Coles has lodged its submission to the Senate Inquiry on Supermarket Pricing.
Coles welcomes the opportunity to work with the Committee as it explores the economy-wide factors that influence pricing.
Coles is working hard to help Australians put quality food on the table for their families at affordable prices – particularly as they face escalating living costs with higher mortgages and rents and increasing expenses like energy and fuel.
This is against a challenging environment of high inflation, with rising costs that affect the whole economy, including farmers, suppliers, and retailers, and impact the prices customers pay at the checkout counter.
Coles’ profit margin last financial year was 2.6 percent and has remained consistent since FY20. This means that for every $100 customers spend, Coles makes $2.60 profit.
A profitable business means Coles can invest in its stores, employ 120,000 team members, support local communities, pay taxes and dividends to hundreds of thousands of mum-and-dad shareholders, and ensure long-term sustainable relationships with suppliers and farmers.
Coles has kept price inflation in its supermarkets below the rate reported by the ABS for the past 16 quarters. For July-September, supermarket inflation declined to 3.1 percent. Fresh food (including produce and meat) saw a deflation of 2.3 percent.
CEO Leah Weckert will appear before the Committee when hearings are announced.
