Ive got a couple of shopping habits I just cant kick. Dan Murphys, the TAB and the Lismore Lifeline.
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IMPORTANT // Please look after your loved ones, yourself and be kind to others. If you are feeling that the world is too hard to handle there is always help - I implore you not to hesitate in contacting one of these wonderful organisations Lifeline and Beyond Blue ... and I'm sure reaching out to our PRE community we will find a way to help. T.
Shopping habits
- Thread starter Rosy
- Start date
For anyone who doesn't like the Safeway/Coles duopoly -
Taking on the supermarket giants
A fresh upstart in the food chain has become the champion of local producers.
A FEW months ago, in an article published on The Age's opinion pages and across Fairfax Media's national sites and apps, I decried Australia's supermarket duopoly of Coles and Woolworths as unfair, particularly to farmers and other suppliers.
I also said the dominance of these two colossal supermarket chains diminishes the quality, texture and diversity of neighbourhood life in Australia. They have been allowed to become too big and too powerful. And the rise of home brands is only further squeezing competition and reducing consumers' choice.
Braeden Lord: Wants to bring local food straight to you. Photo: Justin McManus
In a response published across Fairfax media the following week, the managing director of Coles Supermarkets, Ian McLeod, accused me of writing ''an emotional diatribe''. As to the notion Coles might force undue or unfair concessions from suppliers, McLeod said: ''Lower retail prices have been funded from internal productivity savings, such as less waste, and not from squeezing margins through the supply chain''.
The competition watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, evidently doubts McLeod's veracity on this. Earlier this month, ACCC chairman Rod Sims disclosed he has escalated an investigation into Coles and Woolworths over possible anti-competitive behaviour towards suppliers.
The misuse of market power is illegal. Supermarket suppliers have been reticent about criticising Coles and Woolworths for fear of retribution. But Sims is guaranteeing confidentiality this time, and says he has collected consistent and credible allegations of behaviour that, if proven, would transgress laws designed to prevent unconscionable conduct and misuse of market power.
It will be fascinating to see what might come of Sims' probe. It could mark the beginning of the end of the unfettered reign of Coles and Woolworths; there are laws that can be used to protect the suppliers and we need a national debate about whether to reduce the duopoly's dominance.
In the meantime, though, if you are concerned about two players having as much as 75 per cent of the market, a competitive, community-based option has emerged.
Today's guest in The Zone is Braeden Lord, the chief executive of Aussie Farmers Direct, a business founded eight years ago on the idea of resurrecting the milkman. Through a network of franchisees, the company delivers a wide and expanding range of fresh produce directly to the front door, saving the average customer about an hour a week spent in supermarket aisles.
Lord stresses in our interview - the full transcript and a short video are here - that the company is also based on backing Australian farmers and manufacturers and rural communities.
''We started with this underlying principle and philosophy around supporting the Australian farmer, and making a stronger connection between the farm and the urban household and the front doorstep by cutting out the middlemen and looking at the most expedient and efficient way to take great quality Australian produce and deliver it to people's front doorsteps,'' Lord says.
''We fully recognise that we are supporting Australian producers, but we also need to be relevant from a range, quality and pricing point of view - and we have been able to get that sweet spot.''
It is proving an enticing sweet spot. Aussie Farmers Direct has grown from a three-person, one-truck milk delivery outfit to a company with 200 franchisees who provide 130,000 households across the nation with fresh fruit, vegetables, milk, eggs, bread, meat, seafood and more. Along the way, it has become Australia's largest supplier of organic food.
There is much potential for growth; Aussie Farmers Direct is David to the duopoly's Goliath. In the areas it operates, including most capital cities and a number of regional centres, the company reaches fewer than 4 per cent of households.
''We are providing something that is fundamentally different to what those guys are providing, and we can quite honestly say that it is a business that is being built on very, very strong moral and ethical foundations, which I think makes us a really strong alternative for consumers and for farmers and manufacturers.''
Such is Aussie Farmers Direct's commitment to Australian produce that it opted to become a manufacturer, in what Lord describes was one of the hardest things he has ever done. Despite evident financial and operational risk, he recommended to his board that the company buy a dairy plant, mothballed for 12 years, at Camperdown, a Victorian town of 3500.
The company bought the plant in 2011, and now employs 30 people. By mid-year, it will have started producing butter, as well as the 100,000 litres of milk the dairy pumps out each day. When Aussie Farmers Direct was launched, as much as 80 per cent of Australia's milk was produced by Australian-owned facilities. That has fallen to only 5 per cent; to stay true to its ethos, Aussie Farmers Direct had no choice but the buy the plant.
The company may be harking back to an era of personalisation and community, but it is using modern methods. It is revamping its website and launching an app for smartphones and tablet computers to streamline ordering.
Where Coles and Woolworths stand accused of exploiting their suppliers, Aussie Farmers Direct seems to have a more co-operative approach. Lord says suppliers are seeing Aussie Farmers Direct as ''a credible third option'', which gives them some comfort that they will be able to sell produce should the duopoly dump or squeeze them.
''You have to be able to have a true point of difference, and we like to think that comes in a few ways, not the least of which is the wholehearted relationship manner in which we grow our business. Whether it's the relationship we have with a farmer or with the manufacturer, or the relationship we have with our franchisees that deliver our product, or the relationship ultimately with customers, it has to be wholehearted.
''With a farmer or a manufacturer, we don't spend the time telling them what price we need to have. We work with them to get the best possible quality and sustainable pricing levels that provides them with a good return and gives us the ability to compete. That's what works exceptionally well.
''You end up with all Australian products delivered by a person with a name that is part of the local community with a company that stands behind the person that is ethical and committed to making a difference to the landscape of manufacturing and farming within Australia.''
As we approach the federal election, there is more and more talk of Australia becoming one of Asia's leading suppliers of food, and Aussie Farmers Direct is positioning itself as the champion of local producers.
''We have gone through the industrial age, we have gone through the internet age, we have gone through the mining age in Australia and I really am convinced now that Australia is going to come back into what it was incredibly well-renowned for - that it is a great agricultural country, a country that can produce exceptionally good products and a country that has the land and resources to do that efficiently and compete on a world platform.''
Aussie Farmers Direct has attractions beyond slashing shopping time: it is environmentally friendly because it reduces the number of car trips to the supermarket. And the goods have a smaller carbon footprint because they are locally sourced.
The company is innovative socially as well as commercially. It has launched the Aussie Farmers Foundation, which supports charities and non-profit organisations across rural and regional Australia.
It all adds up to a compelling solution to a mounting concern about the practices and dominance of the big supermarkets. They may be mighty, but consumer sovereignty is, ultimately, mightier still; a growing number of people are voting with our dollars for Braeden Lord and his team.
Live chat with Braeden Lord at noon today
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/taking-on-the-supermarket-giants-20130224-2ezfx.html#ixzz2LrbdwfDL
Taking on the supermarket giants
A fresh upstart in the food chain has become the champion of local producers.
A FEW months ago, in an article published on The Age's opinion pages and across Fairfax Media's national sites and apps, I decried Australia's supermarket duopoly of Coles and Woolworths as unfair, particularly to farmers and other suppliers.
I also said the dominance of these two colossal supermarket chains diminishes the quality, texture and diversity of neighbourhood life in Australia. They have been allowed to become too big and too powerful. And the rise of home brands is only further squeezing competition and reducing consumers' choice.
Braeden Lord: Wants to bring local food straight to you. Photo: Justin McManus
In a response published across Fairfax media the following week, the managing director of Coles Supermarkets, Ian McLeod, accused me of writing ''an emotional diatribe''. As to the notion Coles might force undue or unfair concessions from suppliers, McLeod said: ''Lower retail prices have been funded from internal productivity savings, such as less waste, and not from squeezing margins through the supply chain''.
The competition watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, evidently doubts McLeod's veracity on this. Earlier this month, ACCC chairman Rod Sims disclosed he has escalated an investigation into Coles and Woolworths over possible anti-competitive behaviour towards suppliers.
The misuse of market power is illegal. Supermarket suppliers have been reticent about criticising Coles and Woolworths for fear of retribution. But Sims is guaranteeing confidentiality this time, and says he has collected consistent and credible allegations of behaviour that, if proven, would transgress laws designed to prevent unconscionable conduct and misuse of market power.
It will be fascinating to see what might come of Sims' probe. It could mark the beginning of the end of the unfettered reign of Coles and Woolworths; there are laws that can be used to protect the suppliers and we need a national debate about whether to reduce the duopoly's dominance.
In the meantime, though, if you are concerned about two players having as much as 75 per cent of the market, a competitive, community-based option has emerged.
Today's guest in The Zone is Braeden Lord, the chief executive of Aussie Farmers Direct, a business founded eight years ago on the idea of resurrecting the milkman. Through a network of franchisees, the company delivers a wide and expanding range of fresh produce directly to the front door, saving the average customer about an hour a week spent in supermarket aisles.
Lord stresses in our interview - the full transcript and a short video are here - that the company is also based on backing Australian farmers and manufacturers and rural communities.
''We started with this underlying principle and philosophy around supporting the Australian farmer, and making a stronger connection between the farm and the urban household and the front doorstep by cutting out the middlemen and looking at the most expedient and efficient way to take great quality Australian produce and deliver it to people's front doorsteps,'' Lord says.
''We fully recognise that we are supporting Australian producers, but we also need to be relevant from a range, quality and pricing point of view - and we have been able to get that sweet spot.''
It is proving an enticing sweet spot. Aussie Farmers Direct has grown from a three-person, one-truck milk delivery outfit to a company with 200 franchisees who provide 130,000 households across the nation with fresh fruit, vegetables, milk, eggs, bread, meat, seafood and more. Along the way, it has become Australia's largest supplier of organic food.
There is much potential for growth; Aussie Farmers Direct is David to the duopoly's Goliath. In the areas it operates, including most capital cities and a number of regional centres, the company reaches fewer than 4 per cent of households.
''We are providing something that is fundamentally different to what those guys are providing, and we can quite honestly say that it is a business that is being built on very, very strong moral and ethical foundations, which I think makes us a really strong alternative for consumers and for farmers and manufacturers.''
Such is Aussie Farmers Direct's commitment to Australian produce that it opted to become a manufacturer, in what Lord describes was one of the hardest things he has ever done. Despite evident financial and operational risk, he recommended to his board that the company buy a dairy plant, mothballed for 12 years, at Camperdown, a Victorian town of 3500.
The company bought the plant in 2011, and now employs 30 people. By mid-year, it will have started producing butter, as well as the 100,000 litres of milk the dairy pumps out each day. When Aussie Farmers Direct was launched, as much as 80 per cent of Australia's milk was produced by Australian-owned facilities. That has fallen to only 5 per cent; to stay true to its ethos, Aussie Farmers Direct had no choice but the buy the plant.
The company may be harking back to an era of personalisation and community, but it is using modern methods. It is revamping its website and launching an app for smartphones and tablet computers to streamline ordering.
Where Coles and Woolworths stand accused of exploiting their suppliers, Aussie Farmers Direct seems to have a more co-operative approach. Lord says suppliers are seeing Aussie Farmers Direct as ''a credible third option'', which gives them some comfort that they will be able to sell produce should the duopoly dump or squeeze them.
''You have to be able to have a true point of difference, and we like to think that comes in a few ways, not the least of which is the wholehearted relationship manner in which we grow our business. Whether it's the relationship we have with a farmer or with the manufacturer, or the relationship we have with our franchisees that deliver our product, or the relationship ultimately with customers, it has to be wholehearted.
''With a farmer or a manufacturer, we don't spend the time telling them what price we need to have. We work with them to get the best possible quality and sustainable pricing levels that provides them with a good return and gives us the ability to compete. That's what works exceptionally well.
''You end up with all Australian products delivered by a person with a name that is part of the local community with a company that stands behind the person that is ethical and committed to making a difference to the landscape of manufacturing and farming within Australia.''
As we approach the federal election, there is more and more talk of Australia becoming one of Asia's leading suppliers of food, and Aussie Farmers Direct is positioning itself as the champion of local producers.
''We have gone through the industrial age, we have gone through the internet age, we have gone through the mining age in Australia and I really am convinced now that Australia is going to come back into what it was incredibly well-renowned for - that it is a great agricultural country, a country that can produce exceptionally good products and a country that has the land and resources to do that efficiently and compete on a world platform.''
Aussie Farmers Direct has attractions beyond slashing shopping time: it is environmentally friendly because it reduces the number of car trips to the supermarket. And the goods have a smaller carbon footprint because they are locally sourced.
The company is innovative socially as well as commercially. It has launched the Aussie Farmers Foundation, which supports charities and non-profit organisations across rural and regional Australia.
It all adds up to a compelling solution to a mounting concern about the practices and dominance of the big supermarkets. They may be mighty, but consumer sovereignty is, ultimately, mightier still; a growing number of people are voting with our dollars for Braeden Lord and his team.
Live chat with Braeden Lord at noon today
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/taking-on-the-supermarket-giants-20130224-2ezfx.html#ixzz2LrbdwfDL
rosy23 said:
if people are only interested in buying the cheapest products then the likes of Coles will continue to bully suppliers and farmers will struggle to sell for a fair price.
Brodders17 said:
Think you're spot on Brodders.
While people talk the "buy Australian" mantra...it doesn't really work in reality.
Why do you think many 'bricks and mortar' shops have gone to the wall here?
Because people can get books, DVDs and just about everything these days...faster and CHEAPER, from overseas.
So much for 'buying Australian'
The choice out of the big 3 supermarket chains comes down to what you believe in..
Having worked for all 3 (currently working at Aldi) I can say that Coles and Woolies will always go by the "Australian owned" mantra.. fair enough but they have become grossly unethical over the years in their relations with suppliers, in their overall management structure which promotes nothing more than outright profiteering and greed, and duping customers into believing they are getting a good deal. They are only out for themselves and not the consumer.. the average overall markup in their stores is 70% and on some items it reaches an astonishing 900%. Aldi on the other hand are foreigned owned however they are still completely family owned and plan to stay that way in order to preserve their principles.. they are far more honest in their relations with suppliers, they do strive to provide products at a low price without horrendous markups and the management structure has very strong emphasis on merit and accountability. If anyone has noticed, common household name items are starting to find their way into Aldi stores because the suppliers are sick n tired of being charged extremely high "rent" fees for shelf space in both Coles and Woolies.
Having worked for all 3 (currently working at Aldi) I can say that Coles and Woolies will always go by the "Australian owned" mantra.. fair enough but they have become grossly unethical over the years in their relations with suppliers, in their overall management structure which promotes nothing more than outright profiteering and greed, and duping customers into believing they are getting a good deal. They are only out for themselves and not the consumer.. the average overall markup in their stores is 70% and on some items it reaches an astonishing 900%. Aldi on the other hand are foreigned owned however they are still completely family owned and plan to stay that way in order to preserve their principles.. they are far more honest in their relations with suppliers, they do strive to provide products at a low price without horrendous markups and the management structure has very strong emphasis on merit and accountability. If anyone has noticed, common household name items are starting to find their way into Aldi stores because the suppliers are sick n tired of being charged extremely high "rent" fees for shelf space in both Coles and Woolies.
I shop at Richies.
No home brands and a very comprehensive range of manufacturers brands on all items.
Their range is much better than Coles/Woolies and prices are only a little bit higher.
Thay also have community sports club "kick backs" for shoppers who nominate their local sports club.
No home brands and a very comprehensive range of manufacturers brands on all items.
Their range is much better than Coles/Woolies and prices are only a little bit higher.
Thay also have community sports club "kick backs" for shoppers who nominate their local sports club.
Brodders17 said:
I'm on a bit of a quest to buy the most expensive milk I can. Ive been getting organic A2 for about $2.50/litre. The dairy farmer is cannon fodder in $1 a litre milk war. I feel as dirty seeing the $1 stuff go into my flat white as I do if I see a battery egg go into my hamburger with the lot.
I know farmers whinge alot, but ive been hearing heaps of different kinds of farmers lately saying "how come we are getting the same price for our .......... as we did 20 years ago?" Its a fair point. It seems to me that good food is too cheap. The way I see it, if you can spend $1000 on a smart phone, you should be able to spring for $2 for a carton of milk?
...yeah, thanks for sharing that. It annoys me that in coles coles’ products are now multiplying like there’s no tomorrow taking over all the shelves. When Pauls milk finally runs dry I gunna have to buy a moo cow or a goat just to eat me cornflakes.
Interesting that you can even notice that! About 20 years ago i read an article which was written by some independent retail market analyst who predicted the rise of the homebrands and how coles and woolies were planning to monopolise the industry by eventually destroying the competition amongst suppliers/manufacturers.. the longterm outcome for customers was predicted to be a choice of homebrands or nothing. Scary thinking about it now because it is actually becoming reality.glantone said:
I gotta admit, put a wedge of Black and Gold mature tasty cheese on a wooden board and serve it up with a glass of Shiraz, and 9/10 people go "mmmmm, thats a nice cheese" :hihi
RfC77 said:
One thing you haven't mentioned, for all their horrendous duopolising evilness, at least Coles and Woolies profits go to Aussie workers via superannuation. Aldi profits go to the richest man in Germany.
evo said:
I like Maxi, been to the Ballarat one. Don't have em here in QLD unfortunately. Just can't come at Aldi myself, a lot of their products seem to taste wierd.
