Price rises coming at the checkout, warns Woolworths boss | The Business | ABC NEWS

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[00:00:02]A warning from Woollies as price shocks hit the checkout.

[00:00:06]>> Everything seems to be going up, up and up.

[00:00:09]>> It's just ridiculous. The price of everything these days is just way too much.

[00:00:13]>> The supermarket sales rose in the last quarter as Australians panic shopped at the start of the war.

[00:00:19]>> Australian food sales about 14 billion.

[00:00:21]It's about 5.9% up on last year. Also growth on last quarter as well. Fresh produce prices are already rising as farmers and truckies pay more for diesel. Package food is going up in price. Next, >> we do expect to see unfortunately prices increase in some products and some categories over the next 3, 6, and possibly 12 months. It's a very volatile period at the moment.

[00:00:49]>> Across the country, food retailers are all battling these rising costs. So fuel has affected uh food prices. Um a lot of it is slowly trickling through. Um we do try and absorb some of it as much as possible, but um I think at some point we'll have to pass it on to the customers. This green grosser says that potatoes are double what they'd normally be and anything that's freightated in from interstate like watermelons is also soaring. I tried it in the first couple of weeks absorbing uh some of the prices but you know you just can't make any money and at the end of the day when you got rents to pay, wages to pay, you know, bills to pay, it's hard. So unfortunately you have to pass it on.

[00:01:33]>> What would you say to people who are shopping at the major supermarkets right now?

[00:01:37]I mean, people who shop at supermarkets all for convenience and that's fine, but if if you um have time or just to look around and shop around, uh I' I'd say do it.

[00:01:51]>> Woolworths is determined to keep shoppers. It's freezing prices for 3 months on 300 home brand products, including pasta, eggs, chicken breast, and nappies. there's more margin in those home brands and that they own the IP of those home brands themselves, which means there's more wiggle room, uh, which means you can hold those prices down. After price gouging concerns during the last inflationary cycle, and now court cases against both Coohl's and Woolworths alleging fake discounts, both major supermarkets are going to have a very hard time convincing shoppers that they're not profitering.

[00:02:28]>> I think they're a business and I think they care mostly about their profits. I trust in good karma and I can hope that they wouldn't do us wrong.

[00:02:34]>> We recognized that during the last inflationary cycle, we could have done things better.

[00:02:40]>> Fuel costs are also rising for retailers like Woolworth with the Fairwork Commission forcing companies to hold twice monthly reviews with outsourced truckies until diesel goes below $2 a liter. It's currently at $260 and oil is now surging again on global markets. We expect the costs and consequences of that conflict on the other side of the world uh to persist for a while longer yet. Kohl's is announcing its sales results next with more warnings on price spikes expected.