Woolworths BS

[Matabele]

If anyone else sends me a FW of that grubby marketing tactic from Woolworths there are going to be pyrotechnics.

One would think they’d be better off changing their policy with regard to farm gate produce rather than sling a few million to an aged bureaucracy, write it off on tax and get double the value in the marketing value of emails floating around cyberspace advertising their BS largesse

 

[The Gronk]

*lights fuse and stands back*

Help the Farmers and shop at Woolies on 23rd of Jan.

SYDNEY: 22 December 2006 – As part of a wider commitment to supporting Australian rural communities, on January 23, 2007, Woolworths will donate its entire supermarkets profits from all Australia Woolworths & safeway supermarkets, for the day to the Country Women's Association and research into sustainable farming practices

http://www.woolworths.com.au/woolworths+ceo+pledges+support+for+drought+reflief.asp

 

[clontaago]

Good on them for giving back to the community.

 

[Matabele]

pffffffffffffffft

If they want to help their community they should change their operating principles.

 

[Fluffy]

can someone remind me on the 23rd, i dont want to forget

 

[Matabele]

The following website will email you a reminder if you need one.

www.lemming.com

 

[byso]

I'll shop there all the time now. Great to see them helping out the farmers.

 

[Ryan]

Doesn't the "mafia" control which entity buys goods from "which" supplier?

Now that's supply and DEMAND !!!

 

[earl]

**** em.
If they want to help , why dont they buy the product off the farmers at a decent price and reduce their profit a little bit.. Ohh , and treat them like humans , instead of making the farmers bid against each other.

 

[Matabele]

Ohh , and treat them like humans , instead of making the farmers bid against each other.

That is a part of life and something we should expect from a market economy.

Where Woolies and Coles go beyond the pale is the standover tactics they use over farmers - giving them short term contracts despite the huge amount of capitalisation they have to accept to be competitive, and threatening to reject a crop on a whim - when the real situation is they don't want the crop because they overestimated consumer demand.

 

[Maddog]

Damn it don't start me on Woolworths. Why the hell do you all think why we are paying the high price of petrol that we are? Bloody Woolworths thats why!!!

Ahhh I could go on for hours on the in's and out's of how these bstd's have killed the independants, thus the high price of petrol.

 

[clontaago]

Maddog you are so far off the mark its not funny. 2 of the biggest players in the fuel game (BP and Mobil) arent even aligned with a supermarket. Woolworths are not the reason we are paying high prices for petrol. Oil companies are the reason we are paying high petrol prices.

The reason so may independents are going under is because their convenience stores are either non existant or inadequate. I had a lengthy phone call with one of my independent sites today about the fact that his store is not up to todays marketplace. Its not inviting.

Most of these guys have been in the game too long and are reluctant to change, the independents who are successful are the ones who have updated their shops and moved with the times.

 

[Maddog]

Ok Clon please explain to me why Woolworths are able to give 10 cents a litre away at the moment?
I used to make a decent living in fuel averaging 7 to 10 cents per litre. Woolworths moved into a town close by and dropped the price until we were at a profit of 1 to 3 cents per litre if we matched them. Then they would also give the customer a 4c discount aswell. Jeez how do you spell anti-competitive? Now that alot of the independants are gone the price is rising again, so much so that they are able to give 10 cents per litre away again.

If you try to tell me that their fuel stations are not subsidised buy higher cost groceries then I am afraid you are the one that is so far off the mark it is not funny.

 

[Matabele]

Ok Clon please explain to me why Woolworths are able to give 10 cents a litre away at the moment?
I used to make a decent living in fuel averaging 7 to 10 cents per litre. Woolworths moved into a town close by and dropped the price until we were at a profit of 1 to 3 cents per litre if we matched them. Then they would also give the customer a 4c discount aswell. Jeez how do you spell anti-competitive? Now that alot of the independants are gone the price is rising again, so much so that they are able to give 10 cents per litre away again.

If you try to tell me that their fuel stations are not subsidised buy higher cost groceries then I am afraid you are the one that is so far off the mark it is not funny.

Clon is saying that the money is not made in petrol. It is made by the odds and ends consumers pick up at the convenience store on their way through.

 

[clontaago]

Yes they do subsidise their fuel with their supermarket profits. Thats why they are able to give 10cpl away!!! You are contradicting yourself. On one hand you are saying they are driving prices down, then on the other you say that they are responsible for the high prices.

And dont play the , "its because they have run all the independents out of town and can charge what they want now" card because there are plenty of independents left.

Yes the supermarkets have changed the fuel industry, but as I said previously, the independents who have moved with the times and updated their stores (and those who realise the days of 7-10 cpl margins are gone) are still around.

I wonder if your comments are coming more from a jilted service station owner (whose 7-10cpl margins are gone) or from a consumers point of view??

 

[Dan]

**** you make sense sometimes clon

 

[Maddog]

Clon i will answer later, but just out of curiosity, what do you class as an independant?

And what industry are you in to justify your stance. Re say knowing what the terminal gate price is daily?

Not having a go at you just interested on where your views come from.

Edit.

Just another point and I will fish it out later, how many service stations have closed since 1990?

 

[earl]

Clon i will answer later, but just out of curiosity, what do you class as an independant?

And what industry are you in to justify your stance. Re say knowing what the terminal gate price is daily?

Not having a go at you just interested on where your views come from.

Edit.

Just another point and I will fish it out later, how many service stations have closed since 1990?

All of them , except for the 24 hour ones. :lol: :doh:

 

[Dan]

Maddog Clon works for a major AutoGas company

 

[clontaago]

An independent in my eyes Maddog is not black and white. For example, I dont class and independent as necessarily needing to be a single site operator. For example, Budget Petroleum in Sydney, they are an independent. Now these guys operate over 40 service stations in Sydney but to me they are still independents as they are owned and operated by 2 partners, not affiliated with an oil company or any of the majors. They started with one site and over the years have increased the number of sites they own to become what they are today.

You could argue that they have buying power etc which is correct, but these guys have grown their business in Metro sydney (one of the tougher markets) in the face of the supermarket era.

I understand where you are coming from and I too would love for Coles and Safeway to piss off out of the market place, because then I wouldnt have sites calling me all day complaing about the fact that they are out of the market with their pricing.