IGA owners accuse Woolworths of bullying after staff storm small shops in brazen act caught on CCTV

Supermarket giant Woolworths has been accused of bullying and intimidating its smaller rivals after brazen squads of uniformed staff swarmed two IGAs in one day.

Security footage provided to The West Australian showed between 10 to 15 uniformed Woolworths employees entering Tucker Fresh IGA Broadway on September 1, with the business claiming the group walked through the aisles and took photos.

“This was not a discreet competitor price check. A large group of uniformed employees from Australia’s largest supermarket chain swarmed through our store at peak trading time,” Tucker Fresh IGA executive partner Veer Shah said on Friday.

“The size of the group was intimidating for our staff and disruptive for customers.

“To enter an independent competitor’s store in that manner, without introducing themselves or showing any consideration for the people working and shopping there, demonstrated a real lack of respect.”

Meanwhile, separate footage from Taylor Road IGA in Nedlands showed a similar incident on the same day.

Some of the visitors — who were dressed in their Woolworths-branded polos and fleeces — could be seen with their arms behind their backs while they checked out the food and vegetable stands. One of the staff members could be seen taking photos.

Taylor Road IGA owners James and Rita Kelly have reported the incident to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, alleging anti-competitive behaviour. But they don’t expect any immediate action from the “weak as piss” regulator.

“These guys were obviously just on a mission to see what we were doing. As their leader said, they are there to see what we’re doing so they can do it better,” Mr Kelly said on Friday.

“(They) were looking at our presentation, prices, everything (and looking at) what kind of retailer we were. They’re just being bullies.”

Asked what response he had received from the ACCC, Mr Kelly said: “Nothing, (they had) no comment”.

“They told us, ‘Give us 15 working days’, which in our language is three weeks,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the ACCC said it “does not generally comment on reports received or potential investigations, as per our media code of conduct”.

A spokeswoman for Woolworths said it was reviewing the incident at Mr Kelly’s store.

“Market research is common in retail but we always expect our team to be respectful,” she said.

The incident at Taylor Road IGA comes just as Woolworths prepares to open a new 4000sqm store just 1km away from Mr Kelly’s store, which he has owned for about 25 years.

“It is acquisition by stealth,” Mr Kelly said.

“Our way of fighting back is just letting the public know what we go through. This is just a day in the life of a retailer.”

Master Grocers Australia, the national peak body representing independent supermarkets and liquor stores, has called on Woolworths to explain what its employees were trying to achieve.

“We’re concerned that the footage we’ve seen seems to suggest that these (Woolworths) employees are behaving in an unprofessional and potentially intimidating manner,” chief executive Martin Stirling said.

Independents have become increasingly concerned by creeping acquisitions, where the bigger players snap up independent supermarkets to grow their market share outside the rules that govern mergers and acquisitions.

Previous submissions and evidence to a 2024 Senate inquiry from Metcash and Ritchies noted an increase in Coles and Woolworths buying shopping centres and not renewing leases of independent supermarkets, with their outlets instead moving in.

Mr Kelly said “all competition is good, but not when they target you like that”.

“I always feel as though we’re reasonably good at what we do but it’s not us we’re worried about, it’s the supply chain,” Mr Kelly said.

“(Woolworths is) just renowned for cutting into our supply chain, getting them on board and cutting the farmers’ price down and down, so the farmer gets less and less.”

Coles and Woolworths are now in the firing line of new anti-price gouging laws, after the Federal Government in December introduced new laws that prohibit large retailers from charging prices deemed excessive when compared with the cost of supply, plus a reasonable margin.

The new laws come after the Federal Court earlier this year found Coles misled shoppers with illusory discounts on grocery staples like yoghurt, butter and toothpaste.

Woolworths is facing a similar case brought by the ACCC, with the judgment reserved.