Coles is doubling down on showing cost-conscious customers it can provide value for money as it battles a resurgent Woolworths.
Coles on Friday reported quarterly sales growth of 3.6 per cent at its supermarkets, compared to Woolworths’ first quarter increase of 6.9 per cent — which it attributed to strong momentum from a popular Disney Ooshies collectables campaign.
That sales growth momentum was in line with the previous quarter, chief executive Leah Weckert said, emphasising there was more to do to “ensure we are front of mind for customers in this environment”.
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“We are taking action to sharpen our offer over the coming months,” she said.
“We know household budgets are under pressure and customers are shopping more deliberately across retailers and channels.”
Coles Group Managing Director & CEO, Leah Weckert. Credit: Martin KEEP/TheWest
Coles’ supermarket sales for the 13 weeks to September 27 totalled $10.3 billion — up from nearly $10b year-on-year. Liquor sales — long a difficult sector for Coles — fell 1.3 per cent to $831 million, with total group sales revenue of $11.2b.
Ms Weckert pointed to Coles’ recent relaunch of its Every Day Price program as one of its targeted investments in customer value, while it also recently launched its largest-ever Coles Christmas range.
But Ms Weckert also flagged increasing fuel prices over the past two months meant the group would bear additional costs over the first half of the 2027 financial year compared to the year prior.
