Who remembers these?
Coles used this branding on their shit-tier home brand goods up until the mid 2000s. I recall being hugely disappointed when my mum put Savings brand apple bars in my lunch box - they tasted like ground up gym mats.
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Is New World in NZ owned by Coles owners in Australia?
It was more or less the Coles equivalent of Woolworthsâ Home Brand, wasnât it? Coles Smart Buy replaced Savings while Youâll Love Coles was the replacement for the more âpremiumâ in-store brand Farmland, if Iâm not mistaken.
No, they are independently owned and operated.
Still prefer the old school Black and Gold labeling - somehow looked even cheaper and nastier then savings (also stuck around for a bit longer, albeit its current incarnation looks far less shit), though that early savings stuff in that video is pretty dire.
Home Brand was definitely the best looking of the lot.
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I liked this style of Black and Gold packaging the best - is this the one youâre talking about?
In other news, hereâs a refreshing new drink from Aldi.
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Are you talking about the old classic look, or the one @mubd mentioned?
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Ha, we used to get Black and Gold imported into PNG all the time. Even though it was cheap, they made just about everything so it was quite a well regarded brand in a country where there werenât many âluxuryâ goods on sale.
I remember when they first stocked B&G tinned pineapples. Mum stocked away enough tins of the stuff for pizza toppings to last us a fair while. This was in 2003. Chances were if there was a rarely sold product on the shelves, people would bulk-buy the shit. I still remember the excitement among the expatriates for the one blue moon when the local supermarket got a hold of actual Magnum Classics.
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Thats the one - the classic look.
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Nauruâs only supermarket (government run) seems to stock shitloads of Black & Gold stuff. Interesting how the food is actually cheaper than Australia - those bags of Allens lollies usually sell upwards of $3 in a domestic supermarket, but in Nauru itâs $2.60 - perhaps thanks to that delicious Australian capital flowing into the country allowing the government to subsidise food prices.
Thereâs a distinct North Korean-style propaganda vibe emanating from that video, with stuff like them calling it âThe Peoples Storeâ and the tacky 50 year old native music playing in the background.
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Target cafeâs arenât long for this world
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One competitor that Guy Russo didnât mention is Best & Less/Harris Scarfe who are owned by Steinhoff, who also own Freedom, Snooze, Bay Leather, Poco, Mozi, and NZ retailer Posti+. Best & Less have improved the quality and look of their clothing over the past couple of years and theyâre no longer a totally downmarket store, while Harris Scarfe have also upped their quality and range and are in an expansion phase. Itâs been reported that Steinhoff overall in Australia are losing money but they have deep pockets. Russo would be silly to ignore them, and Iâm sure heâs not.
Part of the NZ group âFoodstuffsâ, which also owns the brand Pak n Save among other liquor outlets and superettes.
Thereâs very little meat in those gym mats
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Ground up what?? 
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Some photos I took today of Wollies in Kerang on my way home from Melbourne, certainly could do with an upgrade
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Colour film must still be a big seller.
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With a store layout like that, I almost wonder if the old style red/green aisle signs are still there! 
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Those department signs have been updated though.
Iâm surprised they donât still have Marioâs Meats and Mr Pickwickâs Bakery!
Does it still carry Safeway branding, @djpower?
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