Coles Group
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Owned |
AUS |
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Retailing
Coles was founded in 1914, publicly listed in 1929, merged with Myer in 1986, spun-off Myer in 2006, bought by Wesfarmers in 2007, and spun-off from Wesfarmers in 2018. Wesfarmers kept Officeworks, Kmart and Target, which were part of Coles Group when it was acquired by Wesfarmers for $20 billion. The new Coles group operates over 2,500 retail outlets around Australia across both supermarkets and liquor stores.
Coles Group Ltd | AUS | website |
Company Assessment
PRAISE | CRITICISM | INFORMATION | ||
Coles Group Ltd | ||||
Human Rights Law Centre's 2022 report, "Broken Promises: Two years of corporate reporting under Australia's Modern Slavery Act", examines statements submitted to the Government's Modern Slavery Register by 92 companies sourcing from four sectors with known risks of modern slavery: garments from China, rubber gloves from Malaysia, seafood from Thailand and fresh produce from Australia. Modern slavery statements are analysed to see if they comply with the mandatory reporting requirements, identify or disclose obvious modern slavery risks, and demonstrate effective actions to address risks. This company's modern slavery disclosure statement received a rating in the 81-100% range. The average score was 44% and the highest score was 89%.
Source: Human Rights Law Centre (2022)
The 2022 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark assessed 127 companies in the food and agriculture, ICT and automotive manufacturing sectors on their human rights performance. This company received a score of 39.1%. The overall average score was a disappointing 17.3% and the highest score was 50.3%.
Source: World Benchmarking Alliance (2022)
The 2021 Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) report ranks global food companies on how they are managing and reporting their farm animal welfare policies and practices. This company appeared in tier 3, "Established but work to be done", with tier 1 being the best, and tier 6 the worst.
Source: BBFAW (2021)
The 2021 Food and Agriculture Benchmark assessed 350 keystone companies across the entirety of the food system, from farm to fork. It covers three dimensions where transformation is needed: nutrition, environment and social inclusion. This company ranked #12/350, with a total score of 49.6/100.
Source: World Benchmarking Alliance (2021) |
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 price rise it charged consumers for Coles branded fresh milk, as it claimed it would do in Coles' 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: ACCC (2019) |
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: Democracy For Sale (2018)
This company has extensive sustainability claims on its website in areas that include responsible sourcing, animal welfare, supporting Australian farmers, human rights, community support, sustainable packaging, minimising food waste and climate change.
Source: company website (2023)
In 2020/21 KnowTheChain benchmarked over 180 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 46/100.
Source: KnowTheChain (2021)
This company received an S&P Global ESG Score of 40/100 in the Food & Staples Retailing category of the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an annual evaluation of companies' sustainability practices (last updated 18 Nov 2022). 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: S&P Global (2022) |
Company Details
Type | Public company |
Founded | 1914 |
Revenue | 38.5 billion (2019) |
Employees | 112,000 (2018) |
Subsidiaries | Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd ![]() Supermarkets and liquor stores Coles 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 800 supermarkets and 900 liquor stores. Coles exited the hotels and poker machine business in 2019, but still operates bottle shops. Coles sold its Coles Express convenience store network to Viva Energy in 2023, which is being rebranded to OTR. - Queensland Venue Co (50% owned) ![]() Hotel operators This joint venture began in 2019 when the KKR controlled Australian Venue Company took over Coles' hotels business which operates mainly in Queensland. Under the deal KKR runs the hotels (and poker machines) while Coles runs the liquor stores. - Liquorland (Australia) Pty Ltd ![]() Alcohol retail Coles operates over 900 bottle shops under the banners 1st Choice, Liquorland and Vintage Cellars. It imports under the names James Busby Fine Wine & Spirits, and Australian Beer Connoisseurs. Sold its pubs and pokies business in 2019. |
Contact Details
Address | 800 Toorak Rd, Hawthorn East, VIC, 3123, Australia |
Phone | 03 9829 5111 |
Website | www.colesgroup.com.au |
Products / Brands
Coles SupermarketsColes Liquor
Cassidy Liqueur
El Sueno Seltzer First Choice Liquor Stores Hammer 'N' Tongs Beer John Samson Scotch Whisky Kentucky Gold Bourbon Liquorland Liquor Stores Maxx Beer Mayfair Gin Mr Finch Cider |
Old Lions Gin
Pure Origin Vodka Smithy's Beer Somma Seltzer Steamrail Beer Tinnies Beer Vintage Cellars Liquor Stores Volsk Vodka |