[AMA] I Worked at Head Office for Coles. Ask me anything

John Stone on 13/06/2018 - 21:37
Last edited 13/06/2018 - 21:38 by 1 other user

I was reading the thread about the guy who worked at Coles/Woolworths and saw that there were quite a few misconceptions from staff and the general public about products, pricing, policies etc.

I have recently left my role at Coles. However I did not work in a store. Instead I was working in Head Office in a number of roles including Merchandising, Ranging, Supply Chain, Distribution and Marketing. I do however have a lot of experience in store and I can safely say that in my head office role, I have knowledge that even a store manager would not have or be privvy to.

So feel free to ask anything and I will try to answer!

Introduce Yourself

Related Stores

Coles
Coles

closed Comments

  • dresh on 14/06/2018 - 15:56

    Is it true that companies like Coles and Woolworths prefer to move or promote people internally rather than hire someone external? If so, why even bother advertising?

    Some of my friends have applied for head office roles in Coles and WW and even if they get through a couple of interviews in the end they often say that they moved someone internally. Only one of my friend eventually managed to get a job, but that was at Aldi.

    • Associatedpeanut48 @ Coles on 14/06/2018 - 19:37

      Sorry to hijack the AMA but had to answer.
      Wrong, while there is a lot of internal movement they definitely do not NOT hire externally. I was an external hire and I hire externally too. It's always about the right person for the job.

    • John Stone on 15/06/2018 - 00:50

      As a private firm they have no obligation to adveritise hires. They do so to try to attract the best applicants possible.

  • Ken1977 on 14/06/2018 - 20:14
    +11

    I have worked in the Coles head office as a contractor, why is everyone there so lazy, I believe they could cut the staff in half and still get the same work done. Also I hear about all the office affairs going on. How many have you heard about or witnessed. Also I walked around every square inch of the Coles head office, if I saw another of those cutout hands or a saw another sign that said down down prices are down I was going to punch someone. Do you ever get sick of it, or the color red.

    • CalmLemons on 14/06/2018 - 22:40
      +1

      AHahahahhaha.

    • John Stone on 15/06/2018 - 00:41
      +7

      lol I know what you mean by that. For those of you who don’t know, the head office is basically decorated like a giant coles store but worse. Whatever flavour of the month advertising campaign is going on at the time you can be sure that the head office is decorated the same.

      After a while you learn to ignore it though. Not exactly the worst problem in my life.

      • Levathian on 18/06/2018 - 11:07

        Ugh cringe…

    • od810 on 17/06/2018 - 13:17

      It is the same in every single corporate. As a contractor, i find a lot of people are just too lazy, and there is so much politics in play. I think the environment make people corporate zombies. I need to get out of a big corp to get myself motivated again.

  • Peanut money on 14/06/2018 - 22:26
    +2

    Can you gives us some examples of the mark up from cost price to full RRP?

    • John Stone on 15/06/2018 - 00:37

      I can’t remember any specific examples as pricing is always changing for the 15000+ sku’s that Coles carries. However on average margins were in the 10% ballpark for grocery items. Some were as low as 3-4%.

      Other departments such as fresh produce, meat and deli had anything from 30%-100% markup.

  • scbrother on 14/06/2018 - 22:28
    +1

    Not Coles related… But why can't we use flybuys at Officeworks? It's no different from Kmart, target, first choice etc

    • Brouw3r on 15/06/2018 - 00:37
      +3

      I assume it's marketing related. Flybuys tracks your purchases to direct marketing at you, other than showing you ink for the printer you bought, theres not much more you could be marketed from Officeworks.

    • od810 on 17/06/2018 - 13:19

      Wesfarmers tends to keep businesses separated. Officeworks is a different entity so it is not the same as coles. And it actually costs businesses money to partcipate even if it is a wesfarmers business

  • cantoangel on 15/06/2018 - 00:01

    This is going to sound weird but is there a HR email address that a former Coles employee can use to contact?

    • John Stone on 15/06/2018 - 00:26

      I am sure there is. I never had any need to contact HR. WHat was the general issue you had?

  • Desailly on 15/06/2018 - 05:13

    Where does sfc chicken come from? Like who makes them cause the usual ones are steggles and someone else. Sfc actually taste really good

    • MelbBargainChaser77 on 16/06/2018 - 15:43

      Dont want to burt your bubblw but sfc was on clearance at my 2 local stores- the whole lot of sfc products

  • windrc on 15/06/2018 - 08:37
    +3

    what's your view on westfarmers intension to demerge coles?

  • jsim on 15/06/2018 - 09:32

    Why do they close the self-serve check outs 10 mins before the store closes? This is really annoying as they only have 1 or 2 "staffed" checkouts open and you end up having to wait 5 mins just to get some milk!

    • zrmx on 15/06/2018 - 11:52
      +1

      I guess the staff might be wondering similarly that, why do some customers only go in or to the checkout at the 10 mins before the store close, as they need to prepare for shop closing etc.

      I often go into a shop, not only Coles, with just small amount of time before they close so I'm on a similar boat, just trying to provide a different perspective =) (I guess it is similar like how a lot of restaurants have last-order cutoff time)

      Cheers.

      • GregMonarch on 17/06/2018 - 07:03
        +2

        I guess the staff might be wondering similarly that, why do some customers only go in or to the checkout at the 10 mins before the store close…

        Because:

        a) They're open
        b) They sell stuff
        c) We go to stores when they're open to buy stuff

    • chanleystan on 15/06/2018 - 12:27

      I'm guessing it comes down to store budget. I shop at a coles which is fairly big (sales wise) and they have it open till closing time. There are still loads of customers in the store so they require and have the budget to be able to do it.

      I work at a smaller one where there might be like 1 to 5 customers left near closing time. So they only have 1 or 2 service members and they can't watch the self serve checkout since they have other duties they need to finish off before they leave. That's why they will open up 1 register and do their closing up duties while keeping at eye on the register in case someone needs to be served.

    • foxmulder on 15/06/2018 - 12:29
      +3

      When the store close at 10pm, those staffs most likely get paid until exactly 10pm.

      • GregMonarch on 17/06/2018 - 07:08

        Most people should think themselves lucky it's just Coles that shuts exactly on closing time. I've lost count how many times centre staff have locked me inside the centre within a couple of minutes of Coles or WW closing…

        "Where did you come from - everything's closed!?"
        "Uh… I just walked out of WW literally 90 seconds ago and walked here to get to my car…"

    • DemocracyManifest on 16/06/2018 - 14:54
      +1

      To ensure everyone is out and gone and staff dont go into overtime

  • [Deactivated] on 15/06/2018 - 09:47
    +1

    Is the management at Coles threatened by the news of KaufLand starting operations in Australia soon. Do they plan on remaining the most expensive store (Fuel & Groceries) in Australia (on average) or planning on making prices a bit more competitive ? Ref : https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/coles-woolies-unde…

  • JimB on 15/06/2018 - 11:42
    +1

    When an item is discounted from say $10 to $5, how much of the discount is paid by the supplier and how much does Coles reduce their profit margin by?

    Does Coles agree to purchase X units of products per month for X years to allow smaller manufacturers to plan their production/install new machinary etc?

  • chanleystan on 15/06/2018 - 12:29

    Which store makes the most sales in Australia and how much do they make in a week?
    Also whats the largest one in each state and their sales?

  • cenakhoa on 15/06/2018 - 12:31
    +2

    How is the process to check for the safety and ethical standards of products imported from China and third-world countries?

  • foxmulder on 15/06/2018 - 12:31

    I personally find Woolworths stores (even Aldi) to be more appealing than Coles, is it just me or this is known issue?

    • Yola on 20/06/2018 - 17:37

      I like Coles stores better. I find them less cluttered and brighter.

  • 50centscheaper on 15/06/2018 - 12:40

    Hi OP

    I posted the below questions on the other post but I just want to post here again as you answers would come from a different perspective.

    I'm interested to know how they make money? Do they buy in bulk at a discount rate and resell the products or they charge a commission for the products that they sell?

    Why there are some items be placed at the top and some at the bottom? Is it because the products on the top makes more margin? Who makes the decisions and why?

    Do you guys have KPI for each positions/ stores? What happen if you can or cannot meet it?

    Thanks

  • Gdsamp on 15/06/2018 - 13:45

    Did you ever work in retail prior to your post-graduation employment?

  • movieman on 15/06/2018 - 16:09

    Hi Op,

    What's the average turnover for a standard sized store?

    And what would be the average margin?

    • foxmulder on 15/06/2018 - 20:27
      +2

      I'm guessing 500k a week for normal store and 1-1.5m for busy store like broadway.

  • movieman on 15/06/2018 - 16:10

    Also,

    Are 'specials' ever loss leaders, or is it the supplier/manufacturer that takes the hit?

    Thanks for doing this AMA.

  • JayM on 15/06/2018 - 20:07

    Do you feel that Coles (and Woolies too) have largely contributed to what I call the discount effect? People get so used to buying certain products on special that when this item (even necessary items) goes back to standard price they stop buying it and wait for it to be on discount again? Take Hairy Lemons for example, I originally bought it for $14 then the next time I go in, i check the price and they're down to $12. When I run out of them I go in and see they're back to $14 yet I know they've been on special before so wait for them to go back on special before buying them again. Sure enough, they do go back down to $12 and i buy them at this price. I've now been shown that the product is going to be discounted so will wait to buy them again.

    Do you think this contributes to lost profits for companies that regularly do discounts over companies that don't? If it was never discounted i would continue buying them at $14, rather than wait for the price drop or is it a sign of "training" customers to wait for a special at that store brand rather than going to a competitor as the customer knows it will drop in price eventually?

    e.g. I think Aldi rarely discounts products (or just does so infrequently and on clearance items only) so people always go in and just buy anything and everything as they know they're not going to get it any cheaper. If, on the other hand, they start discounting things i think this would affect Aldi too.

    • DemocracyManifest on 16/06/2018 - 15:42
      +1

      My guess would be people question what the hell the RRP should be and its actual worth. On the shop floor customers are getting quite aggressive however when specials run out quickly

      • JayM on 18/06/2018 - 18:08

        Good point, would be interesting to know whether the RRP is the discounted price too.

  • serpserpserp on 15/06/2018 - 21:12

    Is Coles going to do a big capex program to make all their stores look like the new format Coburg North store?

  • smuggler on 15/06/2018 - 22:00

    Where is the head office and is it nicer than the Woolworths one in Bella Vista

    • Baysew on 20/06/2018 - 17:58

      800 Toorak Road Hawthorn East. AKA "Battlestar Galactica"

      • smuggler on 20/06/2018 - 21:07

        holy cow. It's in yuppy land

  • danger163 on 15/06/2018 - 23:46

    Who do you think will win world cup?

  • pufffdragon on 16/06/2018 - 00:59
    +5

    Hi. I work for Cole's and I noticed at Easter time there were adverts in store suggesting people put Frozen Custard on their hot cross buns. Who comes up with this stuff?

    There's some fat stoner out there coming up with these ideas and getting paid for it. How and where do you get a job like that?

    • DemocracyManifest on 16/06/2018 - 15:43

      You should see the liquorland scotch whisky tasting notes

    • GregMonarch on 17/06/2018 - 07:12
      -2

      There's some fat stoner out there coming up with these ideas and getting paid for it. How and where do you get a job like that?

      Ask anyone in labor or liberal.

  • Plug on 16/06/2018 - 01:06

    Why are supermarkets in South Australia not allowed to sell alcohol when it works quite well nearly everywhere else?

    • Rel63 on 16/06/2018 - 06:58
      +3

      This is controlled by the trading laws in each state as Qld is also restricted from selling alcohol in supermarkets. Here there is often
      a BWS or Liquorland store nearby but not physically connected to the supermarket.

    • GregMonarch on 17/06/2018 - 07:13
      -1

      Because people in SA are… 'special'.

  • Choc83 on 16/06/2018 - 03:21
    +1

    Can you tell me more about the bell that they ring every time a large supplier is screwed over in a deal? Is everyone required to show alleigance to dear leader and applaud?

  • gccmelb on 16/06/2018 - 06:42

    Why did Coke drop Zero for No Sugar? And did Pepsi Max have a bump in sales after Coke Zero was withdrawn.

    • greatlamp on 16/06/2018 - 08:53
      +2

      Coca Cola did a survey that found a lot of people did not realize that coke zero was sugar free.

      They are also rebranding to a single color scheme - all flavors are carrying their signature red. This is to consolidate their marketing and focus on advertising their brand, not individual products

  • idonotknowwhy on 16/06/2018 - 10:08
    +1

    When ordering online, do stores have a policy to ship out poor quality produce and almost expired milk and meat?
    Or have my friends and I just been unlucky?

    • DemocracyManifest on 16/06/2018 - 15:45

      Makes sense to send out close to date things first. Coles produce isnt typically flash but ive seen a improvement lately as a customer

    • Vancomycin 1000mg on 18/06/2018 - 03:33

      Woolies has a minimum 3 day policy and "would I buy that policy for produce. (applies to picker)"

      • droptester on 18/06/2018 - 18:26

        Depends on the meat, some mince can be 1-2 days.

        @idonotknowwhy
        As an ex picker at Woolies I generally picked whichever was closest when I walked past as long as they satisfy the requirements.

  • iFetch on 16/06/2018 - 10:34
    +1

    1. Having worked there and knowing what you know, are there any products you would never buy from Coles (not referring to low health star rating products) that you have stopped buying for health or ethical reasons due to where/how they are sourced or what does into them?

    2. What is/are the best day/time to shop to maximise chances of finding marked down or clearance deals?

    3. Any other tips/tricks for us ozbargainers to save money there?

    Thanks!

    • DemocracyManifest on 16/06/2018 - 15:47
      +2

      The guys in the head office.

      But.

      1. Id say the meat pies haha
      2. Tuesday night and public holidays
      3. Use a staff members card and stack with discounted gift cards
  • iFetch on 16/06/2018 - 10:39
    1. Do you pump fuel at ColesExpress? Is the ULP95 there ok, or would you recommend another? Do staff get 5% off fuel?
    • MelbBargainChaser77 on 16/06/2018 - 15:47
      +4

      my sisters coles staff discount does work at coles express, but its not 5% its 4cpl, automatically without the need for a voucher.

      • MathNerd on 17/06/2018 - 20:23

        You're at Woolies and your sister is at Coles.
        Staff discounts all around!

      • Levathian on 18/06/2018 - 11:11

        Tbh even with the staff discount I don't fill up there. It's just cheaper everywhere else…

    • Neoika on 16/06/2018 - 18:40
      +2

      Same as for a Woolies staff discount card,both offer unlimited 4c/l off vouchers.

  • virhlpool on 16/06/2018 - 16:18
    +2

    Certain items are repeatedly at 50% off once every few weeks. Doesn't it become monotonous for the stores and the brand and easily predictable/ routine for the consumers?

    Why don't the stores try offering something creative when it comes to pricing? I'm naive but it could be '30% off for whole month' or '70% off for one week in 2 months and full price rest of the time'. Obviously, these are just examples.

  • unfunkable on 17/06/2018 - 08:51

    Hey OP
    Cole's have had pricing errors on the websites where the decimal place is one spot wrong - ie: $3 item is $0.30
    How does HO go about fixing these?
    Urgent memo sent out , phone call to all the stores? or what?

  • virhlpool on 17/06/2018 - 13:07
    +1

    I have often seen in both supermarkets that some items are on weekly specials but their lower price tags are missing even though they scan at special prices. It means that unless you have seen the catalogue before, you wouldn't know that those items are on special prices.

    Is it because of ignorance or lack of QA by the team which tags up the specials for every Wednesday?

    • Yola on 18/06/2018 - 15:59

      Yes I have noticed this many times. I think they do not really want to sell the item at that price - maybe even at a loss. So people who do not look at catalogues, most I think, may not purchases those items. It scans correctly because they do not want to have to give it away for fee due to the scanning regulations.

  • [Deactivated] on 17/06/2018 - 13:12
    -1

    Is there a policy for your staff members (particularly the shelf packers) to maintain personal hygiene and wear deodorant? It's been so bad in the Tooronga Village store, that I've had to leave the aisle and forget my purchase, because the BO smell was so putrid. This isn't a one off, it's a common occurrence in several of your locations.

    • Yola on 18/06/2018 - 16:00

      Yes I have even noticed the BO from the next isle over.

  • thriftybunny on 17/06/2018 - 14:07

    Hi OP
    I heard Coles pays 20-25% above market rate to attract talent, is that true?

  • dan-dan on 17/06/2018 - 19:05

    Any relationship between New World and Coles New World?

  • Okayy on 18/06/2018 - 00:17

    So have you also joined Caltex (Calstores)?

  • 50cent on 18/06/2018 - 11:11
    +1

    how much profit does coles make on arverage per item? what kind of range and mark up

  • multivan on 07/09/2018 - 00:36

    Do you have any idea why starburst was taken off the shelves?

    p.s. thanks for the AMA!

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