Post by Banker on Aug 3, 2012 10:31:59 GMT 7
AUSTRALIAN supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths have been urged to kick back some of their billion-dollar profits into the wallets of aged pensioners.
Australian Pensioners and Superannuants League Queensland secretary Raymond Ferguson recently wrote to Woolworths managing director Grant O’Brien and Coles’ counterpart Ian McLeod seeking a 10 per cent discount on food products bought at the retail food outlets. Mr Ferguson said it was the least the retailers could do to help aged Australians struggling with rising living costs.
But the call has fallen on deaf ears. Mr McLeod responded to the letter, stating that his company’s Down, Down, Prices are Down marketing campaign was evidence of Coles’ commitment to lowering living costs, while Woolworths told The Senior it believed weekly catalogue and in-store specials, extra discounts for Everyday Rewards card-holders and ongoing price cuts provided all customers with “great value and low prices every day”.
Mr Ferguson said: “We’re not disputing campaigns like Down, Down help families, but that’s a different demographic to seniors: older Australians who for the most part are living alone or with one other and for whom there is no advantage in buying bulk, even if they could afford to.”
“Our call for a pensioner discount of 10 per cent is based on research that clearly shows the health of many pensioners is suffering due to the lack of a proper wholesome diet. We’re not talking luxuries. Many thousands of pensioners are skipping meals, reducing their calorie intake and existing on a very low substance diet simply because they can’t pay all the basic necessities, including medications, and essential utilities. Taking such action further compromises older Australians’ health.”
Brisbane-based community group Burnie Brae chief executive Kevin Rouse said Chermside Seniors Centre saw at first hand the pensioners’ increasing hardships.
“In the four years our food hamper program, Project Pantry, has operated, there’s been no sign of easing; if anything demand is increasing,” Mr Rouse said. “Of the 600 users of Project Pantry, 500 are pensioners. Some are doing it so tough that they consider toothpaste and toilet paper discretionary items.”
Burnie Brae’s Project Pantry relies on donations from northside Brisbane businesses, including three Aldi supermarkets, services clubs, and schools. “Should the big supermarkets provide a discount for pensioners on grocery staples? Absolutely!” Mr Rouse said. Coles and Woolworths account for about 80 per cent of the food and grocery retail market in Australia. Coles recorded a $1.6 billion profit in 2010-11, while Woolworths posted a net profit of about $2.1 billion.
Does your independent supermarket, greengrocer or butcher provide a pensioner discount on certain days? Let us know by emailing edit@thesenior.com.au or write to us at PO Box 130, Wyong NSW 2259.
www.thesenior.com.au/News/News/Supermarket-discounts