"Coles" is for sale
Feb 28th 2007, 9:08 am
#31
Crazy Cat Lady
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 65,493
Re: "Coles" is for sale
I didn't move 12,000 odd miles to go shopping in poxy Asda or Sainsbury's or oh god please help me forget the place - M&S
Feb 28th 2007, 9:23 am
#32
I'm now an Aussie too!!!
Joined: May 2006
Location: 'Home by the Sea' Elanora
Posts: 5,030
Re: "Coles" is for sale
Feb 28th 2007, 11:24 am
#33
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2003
Location: Scotland
Posts: 7,949
Re: "Coles" is for sale
The sharks have been circling Coles for quite some time, a consortium led by private equity firm KKR (U.S.) were thought to be behind an approach last year.
Local markets speculated on a range of possible buyers including Tesco, on which Coles models its business, and US giant Wal-Mart.
Local markets speculated on a range of possible buyers including Tesco, on which Coles models its business, and US giant Wal-Mart.
Clearly the board now think the recovery strategy is/was not going to work and so have been looking for suitable suitors. The last I read a few days ago is that there were 5 or 6 potential bidders who all seemed to be venture capitalists, consortia etc and not existing retailers such as Tesco and Wal Mart (Asda in UK). Time will tell, Tesco probably has enough growth plans underway in Europe, Asia and America to be able to bite off Coles (the opening of their first Chinese store in either Beijing or Shanghai was on the news last week). I also read at the same time of encouraging recent financial results by Woolies in Australia.
If Tesco do take over Coles, look forward to a huge expansion of the microwavable meals section.
OzTennis
Feb 28th 2007, 4:25 pm
#34
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2006
Location: ex yeovil ...now CAIRNS!
Posts: 604
Re: "Coles" is for sale
[QUOTE=Bix;4464172][quote=windog;4464009] and yes I am an old fart!
Can we put that to the membership ? Is this an idea for a poll ?
No, I think not, it would be a monopoly like the supermarkets
Or did I mean I'm old and I fart... I forget now...
Can we put that to the membership ? Is this an idea for a poll ?
No, I think not, it would be a monopoly like the supermarkets
Feb 28th 2007, 7:33 pm
#35
Timelord
Joined: May 2006
Location: Lost in space...
Posts: 2,834
Re: "Coles" is for sale
Feb 28th 2007, 9:24 pm
#36
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jun 2003
Location: Sydney beachside
Posts: 3,505
Re: "Coles" is for sale
A very good friend of ours here in Sydney works as the proof reader for a magazine publisher in the food industry... The publisher and his wife returned a few months ago from a 6 week trip around the UK and France... We spent some time discussing the 'ready meals' situation at a dinner party not long ago... He's absolutely convinced that this will come to Oz shortly and will be an enormous hit... You have been warned...
They've tried the ready-meal thing here already and it was a dismal failure.
Woollies trialled it in my local store (lots of busy double-income couples, flat-sharers etc around here) a few years ago. We had a special section full of Tesco-type ready meals which lasted for approx three months.
Trouble was they couldn't compete with the myriad cheap take-aways that people use currently, when they can't be bothered to cook.
Would you buy a pre-prepared, plastic packaged ready-meal for $10 when for $5 you could buy a freshly-cooked, hot equivalent from the take-away down the road? Neither did anyone else!
Feb 28th 2007, 9:40 pm
#37
Timelord
Joined: May 2006
Location: Lost in space...
Posts: 2,834
Re: "Coles" is for sale
But he's adamant it's coming, and to stay...
Mar 3rd 2007, 11:27 am
#39
High in the Dandenongs
Joined: Apr 2003
Location: Listening to Puffing Billy
Posts: 9,183
Re: "Coles" is for sale
Obviously there must be a different Tescos somewhere that I havent found, because Tescos in the UK doesn't pass on any "value" to the customer. The produce is cr*p, it has had all the taste, and much of the "goodness" bred out of it in the quest for cheapness, not for value, but for profit, and if they havent managed it that way then it has been "nutricianally challenged " in the packageing process. The problem is most people have got so usedto supermarkets that they have forgotten, or indeed have never known what "proper" food is like (and yes I am an old fart! )
.
) .
We have taken to getting fruit and veg from local markets The gapes are crap through
Mar 3rd 2007, 12:50 pm
#42
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: May 2004
Location: Birkdale QLD
Posts: 7,642
Re: "Coles" is for sale
As no doubt has been pointed out somewhere in the thread, Coles rejected an offer from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts last year. The board had put a recovery strategy into place which included selling off Myer's, Bi-Lo etc and concentrating on Coles, K-Mart, Target and Office Works. They thought the strategy would work and that the KKR offer undervalued the business (probably wished they accepted now!)
Clearly the board now think the recovery strategy is/was not going to work and so have been looking for suitable suitors. The last I read a few days ago is that there were 5 or 6 potential bidders who all seemed to be venture capitalists, consortia etc and not existing retailers such as Tesco and Wal Mart (Asda in UK). Time will tell, Tesco probably has enough growth plans underway in Europe, Asia and America to be able to bite off Coles (the opening of their first Chinese store in either Beijing or Shanghai was on the news last week). I also read at the same time of encouraging recent financial results by Woolies in Australia.
If Tesco do take over Coles, look forward to a huge expansion of the microwavable meals section.
OzTennis
Clearly the board now think the recovery strategy is/was not going to work and so have been looking for suitable suitors. The last I read a few days ago is that there were 5 or 6 potential bidders who all seemed to be venture capitalists, consortia etc and not existing retailers such as Tesco and Wal Mart (Asda in UK). Time will tell, Tesco probably has enough growth plans underway in Europe, Asia and America to be able to bite off Coles (the opening of their first Chinese store in either Beijing or Shanghai was on the news last week). I also read at the same time of encouraging recent financial results by Woolies in Australia.
If Tesco do take over Coles, look forward to a huge expansion of the microwavable meals section.
OzTennis
What an utterly crap idea.
Of course it can't be bought by Woolies. I'm guessing maybe Tescos or some private equity company will buy the supermarket bit. Others will buy the rest. Oh and I'm predicting the current Coles management have a employment expectancy of about 4 months.
JTL
JTL
Mar 4th 2007, 9:41 am
#44
Banned
Joined: Apr 2003
Location: Angle vale Sth Australia
Posts: 5,353
Re: "Coles" is for sale
Why do shopping or dish,s .
They tried frozen ready to cook meals ,they died a natural death..............
mm
Mar 5th 2007, 8:52 am
#45
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2003
Location: Scotland
Posts: 7,949
Re: "Coles" is for sale
I'm inclined to agree that while the ready meals might work elsewhere that they won't be as successful in Australia. As pointed out, would people buy microwaveable meals of miniscule portions when they can eat out or get a take-away of better quality, often for a lower price? Where I come from in Melbourne (and where we will return to), within 2 mins by car, 10 min walk, we have a choice of a number of Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, Japanese and Thai restaurants and a number of pubs who do excellent counter meals and countless fish and chipperies. There are also markets to buy fresh meat, vegetables and fruit from. Plastic meal from the microwave? No thanks. We'll see - as also said, the ready meals experiment has been tried a number of times without taking off.
OzTennis
OzTennis
