The big squeeze on small business | Herald Sun
Change the brands and some of the names and you have QANTAS!
"Suppliers claim that's how Coles executives, many recently arrived from the UK, describe Australia, because of their generous remuneration packages."
"While the public service bloats and the number of ministerial advisers in Canberra skyrockets, out in the real world, productivity growth has collapsed and people are hurting."
"Times are tough, and consumers are counting their pennies. Last week at Woolworths' annual general meeting, chairman James Strong (below) described 2011 as "undoubtedly one of the most challenging years the retail sector has seen for some time".
The battle of the big supermarkets for a shrinking consumer dollar is taking its toll. Coles, headed by a new team of gun retailers from the UK, including Australia's highest-paid chief executive Ian "$15 million man" McLeod, is battling Woolworths for supremacy, slashing prices and shrinking shelf space to make way for their own home brands.
Woolworths has followed suit, with plans to double its Home Brand range, meaning suppliers have to compete for shelf space with the very people who own it."
""The consumer is going to ultimately be the big loser in Australia," he said.
Heinz has already closed its tomato processing plant in Girgarre, in the Goulburn Valley, with a loss of 146 jobs, and downsized two other facilities."