AFGC says supermarket choice goes ‘down, down’ with new Coles campaign
The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) has expressed its concern over the fall in product choice on offer to Australian supermarket shoppers.
The AFGC says that research by Deloitte Access Economics shows Australian consumers are losing choice as Coles’ supermarkets “shrink their overall product range” and “aggressively promote” their home brand products.
The research was based on Coles’ own data and showed the supermarket’s product range had dropped by 11 per cent, from 62,000 products to 55,000, from mid-2010 to mid-2012.
AFGC CEO Gary Dawson said that the verified loss of 7000 products from the supermarket confirmed what shoppers had reported anecdotally – that they often ‘can’t find their favourite products on the shelves any more’ when they go to the major supermarkets.
“The latest aggressive campaign by Coles to promote their private label products is a sign that this trend will continue,” Mr Dawson said.
Yesterday Australian Food News reported the extensions to Coles’ latest ‘Down Down’ campaign which includes the reduction in price of over 100 supermarket items, and $1 per litre milk in Coles Express stores.
According to the AFGC, Australia’s food and grocery industry is estimated to be worth $110bn per annum.
This is exactly why people should be shopping elsewhere. When everything is imported and own branded and all our farmers have gone broke, people will realise what they have allowed to happen.