They don’t have checkouts in the middle in the US either!
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I would consider the retail industry in the US to be more different than that. Americans seem to prefer the convenience of big box shopping strips which leads to stores like Walmart and Target to flourish, but in return causes many of their malls to struggle and close. Here in Australia it seems more like the shopping centres themselves are doing the heavy lifting to make shopping a destination than anchor tenants like Myer and Target.
It’s also important to note American chains like Macy’s and Nordstorm are struggling since they are predominantly in malls.
I think part of it is that they have restaurants and cafes in store over there.
Now if only Kmart could bring back Hollys with their glad wrapped bread rolls!
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Beauty is a big focus across many players at the moment. Myer is going all in. Only issue is margins are wafer thin at the lower end, and theft is high, with that increased monitoring comes increased wages.
Anyone playing in the value area of cosmetics will do well. The days of high prices cosmetic malls are over, it’s all about value these days, which is why the likes of Mecca, MCO Beauty and a raft of other new value options will do well.
Chemist Warehouse, BIGW/Kmart will go after the super price sensitive and half price market. Not sure on Myer’s approach. They want the premium end, margins are high, but the personalised experience is costly on the wage front, and it really only booms in peak seasons.
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Ampol Australia reportedly set to announce EG Australia acquisition. Ampol may sell 20-30 of EG’s stations to satisfy proposed ACCC requirements.
Will be interesting if the 20-30 EG Ampol stations being sold will have the nearby Ampol Foodary in the affected areas start accepting the Woolworths discounts as a result.
Not a great investment for EG I wonder why they even bothered to begin with. Woolworths certainly did very well from that sale.
Once more and more electric vehicles get on the road and governments start legislating towards the demise of petrol cars, these servos will either have to install more electric chargers, or get out of the industry.
EG’s move may not be the last.
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Costco has confirmed it will open its fifth Victorian store, at Pakenham in Melbourne’s outer south-east, in 2027.
Haven’t been to Costco for ages. Is it still worth it compared to shopping at the others?
I assume prices have jumped at Costco also.
It’s technically the 6th store to open in Melbourne after the closure of the first Costco store in Docklands.
I’m surprised Costco hasn’t invested in Geelong.
Again, depends on what you’re after.
If you’re buying in bulk for a family, it might be worth it. Occasionally they’ll have the odd special worth looking into, and you can’t beat their food court. But if you are on your Larry Lonsome like me, you might consider saving your dough.
I think EG should have gone for OTR rather than Woolies Petrol.
OTR had done really well in executing Euro Garage’s own model of multi brand service outlet.
A lot of those Woolies sites just have too small a footprint to really develop into something other than the shoebox stores that they are.
Ampol has sent out an email tonight with the announcement.
Hi ×××,
We are getting in touch to share an exciting update that was announced today. Ampol has entered into a binding agreement to acquire EG Australia. The transaction is conditional on receiving ACCC approval, which we anticipate is likely to occur mid-2026.What this means for you
You will see no change to Ampol or EG Australia service stations in the short term, so filling up, buying snacks and getting food on the go will all continue as normal.In the future we look forward to bringing you a more consistent experience across our expanded network including more Ampol Foodary sites to take you from A to Anywhere.
We’re here to help
I think that’s probably a good thing though, as this protects the major retailers already in Geelong (as well as the many local family-owned supermarkets and fruit and veg/butcher shops).
Having Costco entering the market would likely kill them off, it’s like when Kaufland tried to enter Australia (dubbed as the supermarket to end our major supermarkets) before they suddenly pulled out of the Australian market before opening any stores. Construction on Kaufland stores already underway were subsequently abandoned.
That was a weird one. I think they could have done well here, obviously didn’t want to invest. They had a weird choice for local executive also. There is an appetite for non ColesWow operators here, Aldi is probably a bit under represented in some areas but they still have logistical challenges to deal with.
Took Aldi a good decade just to build connections with suppliers. Certainly had been a success story and they have kept the other two in check, unlikely we would have seen the current own brand penetration at those two if Aldi never arrived. Just need to be patient if wanting to kick off ops here, and be realistic, something Aldi has been upfront about in the media, slow and measured growth they say.