Coles Group

OVERALL
Owned	AUS
Rating

Retailing

Coles Group was spun-off from Wesfarmers in November 2018. Wesfarmers kept Officeworks, Kmart and Target, which were part of Coles Group when it was acquired by Wesfarmers for $20 billion in 2007. The new Coles group operates over 2,500 retail outlets around Australia across three divisions: Supermarkets, Liquor and Convenience. Coles was founded in 1914, publicly listed in 1929, merged with Myer in 1986 and sold Myer in 2006.

Company Ownership

Coles Group Ltd	AUS	website
Wesfarmers Ltd       owns 10% of Coles Group Ltd	AUS	website	email		twitter
Retail, energy, insurance, chemicals Founded in WA in 1914 as a farmers' cooperative, today Wesfarmers operations include department stores; home improvement and office supplies; insurance; chemicals, energy and fertilisers; and industrial and safety products. Acquired Coles Group in 2007 for $20 billion in the biggest takeover in Australian corporate history. Coles was spun-off in November 2018. Wesfarmers kept Officeworks, Kmart and Target, which were part of Coles Group when it was acquired by Wesfarmers.

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Company Assessment

PRAISE	CRITICISM	INFORMATION
Coles Group Ltd
60/100 SAM ESG Score This company received a SAM ESG Score of 60/100 in the Food & Staples Retailing category of the 2019 SAM Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an annual evaluation of companies' sustainability practices. The rankings are based on an analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, environmental reporting, climate strategy, human rights and labour practices. [Source 2019][More on Sustainability Reporting]	Misleading conduct In 2019 this company agreed to pay Norco around $5.25 million for distribution to its dairy farmer members. The payments follow an ACCC investigation into whether Coles fully passed on to Norco a 10 cents per litre (cpl) price rise it charged consumers for Coles branded fresh milk, as it claimed it would do in ColesÂ’ marketing materials. The ACCC was "fully prepared to take Coles to court over what we believe was an egregious breach of the Australian Consumer Law." [Source 2019][More on Irresponsible Marketing] Part owned by Wesfarmers, which has criticisms This company is 10% owned by Wesfarmers, which has criticisms in the Shop Ethical database. [Source 2019][More on Governance]	Political donations According to the democracyforsale.net website, this company donated $165,000 to Australia's major political parties between 2012 and 2018, as disclosed to the Australian Electoral Commision (AEC). [Source 2018][More on Politics] Sustainability claims This company has a number of sustainability claims on its website under the headings ethical sourcing, responsible sourcing, environment, health and nutrition, community and suppliers, and our people. Coles also outlines 10 key commitments in the area of food waste and packaging. [Source 2018][More on Sustainability Reporting] 43/100 in KnowTheChain Benchmark In 2018 KnowTheChain benchmarked 120 large global companies in the ICT, Food & Beverage, and Apparel & Footwear sectors on their efforts to address forced labour and human trafficking in their supply chains. This company received a score of 43/100. [Source 2018][More on Workers Rights]

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Related News

New Retail category and Duopoly chart
5th Apr 2014 — Our website has a new category – Retail. It covers all the major supermarkets, department stores, fuel & convenience stores, hardware stores, liquor stores and toy stores. Woolworths and Wesfarmers dominate all these sectors, but there are other options. Are your shopping choices supporting gaming, worker exploitation or anticompetitive practices? It's estimated that 40 cents in every dollar we spend goes to a Woolworths or Wesfarmers (owner of Coles) retail entity. See our interactive Duopoly chart to find out more about the retail brands they own.  [source]

ACCC is to take Coles and Woolworths to court over fuel discounts.
26th Feb 2014 — Woolworths and Coles will test the competition regulator's power to rip apart generous fuel discounts of more than 4¢ a litre, with a December truce between the supermarkets and watchdog already collapsed. Both supermarket chains, which last year raked in $13 billion in petrol sales through their co-branded stations, will now face the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in the Federal Court with the legal stoush the latest chapter in a long-running war of words. The often fractious relationship again flared up on Tuesday when the ACCC said it had begun court proceedings against Woolworths and Coles for allegedly breaching court-enforceable undertakings made last year to limit discounts linking fuel and grocery shopping. At the heart of the latest dispute are new promotions by Woolworths and Coles that offer fuel discounts from supermarket dockets that can then be bundled or stacked on top of discounts for purchases made at their petrol stations, effectively a much larger petrol discount than the agreed 4¢. Read more...   [source]

Big manufacturers hail supermarket protection
19th Nov 2013 — Grocery manufacturers say a voluntary code of conduct agreed with the major supermarket chains will curb profits being transferred to Coles and Woolworths and denied it will push up grocery prices. Australian Food and Grocery Council chief executive Gary Dawson said the new regime would help limit the $4 billion suppliers handed over to retailers each year in the form of rebates, discounts and shelf and listing fees. "There's only so much profit in the pot and there's a limit on how much can be transferred," he said handing the final draft code of conduct to the federal government on Monday. "Hopefully by putting some sensible limits around paying for listing [on shelves] and promotions and paying for prominence it might bring some rationality back into that area of costs," he said. "That will hopefully slow down the profit transfer between retailers and suppliers," Australia's largest baker, Goodman Fielder, and largest soft drink bottler, Coca-Cola Amatil - both of which have suffered at the hands of the major retailers in the last two years – welcomed the agreement.  [source]

Big supermarkets gain fresh food market share at the expense of the small guys
9th Mar 2011 — Concentration of the dairy industry.  [source]

Wesfarmers buys Coles Group
1st Nov 2007 — Wesfarmers acquired Coles Group Ltd for $22 billion in November 2007.Wesfarmers now owns Coles, Bi-Lo, Bunnings, Officeworks, Target, Kmart, liquor retailers (1st Choice Liquor Superstore, Liquorland, Vintage Cellars), fuel & convenience outlets (Coles Express), online stores (Coles Online, Pharmacy Direct). Plus other divisions in the areas of coal mining, energy, insurance, chemicals &fertilisers, and industrial & safety products.   [source]