Just Me or Are The Supermarkets I.e (Coles/Woolies) Really Cutting down on Choices?

gromit on 01/05/2023 - 09:54

admit it could just be my niche purchasing, but lately it seems each shop I do at woolies something else has been cut from their product range that I buy. lately it was my favourite bread, liverwurst, giblets and chicken hearts at my local woolies. On the positive side it forces me to shop elsewhere but it is getting really annoying. Over the last year there has been a good dozen items from my shopping trolley that are no longer available there and none of these items are discontinued, they are just not stocked their anymore. Anyone else noticing similar or are my items just to fringe/niche.

Food & Grocery

Related Stores

Coles
Coles
Woolworths
Woolworths

Comments

  • cosmicjul on 01/05/2023 - 09:59
    +16

    I don’t purchase super niche items but I have noticed that the selection within ranges has decreased at colesworth. I’ve found that they never have the cheaper products anymore, either the home brand is out of stock or completely gone. My example would be the frozen vegetable spring rolls or some of the meal base products. I understand your pain, I feel like I’m having to take mental notes from multiple supermarkets where I can get certain items.

    • gromit on 01/05/2023 - 10:01
      +4

      yep, I don't mind shopping around a bit, but it has gotten to the point that even a quick top up of weekly items can require trips to multiple places whereas I would previously only do a multi shop once a month and then small shops at colesworth when needed.

    • Ultimate Gattai on 03/05/2023 - 00:30

      I think that maybe it's too hard to make the products since covid hit (ingredients hard to get or not enough workers to make it), e.g. Sara Lee used to have several dairy free cheese cakes that I liked, since covid hit, it doesn't seem to exist anymore, it's still in their product range, but no one seems to stock it.

    • SummerZero on 08/05/2023 - 14:38

      glad i'm not the only one to notice the lack of own brand products in woolies and coles lately

  • Cho0028 on 01/05/2023 - 10:00
    +9

    There's a big push in supermarkets towards the "home brand" range because it gives ColesWorth better profit margins. Expect to see either less shelf space, or phasing out, of mid tier or niche brands as they're more costly to procure and offer less profits to the big supermarket chains.

    • gromit on 01/05/2023 - 10:09
      +1

      its sad, found myself having to go to 2 deli's and a chicken shop at the markets on the weekend just to get some of our basics, it also means I had to pay a huge premium on them.

  • sane on 01/05/2023 - 10:15
    +7

    As with the prices, they are taking advantage of people not giving them the grief they deserve to improve their profitability position. There is no justification other than greed.

    There ought to be government action, but their attention is on frippery rather than the assaults on everyday life of everyday people.

    • KaTst3R on 01/05/2023 - 11:27
      +1

      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/13638737/redir

      It is very easy shout foul without looking into the details.

      • jsvr on 29/05/2023 - 19:10
        +1

        there's no way manufacturers just randomly decide to increase costs by 50-100%.. Eg. Tissue box 99c now 1.70. Almost double, highly doubt manufacturers doubled the cost to colesworth, it's obviously corporate greed. It's disgusting..

  • singingwolf on 01/05/2023 - 10:22

    They always seem to cut stuff I buy often too like spicy nuts (both styles discontinued) but then bring out 2000 types of sauce.

  • [Deactivated] on 01/05/2023 - 10:29

    Ribena - tetra 6-pack …..G O N E !

    • gromit on 01/05/2023 - 10:37

      yeah that was another of mine gone too.

      • [Deactivated] on 01/05/2023 - 10:37
        +1

        Kiddos are devo

    • Ghost47 on 01/05/2023 - 20:19
      +1

      Did you try contacting them to see why they stopped selling it?

      Kettle stopped selling their chilli flavoured chips once (I think around 2008), after some petitioning on Facebook they brought it back.

      • [Deactivated] on 01/05/2023 - 20:34
        +1

        I only realised that it was gone gone today after this OP prompted me to check, yet again, online as it's been out of stock since forever …. well, at least since last year.

        I noticed that they now have a 500ml plastic bottle version available.

        I'll send the Kiwis an em tomorrow & see what they have to say for themselves!

        • Ghost47 on 01/05/2023 - 20:40

          Hopefully it’s a temporary thing and others are doing the same.. could make them reconsider discontinuing it.

  • try2bhelpful on 01/05/2023 - 10:50
    +5

    There is a real problem with stock levels. Often things are missing, especially if they are on special.

    • [Deactivated] on 01/05/2023 - 10:58
      +4

      I now try to do a grocery shop on wednesday as anything of note, eg. EVOO that is advertised as1/2 price, is gone by thursday. I've seen shoppers pack multiple trolleys with (unboxed) cartons of products as if they weren't being sold as single items and there doesn't appear to be any restrictions imposed by Colesworth.

  • Yola on 01/05/2023 - 10:56

    Yes so true. I cannot remember all the examples but one is Woolies do not seem to have beef soup bones anymore. They had something called Brisket bones at nearly the same price but just bone and fat no meat. Coles may still have it but they are not as good, with barely any meat. So I will have to go to butches and pay more. Also Barilla angel hair pasta where has it gone? My kids love Sargents meat pies but I think they have gone out of business not Woolsworth fault.

  • Kaz0551 on 01/05/2023 - 11:10

    No Steggles whole chickens at my Coles anymore, just home brand.

  • dtc on 01/05/2023 - 11:22
    +7

    Cheaper options are out of stock because…everyone is buying the cheaper options.

    Things that are not selling well are always being taken off the shelf. You just dont notice because you arent buying them (a reason why they are taken off the shelf).

    If people are buying the home brand option because its cheaper, then home brand will be the substitute. In the past the supermarkets would have loved to push home brands (home brand sales in Australia are well under the home brand sales in the UK, for example) but people would buy the 'name brand' even if it was more expensive. Hence the supermarkets werent able to have a big home brand element because it didnt sell well enough. Now people are buying home brand

    Why are things not there - its not a conspiracy by big supermarkets. Its because the consumer purchasing pattern has changed and you are noticing it, probably because you are also now buying things you never used to buy or you are one of the people that hasnt changed but everyone else has, so your products are being taken off the shelf.

    Remember - supermarkets are fantastic at selling what most people are buying. They have millions of data points every day and these are analysed more than you think.

    • gromit on 01/05/2023 - 11:28
      +1

      It is not a conspiracy, of course supermarkets are trying to maximise profits. BUT, in order to do that they need to take a hit on a lot of items that are less profitable or in some cases loss leaders as the biggest and most important win is getting shoppers in the door. It is getting to the point where for some of us we won't bother going in the door as often as I already have to go to the markets because of their lack of stock so I may as well pick up the milk, bread and eggs while I am at the markets rather than a second trip to woolies.

  • Vulgar on 01/05/2023 - 11:22

    I've noticed with lot of processed food like candy, they'll remove certain items and then replace them with different brands that cost more giving the illusion of prices not going up.

  • KaTst3R on 01/05/2023 - 11:35

    Hands up who here buys liverwurst, giblets and chicken hearts? I know I dont…and even if I want it, the butcher next door sells it fresher and cheaper albeit it comes in a messy plastic bag rather than a nice vacuum sealed box.

    So from Woolies point of view, why would i take up shelf space just to cater to 5 sales a day when it could be stocked with economy pack scotch fillet which flies off the shelf and I replenish stock 3 times a day to keep up with demand.

    • gromit on 01/05/2023 - 12:26

      So from Woolies point of view, why would i take up shelf space just to cater to 5 sales a day when it could be stocked with economy pack scotch fillet which flies off the shelf and I replenish stock 3 times a day to keep up with demand.

      for the exact same reason they stock hundreds of other low volume items, to get customers in the door where they will inevitably buy a lot of other items.

    • AustriaBargain on 01/05/2023 - 13:32

      Hands up who here buys liverwurst, giblets and chicken hearts?

      My ethnic grandma?

      • KaTst3R on 01/05/2023 - 13:39

        And she buys it from Woolies/Coles? Im sure my grandma prefers the local butcher.

    • kyle on 01/05/2023 - 13:44

      Don't buy them, but I like giblets and hearts on Japanese skewers

      • gromit on 01/05/2023 - 14:10

        they are a common across a huge number of cultures including a lot of Europe, The South of the US, Mexico etc. So they aren't exactly a rarely eaten item, though admittedly not as common in Aus.

  • Elppa8 on 01/05/2023 - 12:56

    Yes, I’ve noticed both the range and shelf space for biscuits have been reduced at my local colesworth amongst other things.

  • AustriaBargain on 01/05/2023 - 13:32

    You might try asian markets for the chicken guts and stuff you're after.

  • kyle on 01/05/2023 - 13:44

    Always happen to me! Things I like always seem to get taken off the shelves, and not just supermarkets.

  • altomic on 01/05/2023 - 15:30
    +4

    coles turkish bread jumping ~60cents in price.

    which is fair enough as they are struggling financially

    In the 2022 financial year, Coles Group in Australia reported an annual profit after tax of over one billion Australian dollars.

  • Trying2SaveABuck on 01/05/2023 - 21:40

    im 'more' of an ALDI shopper but the 'few' things i get from the Coles Next Door i would say there is no change in choice but the prices have skyrocketed

  • Sinnerator on 02/05/2023 - 07:44

    no, it's just your brain refusing to look at previously $2 items being sold for $10

  • Motek Benzona on 02/05/2023 - 08:07
    +2

    Going to Colesworth these days is like stepping back into time and visiting East Germany circa 1972

    I have almost given up going as i am sick and tired of not finding what i want. Its been well over 18 months of this now and it CANNOT be for the reasons they are giving.

    Another thing…I worked with fruit and veg for years as a kid and teenager and i know old, stored, stale stuff when i see it. What is for sale at those places right now is, in the main older than my grandmother.Get used to is people.. its the new normal

    • dasa on 02/05/2023 - 09:52
      -1

      Artificial shortages to jack the prices up that is all it is sadly for us.

  • wabster on 02/05/2023 - 08:23

    I live where there is a Woolies and ALDI near each other, (Bargara Qld) many products lines seem to be more or less permanently unavailable in Woolies and I've found myself buying similar products from ALDI at far less prices. Trays of marinated chicken pieces a good example, italian marinated $9.50/kg Woolies, similar (in the same trays too) in Aldi $6.50/kg.

    As a poster above mentioned, Woolies special items seem to disappear very fast, almost without trace, and never seem to be replenished during the special period. Don't bother trying for the old rain checks either.

    There is no doubt to me at least that many items are being either discontinued or it is too much hassle trying to keep stock choices up. If our regular choices are no longer available rather than use a Woolies home brand we will try the Aldi one as they're usually cheaper and most of the time they are as good if not better than generic Woolies ones.

    If Aldi let quality slide on their products they get called out pretty quickly in a number of online Forums, where when Woolies do people just abandon the product.

    Lastly, here in rural Qld we don't have a lot of processing poultry meat etc locally so fresh local product can be a bit hard to find at markets and the like. We do have a flourishing non supermarket fruit and veggie industry and roadside stalls are becoming bigger and better all the time as the population continues to increase.

  • 2esc on 02/05/2023 - 08:32

    Over the last 5 years ive noticed quite a change sime companies have folded, the supermarkets pushing their own lines and some companies not prepared to drop their margins at the supermarkets demand.

  • tulip99 on 02/05/2023 - 12:33

    At Coles in Tassie over the last few months I haven't been able to buy their Wagyu burgers or their white choc macadamia individual cookies in a paper bag.

    Yesterday they were out of Coles Finest Croissants, their Coles Irresistible Vanilla Bean icecream, the Creative Gourmet half price blue berries, and most of the Connoisseur icecream sticks that were half price :-( Those items were nearly half my shop.

    • Speckled Jim on 02/05/2023 - 13:02

      Bulla icecream range is half price at Woolies if you're quick.

  • afah0447 on 02/05/2023 - 14:44

    Mate they are some damn niche purchases alright. I see you are preparing your stomach for the hard times after the upcoming war with China!

  • xylarr on 02/05/2023 - 22:12
    +2

    My favourite yoghurt disappeared for about four weeks at Woolies. Coles doesn't stock it.

    https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/187349

    Looking just now it's unavailable again (online at least). I hope they don't eliminate the SKU.

    • tulip99 on 03/05/2023 - 08:30
      +1

      Siggis disappeared from my local Woolies but I can still get it at another Woolies 30 mins away.

  • doctordv8 on 03/05/2023 - 05:38

    Some products or brands have been difficult to get, shelf signage has stated as such. Still plenty of options to fill the trolley.

    The store will not stock what is not profitable or not popular. The stores can not stock what is not available.

    Material suppliers, growers, manufacturers, wholesalers, transporters, bean counters…. there are multiple reasons why product availability changes.

  • CodeExplode on 13/06/2023 - 22:29

    Something I never see mentioned is the war in Ukraine, which was a major food supplier for much of the world, and then there's the increasing natural disasters wiping out crops in various places, like Australian farmers have been hit with repeatedly in recent seasons. All on top of the pandemic and the inflation which comes from handling it.

    If it's bad for Australians I'm nervous to think about how bad it is for the impoverished parts of the world, where presumably cheap food has massively decreased.

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