same price for specials, everyday lines and down down.

  • hadz on 13/06/2018 - 22:59

    Hi John, Thanks for the AMA

    Two questions, How old are you (approximately) and how did you end up in your job at coles? What were your prior roles/experience/education.

    Thanks

  • John Stone on 13/06/2018 - 23:02
    +1

    I am in my very early 30's.
    My previous experience has mainly been in Accounting and Finance for one of the big accounting firms.
    I have a degree in Commerce with majors in Accounting and Economics.

  • [Deactivated] on 13/06/2018 - 23:30
    +1

    Do you get better discounts than the 5% they offer us peasants?

    • John Stone on 13/06/2018 - 23:33
      +4

      haha no. I do get 2 cards though. However I believe all PT/FT staff get that. Also it doesn't stack :(

      • [Deactivated] on 13/06/2018 - 23:35
        +1

        Yep, so exact same as us. That's quite unappealing as I believe WOW has a tiered discount system where the higher up you are in head office the better your discount.

        • John Stone on 13/06/2018 - 23:38
          +4

          Whilst I would have loved to get an extra discount, Coles did look after me in terms of salary so I can't complain too much. I couldn't imagine a staff discount at Woolies going over 10%, the margins just are not there.

        • [Deactivated] on 13/06/2018 - 23:56

          @John Stone:

          My sibling had someone scan a Woolies card that deducted about 40% as a staff discount. I assume they were C-level.

          EDIT: Before someone says it, no it wasn't reward points.

        • Neoika on 16/06/2018 - 18:36
          +1

          @nurries: Maybe you need to show us a picture of the receipt sometime,or does not exist.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/06/2018 - 18:46
          +1

          @Neoika:

          Yeh, brb while I take a pic mid transaction with a high ranking staff member. /s

      • tik tok on 14/06/2018 - 08:50

        Do you get staff discount on smokes and spirits ?

        • John Stone on 14/06/2018 - 09:39

          Alcohol yes, smokes I don’t know as I don’t smoke

        • DemocracyManifest on 16/06/2018 - 14:49

          @John Stone: nope and you dont get flybuys points either on smokes

  • SupplyandDemand on 14/06/2018 - 00:43
    +2

    I'm about to start my career in one of the big 4 accounting firms. What made you move from one of these firms to Coles?

    • John Stone on 14/06/2018 - 13:28
      +4

      To be perfectly honest I did not enjoy the day to day work. I had worked for the company for a while, but I had only done so in a couple of roles. It was very repetitive and I felt that I needed to either leave or do something else internally to challenge myself.

      Leaving was one of the hardest life choices that I had made up to that point in time. It was a very stable job with a good salary, and I had many sleepless nights about it. If you really want to know more, pm me and I can give you more info.

  • Donaldhump on 14/06/2018 - 02:10
    +5

    Why does coles not have a capital c

    • backpaqer on 14/06/2018 - 08:28
      +3

      Why can't Curtis Stone say Coles? It's more a Coowes.

  • EightImmortals on 14/06/2018 - 06:18
    +5

    Why are all my favourite quality products slowly being replaced with 'home branded' crap?

    • veej on 14/06/2018 - 11:40
      +1

      I saw on the news the other day that Coles wants to stock up to 40% of their own branded products soon, have fun ;)

      • EightImmortals on 14/06/2018 - 12:49
        -1

        I refuse to buy home branded products, if that means I have to shop elsewhere or online then so be it. :)

        • jikijiki on 14/06/2018 - 16:12

          Why, if I may ask?

        • EightImmortals on 14/06/2018 - 17:20
          +4

          @jikijiki: A few different reasons, for one thing I appreciate quality name-brand products and I do not believe that 'home branded' products are up to the same quality/taste. Secondly once all the quality name brand items have gone out of business then there will be no stopping them from gradually decreasing the home brand quality even more. I don't mind paying a little bit extra for I perceive to be a better quality product while at the same time encouraging variety in both products and producers. The Home Brand products seem to be a tactic by the big 2 supermarkets to further solidify their market dominance which I IMO is bad for the overall health of both the economy and the customers who are left with smaller and smaller choices. Anything I can do to encourage more market participants and greater variety, I will do.

          That's just me though, I'm funny like that. :)

        • Yola on 15/06/2018 - 10:42
          +3

          @EightImmortals:

          I agree with your second point but regarding the quality I have had times where I used 2 cans of the same veg/fruit, one branded and one plain label and the plain label was definitely superior. The problem is you have to try them out and they could change manufacturer and hence quality but that also happens with branded products but not as often.

        • GregMonarch on 17/06/2018 - 06:58
          +3

          Flour, cornstarch, sugar, salt, milk powder, cocoa, and dozens of other things are the same no matter what brand they are. If a brand name product is charging 3x the price for such things they don't deserve to be in business.

        • EightImmortals on 18/06/2018 - 06:35

          @GregMonarch: Yeah, nah. I refuse to believe that flour or sugar grown in Australia is the 'same' as those products coming from less regulated markets. The same goes for those other products, are they GMO or non GMO? Are they organic/non organic. etc etdc Unless you are comparing apples to apples (no pun intended) then there are numerous factors that play into a shelf products price. And I'm assuming that home branded stuff will always opt for the cheapest product they can find.

        • droptester on 18/06/2018 - 18:17
          +1

          @EightImmortals: private label brands can and often do come from the same sources as branded goods

        • EightImmortals on 18/06/2018 - 18:42

          @droptester: Maybe. But how do we tell? And why do they taste different?

      • DemocracyManifest on 16/06/2018 - 14:50

        Liquorland is the same half the stuff thats on sale normally is their own branded stuff

    • This Guy on 17/06/2018 - 21:21

      Higher margins when your not paying the manufacturer for their brand as well as their product.

  • altomic on 14/06/2018 - 09:28
    +1

    The Coles head office was built on the site of a former drive-in cinema. did you ever experience ghosts from that time?

    • John Stone on 14/06/2018 - 10:26
      +1

      I didn’t know that. You learn something new every day. No I never experienced any ghosts!

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