Australian Politics Forum - Woolworths getting nasty with Aldi

bogarde73

Gold Member

Offline

Anti-Global & Contra Mundum

Posts: 18443
Gender: male

Woolworths getting nasty with Aldi
Dec 10^th, 2013 at 8:57am

The big two have concocted this "code of conduct", carefully crafted to suit their own business plan, and now they are trying to force Aldi into it.
The only reason for that is that they are feeling the heat from Aldi and it may put price pressure on Aldi if it signs up.
So now they are making threats about intellectual property, pointing out that Aldi's home brands often have a similar appearance to national brands.
Who cares? What they don't have is the extortionate prices of the brands sold by the big two.

These guys have got so used to pushing markets, suppliers, consumers and governments around that they have forgotten Aldi is a bigger business than the two of them put together.
Pull your heads in barrow boys and start giving your customers a fair deal!

Back to top

Know the enemies of a civil society by their public behaviour, by their fraudulent claim to be liberal-progressive, by their propensity to lie and, above all, by their attachment to authoritarianism.

IP Logged

bogarde73

Gold Member

Offline

Anti-Global & Contra Mundum

Posts: 18443
Gender: male

Re: Woolworths getting nasty with Aldi
Reply #1 - Dec 10^th, 2013 at 8:59am

Mexican standoff: Woolworths takes aim at Aldi over packaging

DateDecember 10, 2013 - 8:44AM

Woolworths has stepped up pressure on rival Aldi to sign the grocery code of conduct, alleging the discount retailer's private label products may be infringing on the intellectual property of leading national brands, writes The Australian Financial Review.

Under the code of conduct signed last month by Woolworths, Coles and the Australian Food & Grocery Council, retailers and suppliers must respect intellectual property rights, including brand names, packaging designs and advertising.

Woolworths managing director of supermarkets Tjeerd Jegen has pointed to similarities between some of Aldi's exclusive brands and national brands, including Bundaberg ginger beer, Procter & Gamble's Pantene shampoo, General Mills's Old El Paso taco kits and Kellogg's Special K.

Spot the difference: the similarity between the products' packagin has upset Woolworths.
Spot the difference: the similarity between the products' packaging has upset Woolworths. Photo: Rob Homer

"One of our major competitors has 96 per cent of their range that is own-brand," Mr Jegen told The Australian Financial Review. "If you don't look carefully, you'd think it came from suppliers' brands."

Mr Jegen called on Aldi to sign the voluntary code of conduct, echoing comments by Woolworths chief executive Grant O'Brien, Coles managing director Ian McLeod, and Wesfarmers chief executive Richard Goyder.

Metcash has said it is reluctant to sign the code because it played no part in the negotiations and the code is irrelevant to its business model as a wholesaler, rather than a retailer, with no control over shelf space or retail prices.

Aldi has yet to comment on its position, although managing director Tom Daunt has said in the past that he supports any code that "levels the playing field". Mr Daunt was unavailable for comment on Monday.

Mr Jegen turned up the heat on Aldi. "In order to get a level playing field, I can't understand why every retailer is not signing up to the code," he said. "Everyone is asking for a level playing field and we're providing it now."

Back to top

Know the enemies of a civil society by their public behaviour, by their fraudulent claim to be liberal-progressive, by their propensity to lie and, above all, by their attachment to authoritarianism.

IP Logged

cods

Gold Member

Offline

Australian Politics

Posts: 88048

Re: Woolworths getting nasty with Aldi
Reply #2 - Dec 10^th, 2013 at 9:27am

I tend to agree with this... not everyone reads bloody labels...they see something looks familiar..why wouldnt it be what you think it is??

if a bloke went in and bought a set of golfclubs because they looked almost identical to the ones he thought he was buying..only to find it was a generic brand with a good disguise.. do you think he would be ropeable???? I am sure he would...

well its the same with us we see a product a shampoo it looks exactly the same as the one we always buy.. only it isnt.. are we going to take the lousy bottle of shampoo back to the shop?????????..its annoying it isnt fair and it isnt right either... its called cheating as far as I am concerned.

why copy someone else if you have such a good product?

Back to top

IP Logged

Ex Dame Pansi

Gold Member

Offline

Australian Politics

Posts: 24168

Re: Woolworths getting nasty with Aldi
Reply #3 - Dec 10^th, 2013 at 9:27am

What's funny is that Aldi shapes and sao biscuits have very similar packaging to Arnotts, but it's Woolworths that have issue with it. Many Aldi products have similar packaging to famous brands. Why are these companies not taking Aldi to court.

cry me a river Woolworths

Aldi 9,325 stores globally

Australia 311 stores since 2001

Karl Albrecht retains ownership of Aldi Süd, and with a personal wealth of €17.2 billion, is the richest man in Germany, while the co-owners of ALDI Nord, Berthold and Theo Albrecht Jr., follow close behind at €16 billion.

Geographic distribution[edit]

Country Name Aldi group Since Outlets

Germany Nord          1946    2,400
Germany Aldi Süd 1946 1,790
Australia 2001    311
Austria 1968    430
Belgium          1973    380
Denmark 1977    244
France 1988    680
Hungary 2008    85
Ireland 1998    105
Luxembourg 1990    12
Netherlands 1975    406
Poland 2008    72
Portugal 2006    36
Slovenia 2005    71
Spain 2002    227
Switzerland 2005    130
United Kingdom 1989    511
United States 1976 1,200

Trader Joe's Nord 1979 399

total number of Aldi Nord stores 4,805

total number of Aldi Süd stores 4,430

combined total of Aldi stores 9,235

Some Aldi facts from Wikipedia

Back to top

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." Hendrix
andrei said: Great isn't it? Seeing boatloads of what is nothing more than human garbage turn up.....

IP Logged

Ex Dame Pansi

Gold Member

Offline

Australian Politics

Posts: 24168

Re: Woolworths getting nasty with Aldi
Reply #4 - Dec 10^th, 2013 at 9:34am

cods wrote on Dec 10^th, 2013 at 9:27am:

I tend to agree with this... not everyone reads bloody labels...they see something looks familiar..why wouldnt it be what you think it is??

if a bloke went in and bought a set of golfclubs because they looked almost identical to the ones he thought he was buying..only to find it was a generic brand with a good disguise.. do you think he would be ropeable???? I am sure he would...

well its the same with us we see a product a shampoo it looks exactly the same as the one we always buy.. only it isnt.. are we going to take the lousy bottle of shampoo back to the shop?????????..its annoying it isnt fair and it isnt right either... its called cheating as far as I am concerned.

why copy someone else if you have such a good product?

The thing is cods, Aldi very, very rarely carry 'brand names', so shoppers know that the product is from some other company.

They have Nescafe coffee and vegemite, apart from those two, I don't think they have any other brand name products, they could, but harldly any.

A person would have to pretty stupid to not know this.

Aldi shoppers are well aware of the product lines because they are sensible people, that's why they shop at Aldi

Back to top

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." Hendrix
andrei said: Great isn't it? Seeing boatloads of what is nothing more than human garbage turn up.....

IP Logged

athos

Gold Member

Offline

Re-educate barbarians

Posts: 6401
Hong Kong
Gender: male

Re: Woolworths getting nasty with Aldi
Reply #5 - Dec 10^th, 2013 at 9:59am

cods wrote on Dec 10^th, 2013 at 9:27am:

I tend to agree with this... not everyone reads bloody labels...they see something looks familiar..why wouldnt it be what you think it is??

if a bloke went in and bought a set of golfclubs because they looked almost identical to the ones he thought he was buying..only to find it was a generic brand with a good disguise.. do you think he would be ropeable???? I am sure he would...

well its the same with us we see a product a shampoo it looks exactly the same as the one we always buy.. only it isnt.. are we going to take the lousy bottle of shampoo back to the shop?????????..its annoying it isnt fair and it isnt right either... its called cheating as far as I am concerned.

why copy someone else if you have such a good product?

Woolworths' bastards are terrible in creating monopoly wherever they can. The corrupted council officials in Perth for years haven't allowed ALDI on the market letting Wolwarths to have higher prices in perth than in the rest of Australia.

Back to top

« Last Edit: Dec 10^th, 2013 at 11:09am by athos »

Do we need to be always politically correct.
In the world of universal deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

IP Logged

Frances Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 3577 In a Castle in the Hills Gender:	Re: Woolworths getting nasty with Aldi Reply #6 - Dec 10^th, 2013 at 10:08am Good to see that someone has finally had a go at Aldi over their misleading labelling practices, even if it had to be their competitors. Copying the design and colours of a well known brand name and changing a few letters is hardly an honest way of doing business, is it?
Back to top	Sure God created man before woman. But then you always make a rough draft before the final masterpiece. IP Logged

athos

Gold Member

Offline

Re-educate barbarians

Posts: 6401
Hong Kong
Gender: male

Re: Woolworths getting nasty with Aldi
Reply #7 - Dec 10^th, 2013 at 10:18am

Frances wrote on Dec 10^th, 2013 at 10:08am:

Good to see that someone has finally had a go at Aldi over their misleading labelling practices, even if it had to be their competitors. Copying the design and colours of a well known brand name and changing a few letters is hardly an honest way of doing business, is it?

What does it have to do with the consumers benefit.

Back to top

Do we need to be always politically correct.
In the world of universal deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

IP Logged

bogarde73

Gold Member

Offline

Anti-Global & Contra Mundum

Posts: 18443
Gender: male

Re: Woolworths getting nasty with Aldi
Reply #8 - Dec 10^th, 2013 at 10:51am

misleading labelling practices?

I can't see what's "misleading" about it. You get what you pay for on the label, whether it's a packet of corn flakes or a bottle of sauce. It may look like and taste like the same product you could pay twice or three times the price for. So what?
If fact, I actually prefer Aldi home brands because the quality is often better and I don't have to throw a lot of it out.
Some people wouldn't know a good deal if it hit them in the face.

Back to top

Know the enemies of a civil society by their public behaviour, by their fraudulent claim to be liberal-progressive, by their propensity to lie and, above all, by their attachment to authoritarianism.

IP Logged

BatteriesNotIncluded

Gold Member

Offline

MediocrityNET: because
people died for this!

Posts: 26966

Re: Woolworths getting nasty with Aldi
Reply #9 - Dec 10^th, 2013 at 12:37pm

cods wrote on Dec 10^th, 2013 at 9:27am:

I tend to agree with this... not everyone reads bloody labels...they see something looks familiar..why wouldnt it be what you think it is??

if a bloke went in and bought a set of golfclubs because they looked almost identical to the ones he thought he was buying..only to find it was a generic brand with a good disguise.. do you think he would be ropeable???? I am sure he would...

well its the same with us we see a product a shampoo it looks exactly the same as the one we always buy.. only it isnt.. are we going to take the lousy bottle of shampoo back to the shop?????????..its annoying it isnt fair and it isnt right either... its called cheating as far as I am concerned.

why copy someone else if you have such a good product?

What you do and don't call cheating would be more than a very interesting story: GO THE COPPER INTERNET FOR THE CLEVER COUNTRY!!! Cheesy

Back to top

*Sure....they're anti competitive as any subsidised job is. It wouldn't be there without the tax payer. Very damned difficult for a brainwashed collectivist to understand that I know.... (swaggy) *

IP Logged

BatteriesNotIncluded

Gold Member

Offline

MediocrityNET: because
people died for this!

Posts: 26966

Re: Woolworths getting nasty with Aldi
Reply #10 - Dec 10^th, 2013 at 12:39pm

Frances wrote on Dec 10^th, 2013 at 10:08am:

Good to see that someone has finally had a go at Aldi over their misleading labelling practices, even if it had to be their competitors. Copying the design and colours of a well known brand name and changing a few letters is hardly an honest way of doing business, is it?

Honesty, well let's all get high fallutin' about business practises then Grin

Back to top

*Sure....they're anti competitive as any subsidised job is. It wouldn't be there without the tax payer. Very damned difficult for a brainwashed collectivist to understand that I know.... (swaggy) *

IP Logged

gizmo_2655

Gold Member

Offline

Australian Politics

Posts: 16010
South West NSW
Gender: male

Re: Woolworths getting nasty with Aldi
Reply #11 - Dec 10^th, 2013 at 12:52pm

bogarde73 wrote on Dec 10^th, 2013 at 8:57am:

The big two have concocted this "code of conduct", carefully crafted to suit their own business plan, and now they are trying to force Aldi into it.
The only reason for that is that they are feeling the heat from Aldi and it may put price pressure on Aldi if it signs up.
So now they are making threats about intellectual property, pointing out that Aldi's home brands often have a similar appearance to national brands.
Who cares? What they don't have is the extortionate prices of the brands sold by the big two.

These guys have got so used to pushing markets, suppliers, consumers and governments around that they have forgotten Aldi is a bigger business than the two of them put together.
Pull your heads in barrow boys and start giving your customers a fair deal!

It's called competition...get used to it

Back to top

"I just get sick of people who place a label on someone else with their own definition.

It's similar to a strawman fallacy"
Bobbythebat

IP Logged

Frances Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 3577 In a Castle in the Hills Gender:	Re: Woolworths getting nasty with Aldi Reply #12 - Dec 10^th, 2013 at 1:35pm I wandered into Aldi's Parramatta store at lunchtime mainly to get out of the heat. I didn't have my glasses with me and I found it difficult to tell what items were brand names and which ones were Aldi's home brand. I ended up leaving without buying anything.....
Back to top	Sure God created man before woman. But then you always make a rough draft before the final masterpiece. IP Logged

BatteriesNotIncluded

Gold Member

Offline

MediocrityNET: because
people died for this!

Posts: 26966

Re: Woolworths getting nasty with Aldi
Reply #13 - Dec 10^th, 2013 at 1:39pm

gizmo_2655 wrote on Dec 10^th, 2013 at 12:52pm:

bogarde73 wrote on Dec 10^th, 2013 at 8:57am:

The big two have concocted this "code of conduct", carefully crafted to suit their own business plan, and now they are trying to force Aldi into it.
The only reason for that is that they are feeling the heat from Aldi and it may put price pressure on Aldi if it signs up.
So now they are making threats about intellectual property, pointing out that Aldi's home brands often have a similar appearance to national brands.
Who cares? What they don't have is the extortionate prices of the brands sold by the big two.

These guys have got so used to pushing markets, suppliers, consumers and governments around that they have forgotten Aldi is a bigger business than the two of them put together.
Pull your heads in barrow boys and start giving your customers a fair deal!

It's called competition...get used to it

Its called competition with benefits, get used to it[

fixed

]

Back to top

*Sure....they're anti competitive as any subsidised job is. It wouldn't be there without the tax payer. Very damned difficult for a brainwashed collectivist to understand that I know.... (swaggy) *

IP Logged

BatteriesNotIncluded

Gold Member

Offline

MediocrityNET: because
people died for this!

Posts: 26966

Re: Woolworths getting nasty with Aldi
Reply #14 - Dec 10^th, 2013 at 1:41pm

[quote author=franfran link=1386629877/12#12 date=1386646508]I wandered into Aldi's Parramatta store at lunchtime mainly to get out of the heat. I didn't have my glasses with me and I found it difficult to tell what items were brand names and which ones were Aldi's home brand. I ended up leaving without buying anything.....[/quote]
Well lets all cheer the questionable women in our lives wasting good oxygen! :-?

Back to top

*Sure....they're anti competitive as any subsidised job is. It wouldn't be there without the tax payer. Very damned difficult for a brainwashed collectivist to understand that I know.... (swaggy) *

IP Logged