Coles, Australia’s second-largest grocer, today (28 January) insisted plans to introduce more uniform prices across the country will have “no impact” on its suppliers.
The company said the “fair and transparent” move will see its shoppers pay “the same price for the same product” on 97% of the lines on sale in Coles supermarkets.
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Pricing is a hot topic in Australia, where Coles and arch-rival Woolworths Ltd account for the bulk of the country’s grocery sector and have been labelled a “duopoly”.
A spokesman for Coles told just-food that the move was prompted by “customer concerns” over pricing.
“This has been done to address customer concerns that having different prices for the same items in nearby stores is unfair. This move is a step towards greater price transparency and fairness,” the spokesman said.
He added: “[There is] no impact on our suppliers, we are making a financial investment to deliver our lowest, ie metro, prices in each state.” The spokesman declined to give the size of the investment.
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By GlobalDataThe price cuts across around 8,000 lines will come into effect on Monday (1 February).
MD Ian McLeod added: “Coles will apply its lowest prices to more than 8,000 grocery products including meat, seafood, dairy, deli and bakery products across the country and the remaining grocery products will be matched to our lowest prices in each state.”
