Business & Finance Supermarkets

[TheGreatBarryB]

First post in this forum. Having read on Age site today that Coles continues to cut into Woolworths market share in supermarkets i'm just curious in people's views.

Used to always shop Woolies but las year or two I've slowly seen some of my favourite items moved off the shelves and replaced more amd more by crap home brand. Now to some people that may be good because families are trying to saving a buck or two.

But to me ot means the quality suffers and frankly getting pissed off with low quality replacements. Removing Deep Spring flavoured mineral water was last straw. No make that Divella pasta!!!

So i'm shopping alot more at coles as they seem to have more varierty and better fruit and veg. Though I still have to buy my meat at Woolies as Coles meat takes like plastic shit.

Yes i'm bored on my lunch break but anyone pissed off with supermarkets??

 

[NSWCROW]

I stick with Woolies because Coles refuse to sell FUIC

 

[The Passenger]

if i'm not mistaken australia has one of the biggest duopoly's for supermarkets in the world.

what they've done to alot of farmers should be bordering on criminal.

also would recommend to anyone to go to a specific fruit and veg store, the quality is much much much better. i don't know what their track record is on their treatment of farmers and wholesalers but i imagine it would be a bit better, although most of the mistreatment of the farming industry seems to stem back to the duopoly and their ability to influence the market which pushes the small players to do the same.

been eating a lot of coles steaks lately and they are surprisingly very good quality. i can taste a coles orange from miles away though. it's not good.

i don't have a wide variety of stuff that i get when i go shopping at coles so i haven't noticed things not being stocked any more.

then when you factor in their willingness to get into the poker machine market, the insane mindless marketing campaigns directed at the public it's pretty hard to support them.

those "down down" ad's rehashing old tunes are not only diabolic quality, they are imo quite clearly marketed at kids with a thinly veiled disguise of not being. remember when you were a kid and you could take any words and put them into the tunes of another song? more or less the same principle.

 

[courtjester]

I shop at a local butchers and local fruit and veg once a week. Go to Aldi once a month for detergent and cleaning stuff, bathroom stuff, pasta, sauces, muesli bars and porridge etc. Been doing it for about 12 months. Save so much money.

 

[Scotland]

So i'm shopping alot more at coles as they seem to have more varierty and better fruit and veg. Though I still have to buy my meat at Woolies as Coles meat takes like plastic shit.

From what I have observed Coles and Woolies have brand alliances. If you want a tin of Tuna for example Greenseas and John West are the two main brands that come to mind. Coles will have one plus their store brand, Woolworths will have the other plus their store brand. Either may or may not stock the minor brands (Safcol? I don't know I rarely buy tuna, it's just an example), depending on the chain/store.

I have no problem with the generic store-branded stuff provided it's actually decent quality. Coles milk (in WA) is Brownes milk. Woolworths milk is Masters milk. It's the same stuff. It comes from the same cows, is processed at the same plant and arrives on the same truck. Hell it's even in the same bottles. The only difference is the label and the lid colour. With other stuff like Coles 'Rice Puffs' in a blue box that looks suspiciously like the Kellogg's Rice Bubbles box, Coles cola etc. some is good, some is awful. It is annoying though (first World problem of course) if you specifically want two particular product brands and one is Coles only and the other Woolworths only.

As far as fruit and veg and meat go, you're better off avoiding Coles and Woolworths altogether. If $30/kg sirloin was $15/kg in the supermarket you could make a case to go for the cheaper option, but generally it is the same price and the quality is not at the same level so the only redeeming feature it has is convenience. Fruit and veg from most markets/fruit and veg shops is also typically better and cheaper.

 

[Messenger]

Aldi rocks.

Local markets for fruit and veg.

 

[Scotland]

What's an Aldi? Is that like a Krispy Kreme or a Starbucks?

Oh you Eastern Staters and your 21st century ways...

 

[The Passenger]

What's an Aldi? Is that like a Krispy Kreme or a Starbucks?

Oh you Eastern Staters and your 21st century ways...

pffffttt american chains, get with these 21st century ways. we have moved into central european chains these days.

 

[Messenger]

Whenever you come over to civilisation, Scotland, you can experience Aldi.

 

[Kram]

Try living in a town with only one IGA supermarket, it's large and has enough range but everything would be close to 10% extra than Perth because it has no competition. At least a butcher opened last year which has forced them to lift their usual rubbish standard with their meat, surprisingly vegetables are pretty good but ****ing expensive, probably 20% more extra..

 

[Scotland]

Haha, I've been to Aldi before in Sydney & Melbourne.

We seccessionist Westerners will have none of this 'competition' business thank you very much!

 

[Slax]

I shop at a local butchers and local fruit and veg once a week. Go to Aldi once a month for detergent and cleaning stuff, bathroom stuff, pasta, sauces, muesli bars and porridge etc. Been doing it for about 12 months. Save so much money.

If people were bothered to get off their lazy arses and go to their local butcher (preferably not in a shopping complex) they will find that they are cheaper than Coles or Woolies, better quality and better choice. They will also help with advice and will assist with special requests.

 

[MarcusP2]

I shop at local butcher, local fruit and veg (franchise though I think, but better than alternatives) and Foodland. Try not to shop at Coles or Woolies. Foodland is a bit more expensive (mainly because it's a 'flagship' type store I think in a well-off area) but it has a good selection.

 

[kfc1]

Try living in a town with only one IGA supermarket, it's large and has enough range but everything would be close to 10% extra than Perth because it has no competition. At least a butcher opened last year which has forced them to lift their usual rubbish standard with their meat, surprisingly vegetables are pretty good but ****ing expensive, probably 20% more extra..

Wat town you in bro if you don't mind me asking?

Spudshed ftw. Jandakot is open 24hrs...

 

[kfc1]

If people were bothered to get off their lazy arses and go to their local butcher (preferably not in a shopping complex) they will find that they are cheaper than Coles or Woolies, better quality and better choice. They will also help with advice and will assist with special requests.

I would love to do this (and used to) but don't have a decent one within walking distance. The ones around me are all asian butchers with poor selections for whitefella meat

 

[The Passenger]

If people were bothered to get off their lazy arses and go to their local butcher (preferably not in a shopping complex) they will find that they are cheaper than Coles or Woolies, better quality and better choice. They will also help with advice and will assist with special requests.

have been getting excellent steaks from coles lately. one thing i can't fault them on over the last six months.

i was getting some magnificent rump steaks down in melbourne a couple of years ago from a butcher at around the $18/kg mark, that would normally tip the scales at about 750-800gm. 2 fantastic meals (although must admit occasionally, only made 1 meal)...

the steaks i'm getting now currently aren't on that scale but they are not all that far off. if those were a 10/10, i'd give these coles one's lately an 8/10.

 

[Macca19]

We shop at Coles as theres one just round the corner from where we live. The Woolies is significantly bigger though. Fruit & Veg is ordinary so we wait for the local markets and tend to stock up then. The meat at Coles is much better than the meat at the two local butchers.

 

[Stratton_Gun]

I stick with Woolies because Coles refuse to sell FUIC

Typical SA's and their Iced Coffee

 

[SHAKESPEARE]

Typical SA's and their Iced Coffee

If it isn't their sisters...it's the iced coffee

 

[kickazz]

Aldi FTW.

Butchers / grocers for fresh stuff. (I have got the odd eye fillet from Alsi, not too bad) Much cheaper, usually better too. It's just that they might have more funny shaped pears and stuff like that.

Also found an independant supermarket that is much cheaper for things like eggs and TP.

Where I live we've suddenly got two new supermarkets so the competition factor is now there. The one that used to be by itself tends to be better stocked in produce than it used to be. They are still pretty useless at having staff on checkouts though. Usually the self-serve is fine but even that can have a big queue at times.

 

[TassieSaint]

As if there is that much difference between the meat at Coles and Woolies. Wouldn't be surprised if it's from the same supplier like the milk is.

I go to whichever happens to be closest to my location at the time but if I want good quality meat I go to a butcher.

 

[kickazz]

BTW anyone catch the recent episode of "The Checkout" on ABC? They did a bit on the whole milk saga. Worth a watch on iView if you missed it.

 

[mantis]

I buy my fruit & veg from the local green grocers & once a month my daughter takes me to the local farmers market, but unfortunately for my groceries I only have a choice between woolies & coles.

I wish I still lived in East Ringwood, the local IGA (Paul's) is the best supermarket ever. They not only have free delivery, but if you can't get to the shops, you can ring them up with your order & they'll still deliver it free.

No wonder they are still in business after over 30 years. Don't know what will happen after the original owners fall off the perch though, will probably end up like all the other crap supermarkets.

 

[dumb]

i get annoyed with all the variety and taglines on products. how have we ended up with whole aisles full of toilet paper? i sometimes choose to buy the most basic of product because there is less bullshit advertising on it (toothbrushes and toothpaste for example).
and i feel sad for people that need to buy things like grated cheese. supermarkets are essentially half full of useless crap for lazy people.

my local aldi is cheap, but clearly they save on overheads like employing sufficient checkout workers.

 

[Plugger35]

I went to a few Aldis in Europe, weird supermarkets. They're cheap but they don't have much variety with only one or two brands for each product and most brands you'd never heard of before. Feels like you're shopping in a communist country.

Prefer to shop at IGAs here, cheaper than Woolies and Coles with less crowds and queues to deal with.