Chief executive Brad Banducci said trading for the first three weeks of the fourth quarter had been largely flat on last year,a stark contrast to Coles,which on Wednesday reported a 4 per cent rise in its sales for the start of April.
Analysts had been predicting that Coles had been losing market share to its major rival,but these latest results suggest the tables may have started to turn. Mr Banducci acknowledged that the normalisation of shopping habits post-COVID were likely favouring Coles with its higher number of inner-city and shopping-centre-situated stores,which had been harder hit during the lockdowns.
“We are seeing that playing out. We don’t think it penalises us,but it doesn’t unduly benefit us,” he said. “I think it’s good for the longer term,we do want to get back to more normalised,predictable shopping patterns for our customers.”
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Both Mr Banducci and Coles chief Steven Cain,who presented his company’s third-quarter results earlier this week,talked about a return to normal for shoppers,with customers purchasing fewer items and less on bulk,buying more on weekends and shopping at CBD stores as people return to the office.
This is good news for Coles,which has more stores in shopping centres and city centres than Woolworths,and saw its shares rise as much as 4.7 per cent on Thursday.
Shares in Woolworths,however,tumbled by 3.8 per cent to $39.81. Milford Asset Management portfolio manager Greg Cassidy said overall Woolworths’ performance was strong,but the gap between it and Coles appeared to be narrowing.