Now, I'm sure you'll agree that everything to do with the Woolworths brand is beautifully created and immaculately executed, whether its instore, online or in social. I'm ok to pay a premium to shop at Woolies. Their food stores are beautiful - I'd even go so far as saying they're a "happy place" for me - huge variety, beautifully presented, and a little bit of everything. I'm a good customer there - I have a gold card, and I shop enough there to get my free W magazine (that's full of revoltingly thin people. But that's another post entirely). They Get It, and they do it well. And, I guess a part of me knows that all of this wonderfulness, to make happy customers feel loved and appreciated and listened to, comes at a price.
But I do fundamentally object to being ripped off.
Some examples:
- A chicken and avo sandwich on low GI bread out of the fridges: R26.
- A chicken and avo sandwich on low GI bread from the fresh deli: R35.
Why? Because it's freshly made, and head office said so (I asked). The sandwiches were exactly the same size, and even if the one had a little more filling than the other, surely that doesn't justify a R9 price difference?
- Fresh hake - R121 per kilogram at Woolworths, packaged into portions
- Fresh hake - available in packages however big or small I want them - R69 per kilogram at Food Lover's Market.
- Krone pink bubbles - R130 at Woolworths
- Krone pink bubbles - R99 at Pick n Pay.
If I give more examples, you'll think that I've got nothing better to do with my time... ;-)
But here's the thing. On all three of these occasions, I've tweeted the @WOOLWORTHS_SA account, trying to get a response from them on why their prices are so out of whack.
Not a response. Not a word, not a DM, not an anything.
So, because I'm fairly price aware, I'm going to start tweeting #WWRipOff when I come across a pricing anomaly. I'm not going to be petty and do it for a Rand or two's difference - I get that it costs to be awesome. But when Woolworths is charging upwards of 30% for something than their competitors (or they're charging two vastly different prices for the same thing in the same store), I'm going to make a noise about it. Because if Woolies really wants to be in touch with its customers, it's maybe time for them to start listening (and acting) instead of just talking at them.
Join me?
#WWRipOff on Twitter.
#WWRipOff on Twitter.
7 comments:
I'm in. Viva la Revolucion
Woolworths really do get creative with their pricing. I think it's nothing new to say that Woolies is a rip off in many instances, but there are a lot of instances where their prics are better than Pick n Pay. And don't even get me started on the quality debate.
I'm not defending them, I mean, they charge up to R600/kg for their biltong for Pete's sake, but I don't think that Woolies can be painted with broad "Rip Off" strokes.
You want to see a REAL rip off? Go check the prices at your local SPAR.
Nic, I hear you - for a long time now, WW toilet paper has been cheaper than Pick n Pay's. (Or am I revealing my sad life again?). However, have a look at their financial results http://www.woolworthsholdings.co.za/investor/annual_reports/ar2013/Woolworths_Abridged_AFS_2013.pdf and tell me if you don't feel just a little ripped off?
And, if you want the best biltong in Joburg for R200/kg, head to Morningside Butchery in Wendywood... the trip will be worthwhile!
For 5 slices of rye bread at Woolworths you pay R30, for a whole loaf of freshly baked rye bread R20 at Food Lovers. I used to shop at Woolworths, they were my chef of busy days but I can't justify the huge price differences, I might as well shop at Thrupps then.
No one is forcing you to shop at Woolworths, though?
Woolworths' strategy is simple (and hidden in plain sight in its results which you reference). It will sell premium food to upper LSM shoppers. If you don't want to pay R600/kg for biltong, don't buy biltong at Woolworths (I don't). But there are tons of things I will pay a premium for at Woolworths. Like most fruit & veg that I buy. I won't buy bananas at Food Lovers' (for example), because they're not great quality and they don't last nearly as long. And I'll pay that premium with a smile.
If prices of food don't matter to you (ask the majority of Sandton soccer moms queuing with their trollies at your nearest Woolies), then you'll pay whatever Woolies charges. Maybe you like the quality? Maybe you like the convenience? Maybe you like the prepared chickens with sauce that you only need to pop into the oven?
But surely if you're naive enough to do all your shopping at a single store and forego choice and ignore prices, its (more than) a little disingenuous to then complain about those prices?
Its called market segmentation. If you want the cheapest basic groceries (like rice and pap) you can find, I'd suggest your nearest Shoprite USave. More segmentation. You won't find fancy 'certified' fish there.
Markets are terribly efficient. If there wasn't demand for Woolworths Food (at the premium price which you somehow assert to be '30%'), there wouldn't be a Woolies opening on every corner and in every mall. Supply. Demand.
Never mind the fact that this mythical '30%' which you've calculated on a handful of products is inaccurate to begin with. On many other items, Woolies is as competitive as Checkers/Pick n Pay (and even cheaper when lines are on promotion). Comparing a selective basket and then somehow arriving at a figure is completely disingenuous.
This whole crusade is ridiculous. You have all the choice in the world to shop exactly where you want and pay what you're willing to for goods and services (including groceries). Similarly, Woolworths and every single competitor is free to charge what they want. Its a free market!
Unless of course you're advocating that government regulate supermarket pricing? It worked in Soviet Russia. And Zimbabwe.
Hilton,
I get the 30% and more from the examples I mention above.
I have said, in this post and on Twitter, that I don't object to paying more at Woolworths - they are a premium brand that offers premium products, and I expect to pay for that.
What I do object to is the same product costing two very different prices in the same store, depending on where it is displayed.
I understand that you pay for convenience, variety and quality - and it's one of the reasons I love Woolies - you'll see that in the first part of my post. But I fail to understand why that convenience should cost so much, particularly on a product like the Krone, that Woolies just has to buy in and distribute.
I don't buy my biltong there, you'll see in Nic's comment where I do.
Purely by the fact that I've written this post, it's clear that I'm not "naive enough to do all my shopping at a single store". I like having the variety, but I don't like it when one outlet outprices the others, on the same product, by such huge margins.
And no, I'm not suggesting that government regulate prices at all. I'm suggesting that trusted, loved brands take the high road (because WW is very good at doing that), and not rip their customers off.
WW's annual results published end June show remarkable numbers, which clearly make their shareholders very happy. It seems a little like they're making shareholders happy at the expense (literally) of their customers.
The chicken and avo sandwich you reference which costs two very different prices in the store is not the *same* product. The one is made centrally in a factory and could be a good few days old. A different supplier and different ingredients completely. The one at the deli is freshly made, in-store, on the morning - as the packaging should indicate. I'm pretty sure they weigh different amounts too.
But I'm not going to get hung up on one product.
Woolworths is charging prices it believes the market will bear. And the store rollout, sales increases and popularity clearly show the market is quite willing to bear them!
The original point you try make is that Woolworths is ripping people off. By doing what? Charging what it believes the market will bear for Krone? If the price was as outrageous as you assert, there'd be shelves full of old, dusty Krone that no one is buying. Retailing is dynamic and retailers continually adjust pricing of 1000s of items to respond to the market.
Maybe the 30% margin on a handful of products offsets the 1% margin Woolworths is forced to take on other products?
If every single item in Woolworths was priced at 30% more than its competitors, I'd agree that the pricing is outrageous. The cold hard facts are that they're not.
As for a rip-off? We have choices. With each and every product in Woolworths. Savvy customers know which of those products/categories are overpriced. And they don't buy them. We're not sheep. Or idiots.
And if you're that outraged that a business can generate above-average returns for shareholders, why don't you buy Woolies shares?
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