The trend within the Australian food industry seems to attempt to be competitive price-wise. Furthermore, expanded their industry to other sectors including petrol, merchandise and liquor. The food industry looks to what people want and stocks it accordingly. By branching out, those in the food industry are able to cover more segments and increase their profitability in a wider sense. Aldi’s competitive environment in Australia consists of 5 firms, the two major competitor being Woolworths and Coles.
Woolworths has positioned itself as the ‘The Fresh Food People’, aiming to provide a wide range of fresh produce in addition to dry groceries and other merchandise. Many farmers in Australia grow their products exclusively for Woolworths, adhering to strict quality, food hygiene and safety standards. The ‘Fresh Food People’ strategy has been an important way of differentiating themselves from major competitors, such as Coles. Woolworths actively advertises through magazines, newspapers, television and distributed leaflets, aiming to project an image of providing fresh, healthy and high quality products at a reasonable price.
Similar to Woolworths, Coles also is a full-service supermarket, offering fresh produce, dry groceries and other merchandise. Its strategy, however, is less succinct than Woolworths ‘Fresh Food People’ strategy. In March 2002, Coles announced a major restructuring program, aiming to cut costs by improving its supply chain management, implementing changes to its information technology, and trying to achieve better synergies with the other segments in the Coles Myer Corporation. The supply chain changes include restructuring its distribution centre network and simplifying operations and processes in its stores and distribution centres. In addition, Coles planned to improve its loyalty programs.
In addition to the major national chains Woolworths and Coles Myer, there are also a number of