Woolworths "rewards"

Pedro · 02-11-2015, 02:15 PM

With the much heralded new rewards system rolled out by Woolworths, I went to my local store to buy a loaf of bread. The result of which prompted me to email them a message outlining my opinion....

QUOTE: "I pick up a loaf of Abbotts country grains bread and the checkout operator says $5.50 thanks. No I say, its $3.50. Oh she says, you get the extra $2 back in Woolworths dollars.
So Woolworths has $2 of my money (multiply that by millions of customers) to use on the overnight money market or whatever, and I get sfa. What lunatic thought up that brainwave?
Goodbye Woolworths - hello Coles. (At least their Flybuys rewards is genuine)" UNQUOTE.

Sam_Boss260 · 02-11-2015, 02:26 PM

huh? so you had to pay an extra $2 for the bread to put on your rewards card?

nstg8a · 02-11-2015, 02:27 PM

Yeah it's a crock. Qantas points were much better, although I understand it was costing 100 million a year...

b0son · 02-11-2015, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedro

What lunatic thought up that brainwave?

Probably some 4r53hat with an MBA who thinks he's sooooo clever that we'll never notice....

**Polyal** · 02-11-2015, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nstg8a

Yeah it's a crock. Qantas points were much better, although I understand it was costing 100 million a year...

And they are canning it in December?

wodahs · 02-11-2015, 05:28 PM

The only reason I originally got the rewards card was for the Qantas points so was already thinking an exit

Ben73 · 02-11-2015, 09:30 PM

Was the breads original price $3.50 or $5.50?

I just use flybys. Forget about them for a few years and you earn enough points to get something worth a few hundred for free.

pottery beige · 02-11-2015, 10:08 PM

its a scam

bro

CoupeKing · 02-11-2015, 10:17 PM

Shop right and you'll save more $$ than any rewards/points/loyalty card will give you.

Aldi has blossomed and another chain is heading our way.

cycle myth · 02-11-2015, 10:54 PM

Absolutely.

Vote with your feet (I mean wallet).

xr6turboford · 02-11-2015, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoupeKing

Shop right and you'll save more $$ than any rewards/points/loyalty card will give you.

Aldi has blossomed and another chain is heading our way.

Can't wait for Aldi to open in SA only a few months to go as Woolworths prices a rip

**GazzF6** · 02-11-2015, 11:49 PM

Yep, everyday rewards... FF points disappear at the end of the year...

Happy New Year I'm out!

csv8 · 03-11-2015, 12:18 AM

tempted..I have never had a problem with Aldi....Coles and Woolies have had maggotts in fruit etc....Aldi Wheat biscuits..1kg..$2.99 are Weet Bix..you can tell by the taste..There cornflakes are Kelloggs..dont know how they do it, but glad they do....

Pedro · 03-11-2015, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tempted

I really don't get this love for Aldi. Sure the prices may be lower, but you are getting unknown generic brands from unknown sources with zero reputation and questionable quality. There have been several cases of late with Aldi products contaminated with maggots, for me this is reason enough to keep away.
Not to mention that the profits get shipped straight back to Germany.
I'll stick with Coles and Woolies. I'm happy to pay a little extra for reputable products and they are both Australian owned.
As for the rewards schemes, I rarely ever fly, so the Qantas points are useless to me. I'd much rather save money on my shopping.

While I understand where you're coming from temped ... your argument is seriously flawed.
Check the labelling on Woolworths own brand products and you will find the majority are sourced outside Australia, so they are from unknown processors. Probably why they dropped the "'helping Australian farmers" mantra from their advertising.

Pedro · 03-11-2015, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben73

Was the breads original price $3.50 or $5.50?

I just use flybys. Forget about them for a few years and you earn enough points to get something worth a few hundred for free.

It was $3.50. I went from that store to Coles and bought it for their standard price that was a couple of cents cheaper.

tranquilized · 03-11-2015, 09:56 AM

The range of brand name products on Woolies and Coles shelves is slowly but surely shrinking, being replaced with their own store branded products which are slowly but surely increasing in price. Meanwhile our farmers and local manufactures are being royally screwed by the big two. The whole supermarket industry is in a very bad way in Australia thanks to the all-powerful duopoly Woolies and Coles enjoy.

CoupeKing · 03-11-2015, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tempted

I really don't get this love for Aldi. Sure the prices may be lower, but you are getting unknown generic brands from unknown sources with zero reputation and questionable quality. There have been several cases of late with Aldi products contaminated with maggots, for me this is reason enough to keep away.
Not to mention that the profits get shipped straight back to Germany.
I'll stick with Coles and Woolies. I'm happy to pay a little extra for reputable products and they are both Australian owned.
As for the rewards schemes, I rarely ever fly, so the Qantas points are useless to me. I'd much rather save money on my shopping.

It's not so much a love for Aldi, there's competition now (and more to come). No more getting ripped off by the big 2 - all of a sudden they have to compete......everday prices...85 cent bread....90 cent long-life milk...65 cent pack of pasta. If I listened to the ''buy Australian only'' crowd I'd be paying Telecom $300 just in line rental.

You eat any Arnott's?

NTF6 · 03-11-2015, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GazzF6

Yep, everyday rewards... FF points disappear at the end of the year...

Happy New Year I'm out!

If you really want to clock up Qantas FF points fast get one of these:

https://www.citibank.com.au/aus/cred...gnatureqde.htm

I got mine when they had a bonus 70,000 points for signing up, I use my card for everything and pay off the balance at statement time therefore paying zero interest and when I shop at Woolies I use my Citibank card and my Woolies Rewards card and get double points. I manage to clock up over 140,000 points in just over 9 months.

I bailed on my Westpac Rewards card because they were too selective on the flights I could redeem for, now Citibank just transfer over my accrued points straight onto my QFF card every month.

**Grunter** · 03-11-2015, 12:43 PM

So why not shop at Independents?! IGA/Richies/Drakes/etc. are all good sized stores with comparable pricing overall to the big 2.

Lidl's have a similar model to Aldi. IMO they will compete more with Aldi than the big 2, however hopefully they can take some of the market share to balance overall a bit more.

Adamz Ghia · 03-11-2015, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tempted

I don't think my argument is flawed at all. Woolworths and Coles may stock their generic own brand products, but they also stock products from well known brands and manufacturers, giving the consumer a choice. At Aldi you don't get that choice - its their generic crap or nothing.
I generally keep away from home brand products unless its an absolute last resort, so your argument holds no relevance with me.
Shopping at Aldi is just another classic example of Australians shooting themselves in the foot. They are buying cheap crap from a foreign company that sends profits overseas, all in the name of saving a buck. It reminds me exactly of the way people deserted Australian made cars for cheap foreign crap, allowing the local industry to languish.

I come from retail, from both retailer and supplier. I won't say your argument is flawed, but it's stuck in the old world. Most home brand lines in Coles and Woolworths are in fact made by the big labels and packaged in their private labels. I can't speak for Aldi, but given a lot of their brands are Aussie owned and more Aussie made, there are only so many manufacturers in this country so some of their stuff is probably made by the big names as well.

Coles tinned tomatoes are 99 cents but they're made by SPC, who sell theirs for $1.50. Coles cheese is made by Warrnambool Chesse and Butter, who sell their brand cheese for $3 or $4 more than the same cheese wrapped in a Coles wrapper.

10 to 15 years ago yes, home brand products were something to stay away from, but not anymore.

Geez Louise · 03-11-2015, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedro

It was $3.50. I went from that store to Coles and bought it for their standard price that was a couple of cents cheaper.

Well there's an issue right there. Woolworths,Coles etc all have a policy. If it scans at the wrong ticketed price, you get that item for free! It has been that way for ages. Promotion, scam, extra points etc...the policy remains the same.

I would have argued the point and walked away with my free loaf of bread!

Cheers
Col

**Polyal** · 03-11-2015, 02:12 PM

I got a free fennel, dony laugh, the other day because it wasnt on their system...LOL...maybe the checkout person just didnt now what it was.

Yellow_Festiva · 03-11-2015, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adamz Ghia

I come from retail, from both retailer and supplier. I won't say your argument is flawed, but it's stuck in the old world. Most home brand lines in Coles and Woolworths are in fact made by the big labels and packaged in their private labels. I can't speak for Aldi, but given a lot of their brands are Aussie owned and more Aussie made, there are only so many manufacturers in this country so some of their stuff is probably made by the big names as well.

Coles tinned tomatoes are 99 cents but they're made by SPC, who sell theirs for $1.50. Coles cheese is made by Warrnambool Chesse and Butter, who sell their brand cheese for $3 or $4 more than the same cheese wrapped in a Coles wrapper.

10 to 15 years ago yes, home brand products were something to stay away from, but not anymore.

Yep, you will find that most 'no name' stuff is actually made on the same production line as the branded stuff. Sometimes they will modify the recipe every so slightly to change the taste, or use a slightly different mould to their branded one.

A guy I used to work with did night work at a factory (Arnott's??) and told me that they would do several runs over the week all packaged differently.

It's just a way to capture more of the market. Insurance does it, banks do it etc.

Yellow_Festiva · 03-11-2015, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tempted

I have found IGA's pricing to be consistently higher than Coles or Woolworths over a wide range on products. They seem to slip under the radar for some reason.

I have noticed that some of our local IGA's are in the street and not surrounded by other supermarkets.

When that is the case they can afford to charge a premium with the lack of competition.

b0son · 03-11-2015, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adamz Ghia

Coles tinned tomatoes are 99 cents but they're made by SPC, who sell theirs for $1.50. Coles cheese is made by Warrnambool Chesse and Butter, who sell their brand cheese for $3 or $4 more than the same cheese wrapped in a Coles wrapper.

10 to 15 years ago yes, home brand products were something to stay away from, but not anymore.

For how long? SPC's business may be sustainable at $1.50, but not at $0.99. At some point, enough people shift from the $1.50 product to the $0.99 one, and the $1.50 product gets the boot by the supermarket. What then for SPC? They cant operate offering the $0.99 product, so the supermarket source from China/Thailand/etc.

b0son · 03-11-2015, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

It's just a way to capture more of the market. Insurance does it, banks do it etc.

Yes and no. Suppliers make little/no profit on home brand, it covers their overheads. The branded product is what keeps them in business. When they eventually lose shelf space for the branded item to the home brand, what then?

Yellow_Festiva · 03-11-2015, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b0son

Yes and no. Suppliers make little/no profit on home brand, it covers their overheads. The branded product is what keeps them in business. When they eventually lose shelf space for the branded item to the home brand, what then?

Much of the shelf space in supermarkets is paid for by the brands. Often you will notice home brand / no name brands on the bottom shelf while the branded stuff is at eye level.

This is not by accident. You would be surprised what deals are made between the larger brands and supermarkets as to positioning of products and even how much width the product takes on the shelf.

Much like real estate 'Position, Position, Position'.

Has been going on since Adam was a boy. Brands or suppliers that don't play ball lose sales and get less orders till the product is bullied off the shelf to the next highest bidder.

Ford_The_Win · 03-11-2015, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b0son

For how long? SPC's business may be sustainable at $1.50, but not at $0.99. At some point, enough people shift from the $1.50 product to the $0.99 one, and the $1.50 product gets the boot by the supermarket. What then for SPC? They cant operate offering the $0.99 product, so the supermarket source from China/Thailand/etc.

I never buy home brand or you'll love coles crap, nor do I shop at Aldi, for that very reason. I'm not that much of a tight wad, I don't buy cup after cup of coffee at work so I'm happy to pay an extra $5 or $10 at the checkout to buy reputable brands that I have known all my life. Australian made wherever possible, mainly because I value my health and don't trust the regulatory authorities in the squalid, undeveloped hell holes that a lot of imported stuff comes from.

b0son · 03-11-2015, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Much of the shelf space in supermarkets is paid for by the brands.

For now... the long game is to squeeze Aus manufacturers out of the market. What do you think will happen to home brand prices once the name brands are gone? Think it can't happen?

3-5 years ago, Chemist Warehouse had a wide variety of brands. most of these have been pushed out in favour of their home brand. They too charge suppliers for the privilege of being on their shelves, using them to establish a product category, then pushing them out in favour of their own line when the time is right.

Adamz Ghia · 03-11-2015, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b0son

For how long? SPC's business may be sustainable at $1.50, but not at $0.99. At some point, enough people shift from the $1.50 product to the $0.99 one, and the $1.50 product gets the boot by the supermarket. What then for SPC? They cant operate offering the $0.99 product, so the supermarket source from China/Thailand/etc.

You'll find there isn't much of a cost difference between the two in terms of what Coles pays SPC, especially once you factor in what SPC pays for promo and shelf location. Coles and Woolies will never solely source from overseas, the home market for Australian produce is too big and too profitable for them to ignore.