'Shut them down': anger over Coles and Woolworths $1.2 billion profit

Australia's two biggest supermarkets have revealed their revenue amid rising consumer anger during the ongoing cost of living crunch.

Transcript

00:00Shut it down. Shut it down.

00:02Coles and Woolworths have announced a combined profit of $2.8 billion

00:07for the 2023-24 financial year amid rising consumer anger during a cost-of-living crisis.

00:16Coles reported a $1.1 billion after-tax profit, while Woolworths posted $1.7 billion

00:23before a major impairment in its New Zealand operations.

00:27Farmers and producers supplying the supermarkets expressed concern, citing unfair treatment and

00:34stagnant prices that have forced some farmers and growers out of business.

00:39Shoppers, struggling with escalating grocery costs,

00:42took to social media to vent their frustration.

00:45We're in a cost-of-living crisis and yet sales grew almost 8%.

00:50And you're trying to tell me I'm in the wrong for buying the cucumbers that cost $7

00:55and Coles is not in the wrong for pricing the cucumbers at $7?

01:00Both supermarket CEOs defended their profits, pointing to increased spending on suppliers.

01:06We paid suppliers $34.7 billion in terms of what we paid them for their cost of goods.

01:12That was an increase in $2.4 billion year-on-year.

01:16Suppliers are definitely getting paid more year-on-year for their cost of goods

01:21by doing business with us.