Woolworths is in serious trouble

Viva...viva. We you know who to thank for that anyway. Woolworth's is a decidedly middle to upper-class supplier and the government has slaughtered the middle class, so things are not going to improve in the short to medium term.
 
RanzB said:
View attachment 1953376

I keep track of Woolie's prices since I shop for things that are on special and buy in bulk. They've been taking the absolute pss with some of their price hikes.
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There is also marked shrinkflation and an influx of really poor quality prepared food.

Zero meaningful discounting - multibuys are not the same thing.
 
EmmanuelGoldstein said:
Amazing, never do they ever say its maybe their shareholders and their greed
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The problem for consumers (everywhere), are that the CEOs of companies answer to shareholders, not customers.
Every decision they entertain or make is geared towards increasing shareholder value. So, yes shareholders are greedy, why shouldn't they be, but few actually follow the day to running of those businesses, the CEO's and top management do.

Shareholders as such are mostly just silent partners, hoping that the people that are in charge of the companies they're invested in are going to return to them increased dividends and capital growth every year into perpetuity.

When you already have pricing at the top of the scale (like Woolworths Food) and then try to increase on that every year to improve the dividends to those shareholders, it compounds and eventually prices you out of the market, especially the current market where the middle class is taxed to the hilt in every conceivable way. Since COVID and upgraded online shopping platforms, consumers are able to shop around more easily.
I'm in retail, it's becoming a dog-eat-dog environment. Woolworths have their hands full trying to maintain their customers base, keep them happy while still paying dividends to those shareholders that expect more each year.

Pushy marketing, endless social media posts and loyalty cards offered out at a dime a dozen.
Each little bit added on each year to keep these companies relevant to a consumer base with literally no self-amazement left. Very little amazes people these days; it's already been done by someone else at a manic pace.

Retail is dying, mark my words.
We've seen it with the mom-and-pop businesses been squeezed out by the corporates. Then online squeezing out the corporates. Now the corporates cutting their own throats to stay in business.

In a nutshell, businesses are destroying themselves and consumers don't care about the fallout, least of all government.
Now there's AI and how that will complicate an already toxic retail environment.
 
BTTB said:
The problem for consumers (everywhere), are that the CEOs of companies answer to shareholders, not customers.
Every decision they entertain or make is geared towards increasing shareholder value. So, yes shareholders are greedy, why shouldn't they be, but few actually follow the day to running of those businesses, the CEO's and top management do.

Shareholders as such are mostly just silent partners, hoping that the people that are in charge of the companies they're invested in are going to return to them increased dividends and capital growth every year into perpetuity.

When you already have pricing at the top of the scale (like Woolworths Food) and then try to increase on that every year to improve the dividends to those shareholders, it compounds and eventually prices you out of the market, especially the current market where the middle class is taxed to the hilt in every conceivable way. Since COVID and upgraded online shopping platforms, consumers are able to shop around more easily.
I'm in retail, it's becoming a dog-eat-dog environment. Woolworths have their hands full trying to maintain their customers base, keep them happy while still paying dividends to those shareholders that expect more each year.

Pushy marketing, endless social media posts and loyalty cards offered out at a dime a dozen.
Each little bit added on each year to keep these companies relevant to a consumer base with literally no self-amazement left. Very little amazes people these days; it's already been done by someone else at a manic pace.

Retail is dying, mark my words.
We've seen it with the mom-and-pop businesses been squeezed out by the corporates. Then online squeezing out the corporates. Now the corporates cutting their own throats to stay in business.

In a nutshell, businesses are destroying themselves and consumers don't care about the fallout, least of all government.
Now there's AI and how that will complicate an already toxic retail environment.
Click to expand...
Retail is dying, have seen it go down the flusher, slowly.
People don't want to go to the shops anymore. Reasons vary widely but it seems there is a common thread of rude cashiers that chew the cud and say "Hau eish" when you want to draw money at the till. Also, people who don't wear deodorant standing in queues, but it seems people are isolated more than they've ever been in history and prefer not to go out to the shops anymore. Can't blame them in this economy with the fuel price.

I don't buy from Woolworths because it's too expensive. Also, as others mention, their ready-made meals have gone downhill and are even more expensive. Who pays over R120 for a butter chicken with rice? Nope, I'll make that myself rather. Their other merchandise is scary... fukking R700 for a table lamp, my brother in Christ, I can make 4 of them for that amount of money. The parts are available online.. I am not joking.

And yet, they want to keep building shopping malls in SA, if the click bait AI slop on this site is anything to go by. I saw videos on YouTube as long ago as 2009 when I had lots of time on my hands, where they showed how retail was dying in the US and the phenomenon of abandoned malls that resulted.
 
Everything is getting smaller.

Even Whiskas Cat Sachets has got smaller, which cats become addicted to btw.
Used to be 100g sachets, then in 2023 it was changed to 85g. Now you get 50g sachets.
Who the F ever asked for smaller packets, certainly not me, and definitely not the cat.

This year saw us put down our last cat we're ever going to have. Our cats all made about 15 or 16 years, mostly on a Whiskas diet and some treats. But in the end their kidneys packed up (renal function) and our tom cat would shite and pee in the house, so when the last one started this pattern, we took him in to be put down.

The point of me bringing this up. Our cats started asking for more food and my wife at the time still said that the sachets were getting smaller. 85g is basically not enough for an adult cat. They were just addicted to those sachets and would meow until they were fed, even though there were ample Whiskas pellets for them to chew on too. Over the years, it seems our cat stopped eating the pellets, maybe didn't like the taste.

SHRINKFLATION! There is absolutely no consumerism in South Africa. The food industry has us all by the balls.
 
No doubt external factors also at play but about a year ago their packs of two dry-aged ribeye steaks you could get for around R140. Now they're always over R200, sometimes R250 depending on weight.
 
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