Coles has rejected claims by the Master Grocers that they are dominating and pushing the smaller independent grocers out of the competition unfairly.
Earlier today both Woolworths and Coles were accused of opening oversized and unprofitable stores simply to block their independent competitors, such as the IGA. However, Coles have stated that this is not the case at all, they are simply servicing future demand and growth.
“This is a nice conspiracy theory but has no basis in fact,” Coles said in a statement “We only open stores where there is a consumer need and we believe we can make a return on our investment.”
The master grocers intend on taking the matter to the federal government and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to get them to stop Coles and Woolworths plans to increase store size to attract even more customers, taking even more from the independents.
