Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott says Bunnings and Kmart’s low-price offering will help the conglomerate navigate rising cost pressures and falling productivity.
effectively arguing that what’s bad for the country will be good for his conglomerate.
At the same time, Scott says business is being pressured by an escalation in wages, the post-COVID drop in productivity and what he describes as a series of policy changes that are reducing employer flexibility., and, as a result, he believes the conglomerate’s focus on keeping prices low is set to pay off.“We’ve been playing the long game.
But the millions Scott is investing in productivity initiatives across the group – including increased automation, greater use of customer data to drive personalisation of offers, supply chain initiatives and a more connected approach to digital sales across the chains than we’ve seen from Wesfarmers’ retail business – speaks to the tougher environment he’s bracing for.
While Scott acknowledges that underinvestment across the economy is also weighing on productivity, he worries that a suite of policy changes are also creating roadblocks.
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