Coles boss John Durkan says Australian consumers are getting ripped off

Coles managing director John Durkan has put the world’s biggest grocery manufacturers and suppliers on notice: cut prices or face increased pressure from the supermarket’s growing private-label business. Mr Durkan is ramping up pressure on multinational giants such as  Unilever, Mars and Campbell Soup-owned Arnott’s, which he argues are “ripping off” Australian consumers. He said supermarket prices here were too high and were driven by the “over-the-top” cost prices. “Quite frankly, Australian consumers are getting ripped off,” Mr Durkan said on Friday. “You see it in razor blades. We sell Gillette razor blades, an eight pack, for $52. If I convert Tesco’s price today, it is $40. Now we couldn’t afford to sell them at $40 frankly. Our cost prices wouldn’t allow us to sell them and make any money.“

Source: www.afr.com