Realistically no. Although it wouldn’t overly surprise me if some people who participated in the panic buying of toilet paper and other items back in March were fearful that trucks wouldn’t be able to deliver to supermarkets.
Christmas sales and whether or not people decide to put their money on domestic travel will depend a lot on whether restrictions ease over the coming months, I think. But of course that’s still some six months away…
Following a trail in four Woolworths stores last year, Woolworths announced yesterday that they’ll start selling paper bags at its checkouts nationwide.
These bags will cost $0.20 cents to purchase and will carry up to six kilograms.
Sounds good, but I think I will stick with the 99cent bag for good bag, they last a bit longer.
Is Woolworths copying stores and supermarkets in the US? The paper bags are popular there.
We used to have paper bags in Australia before the plastic ones were introduced.
Yes. They worked well at the Grace Bros supermarkets that had parcel pickup because they stood up well in the tubs on the conveyor belts that weaved their way from the supermarket to the drive-thru pick-up point in the carpark.
I remember them at Coles. My parents mostly shopped at Franklins where you would use the empty boxes from the products placed on shelves.
You would box them yourself from the trolley to the carton in the back of your car. A trip to Coles was a treat because they bagged your shopping in their paper bags.
Tiny detail angering Woolies shoppers:
https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/woolworths-supermarket-under-fire-for-new-shopping-bags-that-are-made-in-china/news-story/36ec6875ddfa06b49a7b9ca28e8805db
Sides starting at just $2.3 each, soups from $3, meals from $6.50 and dishes designed for couples starting at $10.
The 100 new convenience products launching in stores last week include 55 Coles branded products including 34 new Coles Kitchen ready to heat meals, 12 Coles Finest premium quality meals, new Nature’s Kitchen plant-based options, in addition to new meals, soups and sauces from popular brands Pitango, Latina Fresh and YouFoodz.
Well what country did shoppers think the paper bags were made in?, certainly not Australia, that’s too good to be true!
Obviously the photos used in the article will be selected to show off the most scary looking empty shelving scenes. I was at Kmart the other day. Yes, there are lines of shelves that are indeed completely empty. Many of the more ‘premium’ Anko homewares and appliances are completely sold out, but the basic $8 toaster and $8 kettles are still available.
There’s still an ample supply of clothes. Bicycles have been ransacked (as expected) and there hasn’t been any stock for weeks. But there’s still enough on the shelves to keep the stores open.
I was at Big W yesterday night and they were fully stocked. Kmart shoppers might migrate over to there.
So like ‘meal deals’ overseas in the UK/Europe?
But then - if that’s the case - why should Kmart remain open as I continue to state? Sure, there might be few things left but I still don’t see the point in continuing to open.
This is my opinion I guess
Because then 100% of people would shop at Big W…
Coles/Woolworths didn’t close when they ran out of toilet paper.
They stayed open because there were still plenty of products in those stores and also because they are deemed essential as @Radiohead has stated before
Again, just what I think (and a few others)
Unless the store is completely devoid of product, then they have product to sell.
It probably doesn’t have to be completely out of stock; depending how bad it gets, there could come a point where running expenses are greater than the sales (let alone any profit).
There have traditionally been stores that run at a loss but still continue to operate for numerous reasons - eg presence in the community, lease arrangements etc etc
It is all short term issues, just a bigger blip than normal on the radar. They will still carry on as business as usual.
Because they’re still getting new stock in, the article clearly stated that they were expecting to be fully stocked in the next 4 - 6 weeks. I sincerely doubt they’re not getting no deliveries at all for a month!
However I do suspect these issues are why they have not reverted to regular trading hours now the most harsh of the COVID related restrictions are over (they’re still 8am-8pm in most locations, none have reverted to 24/7 operations yet).
The Kmart situation is not as bad as you think it is. There is still a good selection of products on the shelves, but maybe 25% of non-clothing lines are gone.