bmatthews

Australia should keep its own shops - I doubt many aussies want British shops taking over down here!

Having said that, Coles and Safeway could learn a bit from some of the British supermarkets perhaps.

Ben.

Wol

That really says it all about the Australian syndrome re. shops and institutions. They are so brainwashed into parrotting "Oz Oz Oz" and "all other countries are inferior" that they can't see the inconsistency between that and their whingeing about Australian prices and duopolies.

Small example: they go on about the "natural weekly cycle" of petrol prices yet seem to think this is "natural" everywhere else. It isn't - it's purely an Australian scam. But if Tesco was to come in with cheap(er) petrol they would whine about being taken over by foreigners who "don't understand Australia".

iamthecreaturefromuranus

How radical would it be if somebody sold petrol for the same price all week... doesn't bare thinking about.

woodiesinaus

One half of the duopoly is American, but they seem to have brainwashed the Aussies into thinking that they are 'True Blue', just like GM/Holden.

ozzieeagle

Incorrect.... and Westfarmers owns Coles...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._W._Woolworth_Company

Retail chains using the Woolworth name survive in Germany, Austria, Mexico, and South Africa, and, until the start of 2009, in the United Kingdom. The similarly-named Woolworth's supermarkets in Australia and New Zealand are operated by Australia's largest retail company Woolworths Limited, a separate company with no historical links to the F.W. Woolworth Company or Foot Locker, Inc. However, Woolworth's Limited did use the name from the original company, as it had not been copyrighted in Australia at the time.

It's probably a pity that the Americans dont own Australian Woolworths.... as they would most likely be cheaper.

ABCDiamond

Especially if it was the high price

Buzzy--Bee

They all are in Melbourne the last couple of weeks - seems the weekly cycle has been broken temporarily at least.

Buzzy

ozzieeagle

I hadn't noticed, as I dont buy petrol that often. However if thats the case, It's the first time in all my years here that this has happened. Before I got my current job I would be buying petrol twice a week.

NKSK version 2

Are you sure?
$2 for one croissant at Baker's Delight?
"Butchers" and "reasonable prices" - contradiction in terms?

moneypenny20

Depends on where you shop. My butcher is excellent and has very reasonable prices. Local baker does 6 croissants for $3.5. Woolies do them a lot more expensive. No contradiction, may take a bit of time and effort to find the stuff initially though.

DeadVim

So, if the petrol price cycle is broken does that mean prices are high all week?

A victory for the consumer!

NKSK version 2

"Very reasonable" is sales speak.

Can't vouch for the 6 croissants without seeing the size and tasting the quality.

I have seen, bought and tasted at this end of the country though and after 5 years, I reckon the value of groceries is poor compared with the UK. And increasingly - although I accept that this is distorted by a collapsing pound - family who visit are shocked by the price of groceries.

ABCDiamond

I only fill up on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, so I like the current system

DeadVim

It does beg the question, if the price was stable all week then who is know what is the 'correct' price. And in the current system, for that matter.

There can be price-difference of 15c between our local servos ... I have yet to find any rhyme or reason to any of it.

swans

Opening up the argument with common sense.

Take it to the extreme to see the argument,a shop on every corner ,maximum competition,nobody makes a living.Or would you suggest that because we have this maximum competition prices would be reduced,they all try to cut the throat of each other.

You claim there are 6 or 7 large chains in the UK,I'll take your word for it,I haven't lived there for around 35 yrs now.They split the market up and have around 10 million customers each,is this not economies of scale?Does economies of scale reduce prices or not?

There are 3 companies here ,Woolworths ,Coles and IGA (metcash a south african company).Split the population they have 7.3 million each (approx).they still cannot achieve the economies of scale of large populations.

The economies of scale of the logistics.The US has a land mass much the same as OZ.They have 308 million people we have 22 million.Transport articles from A to B in both countries,which country would have the cheapest freight costs.One country has a lot of customers from A to B ,one has a vast emptiness from A to B.

To stop me rambling Woolworths have reported ,profit is around $1 billion on turnover of $27 billion for 6 months .Shall we call it 4% profit.Last year profit was just under $2 billion on turnover of $50 billion,again 4%.

All the qualifications in the world cannot disprove that 2 is 4% of 50.Nothing can change reality..If 7 companies in the UK divide up the market they will have just under 9 million customers (60/7).they take a quid a week from 9 million customers they make a good profi

To refer to the banks there are 4 of them,gross assets of between $500-600 billion each. Suncorp is the 5th largest bank,assets of around $90 billion. After that small banks ,building societies with around 2 -4 billion,all trying to merge with each other to achieve economies of scale.

These banks need to borrow money overseas to fund spending in australia.the large banks will raise money at lower interest rates than Suncorp ? Or will bond markets view suncorp as less risky and fund their needs at lower interest rates than the big 4.

Depositors will view Suncorp as less risky and flood them with money,or they will view the big 4 as less risky and put money there,making them the even bigger 4.

To refer back to your point of 6-7 big chains in the UK,the market is large enough to sustain that or not.Do you think the OZ market can sustain 6 -7 large chains.

Those large chjains put everybody else out of business and gained economies of scale through market share.

Do you not think Coles and woolies put everybody else out of businss apart from small niche markets.Do you not think they offer low prices through economies of scale

The peiople in the UK go to those chains because they offer low prices.Do you not think the people in OZ go to Coles and woolies because they offer low prices.People in both countries have voted with their feet

There is a finite profit to be made,we will have lower prices if this profit is split between say 10 or 20 companies,or 2 companies?

What can you offer to prove that competition will reduce prices and economies of scale forces prices up.

CCC is there to stop the 2 companies cosying up and agreeing to raise prices equally.the same as every other CCC.