Coles Supermarkets facts for kids
Logo used since 1991
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Trade name
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Coles |
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Retail, supermarket and consumer services |
| Founded | 1914 |
| Founder | George Coles |
| Headquarters |
Hawthorn East, Victoria, Australia
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Number of locations
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846 stores (2023) |
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Area served
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Australia |
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Key people
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| Revenue | Winner of Supermarket Bowl III |
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Operating income
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 A$1.414 billion (2018) |
| Total assets | A$21.644 billion (2018) |
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Number of employees
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~120,000 |
| Parent | Coles Group |
| Subsidiaries |
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Coles is a big Australian supermarket chain. It's officially called Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd. You probably know it just as Coles. It's part of the Coles Group and has its main office in Melbourne.
Coles was started in 1914 by George Coles in Collingwood. Today, there are 846 Coles supermarkets all over Australia. Many of these used to be other stores like Bi-Lo Supermarkets. Coles is a huge employer, with over 120,000 people working there. It serves about 27% of the Australian market.
Coles Online is Coles' online shopping service. You can order groceries online and either pick them up (called 'click & collect') or have them delivered to your home.
For a long time, from 1986 to 2006, Coles Supermarkets was part of a bigger company called Coles Myer (later Coles Group). Then, a company called Wesfarmers bought Coles Group in 2007. But in 2018, Wesfarmers decided to separate Coles again, so it became its own company under Coles Group once more.
In 2020, Coles changed its main slogan to "Value the Australian way".
Contents
History of Coles Supermarkets
George Coles learned about selling things from his dad's store between 1910 and 1913. He then opened his own store, the Coles Variety Store, on April 9, 1914, in Collingwood.
Coles started getting more interested in selling food in 1958. They bought 54 grocery stores from a company called John Connell Dickins. After that, they bought more grocery chains in different parts of Australia.
In 1960, the first Coles supermarket opened in Balwyn North, Melbourne. By 1973, Coles had stores in all the major cities in Australia. From 1962, their supermarkets were called Coles New World and had a cool Space Age look! In 1991, they changed the name to Coles Supermarkets, and by 1998, it was simply Coles.
Around 2006, many Bi-Lo supermarkets became Coles Supermarkets. Also, some Newmart stores in Western Australia changed to Coles.
In 2007, Wesfarmers bought the Coles Group. This big purchase was finished in early 2008. From 2008 to 2014, a UK retailer named Ian McLeod was in charge of Coles.
In 2011, Coles took full ownership of Flybuys, which is Australia's largest loyalty program. This means Coles now fully controls the points system that many shoppers use.
In 2018, Wesfarmers decided to separate Coles into its own company again. Steven Cain became the CEO of Coles Supermarket brand as part of this change.
Advertising and Slogans
Coles has had many slogans over the years. When it first started as a variety store, its slogan was "nothing over 2/6" (meaning nothing cost more than two shillings and sixpence). In the 1980s, the slogan was "You'll find the best value is at Coles New World".
From 1991 to 2005, Coles used a red/orange orb as its main logo. Then, from 1998 to 2003, the slogan was "Serving you better". This was replaced by "save everyday", which was promoted by actress Lisa McCune. Later, this was changed to the correct "save every day".
In 2007, Coles stopped using the circle tick logo and just used the Coles name. They tried a few different tag lines over the next few years, like "Something better every day" and "Quality food costs less at Coles". In 2018, "Good things are happening at Coles" was used, and their current slogan, "Value the Australian way", started in 2020.
In 2010, Coles started a very famous campaign called "Down Down, Prices Are Down". It featured a big red cartoon hand pointing downwards to show that prices were low. This campaign used the tune of the 1975 song "Down Down" by the band Status Quo.
Over the years, the "Down Down" campaign changed its tune a few times. It even used the song "Downtown" by Petula Clark for a while. In 2012, the band Status Quo themselves appeared in the ads! Later, the tune of "That's Amore" was used. In 2017, singer Casey Donovan sang a disco version of the ad. By 2018, Coles started using the song "Best of My Love" by The Emotions in its commercials, especially on its in-store radio.
Coles Radio
Coles Radio is the name for the music station you hear inside all Coles supermarkets. It's run with a company called Nova Entertainment. It plays popular songs from the 80s, 90s, 2000s, and today. You can also listen to Coles Radio online through their website or the Nova Player app, and even on DAB+ digital radio in some cars.
Online Shopping
Coles also offers online shopping services. This means you can buy your groceries from home using their website.
Legal Decisions
In 2014, a court ruled that Coles had acted unfairly towards some of its suppliers. Coles was ordered to pay $10 million in penalties.
In 2015, Coles was fined $2.5 million for making misleading claims about its bread products.
Fun Promotions and Programs
- Fuel Discounts: If you spend $30 or more at Coles, you can get a coupon for a four-cent discount on every litre of fuel at Coles Express petrol stations.
- Flybuys Points: Shoppers can collect Flybuys points when they buy things at Coles and other Coles Group stores. These points can be used for discounts or rewards.
- Apples for Students: Between 1991 and 1993, Coles ran a program where schools could collect grocery receipts. Once they reached a certain value, the school would get a free Macintosh computer. Over 25,000 computers were given to schools!
- Sports for Schools: Coles has run this program several times (in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2018, and 2020). Customers collected coupons that schools could exchange for sports equipment.
- Little Shop Collectibles: In 2018, Coles had a very popular promotion called Little Shop. Customers could collect mini versions of grocery items. This was so popular that Coles brought it back for Christmas!
Coles Brands
Coles has its own range of products, often called 'private label' or 'store brand' items. These are products made specifically for Coles. They have different levels of brands:
- Coles: These are mid-priced products, similar to well-known brands.
- Coles Smart Buy: These are budget-friendly items for everyday needs. They usually have simple white and red packaging.
- Coles Finest: This is a premium brand with special, gourmet foods. They are often seen as higher quality and can be more expensive.
- Coles Green Choice: These are household products that are designed to be better for the environment. A donation is made to Clean Up Australia when you buy them.
- Coles Organic: These products are grown and made without artificial chemicals or pesticides. They are approved by official organic groups.
- Coles Simply Less: This range is for people who want healthier options. These products often have less fat, salt, or sugar.
- Coles Simply Gluten Free: This range has about 40 products for people who can't eat gluten or choose a gluten-free diet.
- Mix Clothing: This is a budget clothing brand, mostly for women and children. It's not available in all stores and is being slowly removed.
- Coles Ultra: These are higher-quality cleaning products, a step up from the Smart Buy range.
See also
- List of supermarket chains in Oceania
- Pick 'n Pay Hypermarket
