this post was submitted on 31 Jan 2025
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You got two options here. So which one are you going to choose? hmmmm?

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[–] Nath@aussie.zone 6 points 5 hours ago

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-26/coles-woolworths-supermarket-price-specials-cost-of-living/104470674

This article was fascinating. It really shows how blatant the Colesworth "Sale" cycle is. Particularly when it looks like a DNA double helix.
So hard not to believe it's coordinated. But price collusion is illegal - they can't be doing that!

[–] BNE@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Bin diving fruit/veg and the rest from local shops - it's very circumstantial but I'm honestly kind of shocked how well it's working out. I'm eating better than when I was spending three times as much.

[–] khortits@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

hell yeah, my guy. I do that too on occasion

[–] CEOofmyhouse56@aussie.zone 5 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

I go to Coles because it's a 5 minute walk from my joint. That's after I've been to Aldi, the butcher, fruit & veg shop, fish monger. Emergencies only really.

I'm not surprised that this is your routine. The food pics i've seen you post always look damn good.

[–] tombruzzo@aussie.zone 5 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Woolworths for online and Coles because it's closest. There's no IGA or Aldi conveniently nearby and I don't have time to do the runaround sourcing things from everywhere else

[–] eatham@aussie.zone 2 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Don't bother with IGA, they won't be cheaper

[–] notgold@aussie.zone 3 points 5 hours ago

Worse than servo or milk bar prices

[–] Deceptichum@quokk.au 4 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

I was tempted to be a CostCo Convert, but I thought about it and realised I don't need a shed full of stock, nor do I own a shed to place it in.

[–] khortits@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

I only have the one Costco where I am and it's a long trip so I see no reason to bother

[–] notgold@aussie.zone 2 points 5 hours ago

I go for the $1.99 hot dog when I'm working nearby. For nappies their standard price is normally cheaper but big w has sales for buggies that are better so i just load up.

[–] makingStuffForFun@lemmy.ml 10 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

Proud to shop at a German chain. Aldi for me my friend.

Until they introduce AI surveillance, and then I'm done for.

[–] khortits@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 11 hours ago

how "un-australian" 😆

[–] khortits@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

by the by. I think they use the ai to monitor their employees. but then again, to each their own.

[–] Towerofpain11@lemmy.world 3 points 9 hours ago (1 children)
[–] prex@aussie.zone 1 points 2 hours ago

The one with a boomerang on the logo? I swear they used to be in WA too.

[–] maniacalmanicmania@aussie.zone 4 points 10 hours ago

I miss the Foodworks near Newtown station. The ALDI that replaced it is so shit.

[–] ImWaitingForRetcons@lemm.ee 4 points 11 hours ago

I go for whatever the cheapest; Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, my local greengrocer, Catch…

[–] Salvo@aussie.zone 6 points 13 hours ago (2 children)

None of the above (unless absolutely necessary)

I can get almost everything I need from Aldi and IGA.

[–] khortits@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

The IGA prices are so jacked up bro 😖

[–] Salvo@aussie.zone 5 points 11 hours ago (3 children)

Yes they are; Because they small businesses, which actually pay their employees a living wage and don’t have the buying power of the big supermarkets.

Even then, all the IGA locals around me and larger IGAs on surrounding towns are still cheaper than Safeway and Coles.

[–] Nath@aussie.zone 1 points 5 hours ago

Safeway! There's a name I haven't heard in about 10 years. Are there still any Safeways that haven't turned into Woolies out there?

[–] eatham@aussie.zone 1 points 5 hours ago (2 children)

IGA isn't a small business, and I've no clue if they pay a decent wage, but $10 for a dozen eggs is insanely expensive and reason enough not to shop their. Aldi is amazing tho, and I agree Coles is quite expensive, not sure if it is more than IGA tho as they are generally 5-10x woolies prices (which are already very high)

The IGA shops are small businesses, there might be a few owners who are large enough, with multiple stores to call themselves medium size, but the vast majority are owner-operators.

The large conglomerate your referring to is called Metcash, they're the primary wholesaler to IGAs but also wholesale to other shops. They also own the IGA brand in Australia at least, i don't know if theres a North American connection with the IGA brand up there.

I wouldn't assume they pay a better wage, thats almost certainly a store owners decision, which means it'll vary store by store. Maybe Metcash might give 'guidance' but they don't have direct control like Coles, Woolies, Aldi, Costco.

So, when you buy IGA more of the profits are remaining local with the owners of that store.

If i remember right Metcash' assets are through product sales and brand ownership. This is also why Metcash will likely never be able to conpete properly with Coles, Woolies, Aldi, and Costco because all of those companies have the land and buildings their stores are situated on positively affecting their borrowing capacity, Metcash doesn't have that therefore fundraising for expansion, or technology upgrades is more difficult.

That extra layer of (internal but not internal) wholesaler sales i believe is the reason why IGAs are slightly more expensive. But even then it depends on the type of IGA we're talking about, there are some really fancy ones and some not so fancy ones.

I suppose everything i just wrote is based off knowledge over 10 years old now, but i think its largely still true.

[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 1 points 2 hours ago

IGA isn't a block. The clue is in the name

[–] khortits@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 11 hours ago

idk how much they pay their workers but I suspect that since iga is the distributor, they get most of the cut. I'm not faithful to any chain anyways, the post is mostly a joke

[–] TugOfWarCrimes@sh.itjust.works 6 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

If you're far enough outside of the cities (or willing to drive) you can also often buy direct from farms, cutting out the middlemen that all demand their own cut. And don't forget places like NQR and The Reject Shop for non-perishables.

I would also urge people to find their local community garden and/or food bank. If you need the support, there is no shame at all in accepting it from your community. If you don't currently need the support, offer to do what you can to help those that do need it. The more we can help each other, the less we need corporations like Coles and Woolworths.

[–] Deceptichum@quokk.au 4 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Farms sell Indomie Mi Goreng?

[–] TugOfWarCrimes@sh.itjust.works 3 points 5 hours ago

If you're really insistent on purchasing only from farms, I suppose you could purchase all the ingredients and make it from scratch yourself. But that would likely take more travel costs than it saves. Probably better to just go to Aldi for that one