Yahoo Finance New Woolworths CEO confronted by shopper over alleged price gouging: 'Can you sleep at night?'
CEO Amanda Bardwell has faced off against an upset shopper in the wake of a fresh lawsuit over allegedly deceptive pricing tactics.
An impassioned shopper has confronted the new Woolworths CEO after allegations of deceptive discount tactics taking advantage of Aussie "battlers". Amanda Bardwell is just a few weeks into the job and she has already faced the frustration of everyday customers.
A Woolworths spokesperson told Yahoo Finance Bardwell was visiting the Warrawong store on the NSW South Coast to meet staff and see how the supermarket operates in real-time. This was where she came face-to-face with a local, who asked her how she "sleeps at night".
Woolworths and Coles are facing accusations that they misled the public over 'Prices Dropped' and 'Prices Down' labels following an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) investigation.
"What do you have to say to the fact that your company is profiting off price gouging during the context of the cost-of-living crisis," Megan Guy alleged.
WATCH THE INTERACTION IN THE VIDEO BELOW
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Bardwell thanked Guy for "reaching out" and said Woolworths is doing everything it can to "make sure [customers] are able to get great prices".
She said the company recognises that shoppers are doing it tough.
But Guy wasn't taking that at face value.
"I really don't believe that... millions of people in Australia right now have skipped meals," she said, claiming supermarket prices are pushing people to the brink.
While Bardwell appeared to try to placate the shopper, Guy asked if Woolworths was willing to give up its recent profit to help those who are struggling because "working-class people aren't buying" the message that Woolies is sending out about looking after shoppers.
A Woolies worker jumped in and said prices have been dropped on dozens of items throughout the year.
Bardwell held her own for more than two minutes during the confrontation and eventually thanked Guy for her feedback.
When Woolworths announced its profits in August, former CEO Brad Banducci argued eating into the company's profit would result in meagre discounts for shoppers.
"If we’d have started to make zero profit... the difference that we would make in cost reductions in terms of our overall business and pass on to the customer, I think from memory was $5 a week in the supermarket basket," he said.
"I think we just need to be realistic that big numbers can deceive."
The Woolworths spokesperson told Yahoo Finance Bardwell had calmly responded to the customer's concerns.
Aussies were divided on Bardwell's response to Guy.
"Not the verbatim email IN PERSON? Wow," said one person.
"'Thanks for reaching out to us' omg she should've just said 'I hope this email finds you well'," wrote another.
"Firstly they running a company not a charitable organisation, Secondly if you are poor that's not their fault," added a third.
"It’s their business they can do whatever they want however YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO THERE AND SHOP," a fourth commented.
Legal action against Coles and Woolworths over alleged deceptive price tactics
The consumer watchdog launched separate proceedings against Woolworths and Coles on Monday, alleging they breached Australian consumer law.
In its allegations, the ACCC claimed the supermarkets inflated the prices of some products by at least 15 per cent while the purchase prices remained steady for at least six months, and in some cases a year.
They were then allegedly shifted to the supermarkets' ongoing discount promotions - "Prices Dropped" for Woolworths and "Down Down" for Coles.
“Following many years of marketing campaigns by Woolworths and Coles, Australian consumers have come to understand that the ‘Prices Dropped’ and ‘Down Down’ promotions relate to a sustained reduction in the regular prices of supermarket products," ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.
"However, in the case of these products, we allege the new ‘Prices Dropped’ and ‘Down Down’ promotional prices were actually higher than, or the same as, the previous regular price.
“We allege that each of Woolworths and Coles breached the Australian Consumer Law by making misleading claims about discounts, when the discounts were, in fact, illusory.
The watchdog estimates the supermarkets sold "tens of millions of the affected products" and gained "significant revenue" from those sales.
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