Coles is a very large company, so quoting $1.1 billion in net profit as proof of price gouging is ludicrous.
The government, the Coalition and in particular the Greens have effectively accused the two large supermarket groups of legally robbing customers by price gouging. So it’s contextually fascinating that one of the biggest drivers of Coles’ billion-dollar-plus profit in 2024 was successfully thwarting thieves who loot its supermarket shelves.in the second half of the financial year. In the same period last year, Coles lost twice that amount to theft.
The more accurate measure would be supermarket inflation, which in the fourth quarter fell to 1.5 per cent. But even this number ignores the fact that some goods increased in price because Coles paid more to its own suppliers. Coles is a very large company, so quoting $1.1 billion in net profit as proof of gouging is ludicrous – it neither supports nor refutes the notion that Coles is overcharging its customers.
Two million shoppers did this for the first time at Coles in 2024 – which itself is a measure of the tightness of household budgets.Another interesting element to shopper behaviour is softer sales of alcohol, which was evident in Coles’ results and inButon Tuesday in the race to pummel Coles in the wake of its profit.
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