Woolworths boss Amanda Bardwell warns ‘first wave’ of food price rises coming, customers under ‘peak stress’
Woolworths boss Amanda Bardwell expects a ‘first wave’ of price rises in fruit, vegetables, milk and bread as she warns consumers are under ‘peak stress’ amid the cost-of-living crisis.
Woolworths boss Amanda Bardwell expects a “first wave” of price rises in fruit, vegetables, milk and bread as she warns consumers are under “peak stress” amid the cost-of-living crisis.
Ms Bardwell on Thursday said food and grocery suppliers were asking the nation’s biggest supermarket for price rises on their goods as they navigate significant increases in fuel and fertiliser costs caused by the Iran war.
Almost half of shoppers were struggling to make ends meet, she said, citing internal research.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“We’re still in the very early stages of these impacts, but we expect the pressures to grow,” she told media on a call following the release of Woolworths third quarter sales results.
“Fresh categories are in the first wave. We’re already seeing some cost increases flowing through to fruit and vegetables, milk and bread.
“Farmers are particularly exposed to fuel and fertiliser prices. As those input costs persist, grocery products will come under further pressure.”
While majority of cost increases have been managed, some have been passed onto consumers, Ms Bardwell said.
Woolworths has announced a price freeze on 300 popular food and grocery items — including eggs, bread, chicken, sausages, pasta, and nappies — that will be in place for three months.
Ms Bardwell expects price rise requests to come through in the coming months from suppliers across other grocery categories and household care.
Ms Bardwell also pointed to its research which found 44 per cent of families said they were struggling to make ends meet.
“What we’ve certainly seen in our research and conversations with customers (is) they’re really under peak stress at the moment compared to where we’ve seen them in the last couple of years,” she said.
“It’s certainly indicating to us that they will be looking to save more money in their household shopping as they look to manage the budgets overall.”
She said said more customers were looking for promotions and trading down to home brands to manage household budgets.
