Duopoly Coles vs Woolworths Essay Example for Free

Duopoly Coles vs Woolworths Essay For most of us its just part of everyday life decisions. Where to shop for the week, Coles or Woolworths? Should I drink Pepsi or Coke today? Do I go to MYER or David Jones to buy new make up from? We take in consideration a few prices, how convenient it will be to get there, what would we rather do, and that’s it. But there’s something bigger behind this. What is the impact on such big rivals, for us and the economy? It’s not just about personal choices. Living and studying in Australia for the past 11 months, going to do my grocery shopping at Coles or at Woolworths has become part of my routine. And because it is such an ordinary thing to do, we tend to forget that we make part of a much bigger picture, and are contributing to several factors regarding the Australian economy. However, this race for the best has its advantages and disadvantages, and of course, this is affecting us as well. The Price War One of the advantages of this never ending battle for us customers, are the low prices. Because there is such a big competition for prices, each of the supermarket brands will try to make it as affordable as possible to the consumer, as a reaction to get competitive advantage. One big example of this war is the milk price. Both supermarkets can sell milk for $1. It is very difficult to make any profit if you’re selling products at such a low price, as Rob Murray, the chief executive for the food and beverage group Lion stated. However this issue does not affect us consumers on a day-to-day basis, and the low prices keep us happy and of course, keep us shopping at these big supermarkets. Everyone wins with the Rewards Programs Another good thing for the shoppers at these two big chains is the rewards systems they have. And we win again. Despite the cheaper price war having been leaded by Coles the majority of times, Woolworths seems to have another way of fighting. Their CEO Grant O’Brien came out with a new strategy: the Everyday Rewards. The more the customer shops, the more discount they get. Users of the cards get exclusive offers, discount on fuel and can even earn Qantas flyer points. And not only in Woolworths, they have retail partners like Big W, Dick Smith and Cellarmasters that will also benefit the customer. Coles also has their rewards system, the Flybuys. With this card, apart from the exclusive offers on Coles and affiliated firms products, the customer collects points at every purchase, which can later be changed by different prizes. But this is not only good for the consumers. Its basically the company saying that they will give us prizes, in exchange for our information. A Rewards system allows the firm to collect data about their customers, which they can use in their favour, to create loyalty and promote trust. With the Everyday Rewards, Woolworths has been able to collect a good amount of information, while Flybuys is still in the process of build its strength. Easy and Simple Another very good thing for the customer about these two big brands is the convenience. Everywhere we go, every big shopping center and busy area in a suburb will have at least one of the two, if not both. Coles and Woolworths have very strong analysts that will know where to place their shops, and if there is an area lacking one, it’s probably not because they are still to build one, but because that are would not be so profitable yet. So for us, wherever we want to shop, we can always find one of these, and do not have to travel any long distance to get to one of these stores, as they are located almost everywhere too. Even for the most loyal customer from the small shops, sometimes it’s a lot more convenient to visit one of the big supermarkets, and they will end up buying something from there. Someone might be losing Unfortunately it’s not all flowers. For us to be paying such low prices, someone is losing money somewhere, and it’s not the big supermarkets. Because they are such big brands, suppliers need to have their products in their shelf. Coles and Woolworths claim they have built very strong relationships with their suppliers, and it might be true, but a lot of the smaller suppliers are getting ripped off. They â€Å"bully† the suppliers to sell their products at really low prices, and they know they have this power, otherwise they won’t sell enough. They will also charge more to have the  products placed in good positions on their shelves. A lot of the times the prices suppliers are charging are so small, that they are struggling to survive with these sales, and it generates another whole big problem. Creating Enemies The ones losing with the big duopoly from Coles and Woolworths are the smaller suppliers, and the smaller shops too. But not every customer is just happy in paying small prices, they want to make sure everyone involved is protected. For this reason, there is a big pressure on ACCC from suppliers and the smaller businesses which don’t have a chance to compete. There is a party called Australian Green, and they fight strong against the practices these two supermarkets have againg farmers and small suppliers. Their objective, as they state on the website, is to â€Å"tackle the supermarket duopoly†, and the measures they are willing to take are strong. For example, put a temporary ban on expansion from Coles and Woolworths, or stopping this duopoly to purchase agricultural land, so they can’t control the whole supply chain. The ACCC is also holding an investigation about the bullying of suppliers. While most of us will not care that much about the situation these su ppliers are in, or will not have option to shop somewhere else, there is a big group who does care. These are customers who are willing to pay more, but do their groceries in a small shop so they can help that business, and also do not buy the products from exploited suppliers. No more competition Unfortunately, the group of very unhappy customers mentioned before is not large enough to make sure the small businesses will survive. With such low prices and big chains, the two major supermarkets will not give a chance for a smaller business to survive in the middle of this war. It is just impossible to compete with the two major supermarkets prices and their powerful middlemen, and the small shops start disappearing. Without competition, a lot of the products that do not have space on Coles or Woolworths shelves may also disappear, and this will also have a big impact on the economy as there is unemployment rising. This process will damage Australia food’s industry, and with the lack of new firms it might mean a lack of new products, and the whole market can go stale. Tricking the customers To have products at such low prices, as it was mentioned before, the suppliers will end up losing. But the customers might also lose sometimes. For example, the free range eggs case. Both Coles and Woolworths claim that they want to help customers switch from industrialised to free range eggs, by cutting the prices on the second one. However, the suppliers pay for the price that we are not, as it is impossible to have a free range egg production at such low prices. The customer will end up buying free range eggs thinking they are contributing to improve the animal welfare standards from the supermarkets, however, they do not know that they are still purchasing the â€Å"industrialised† free range eggs, the free range version of these two big supermarkets. Even though it seems there are more disadvantages to small businesses and suppliers than there are advantages for us customers, it is not the number, but the quality of these advantages that count. This battle is far from the end, because it is not likely that the masses will stop shopping at Coles or Woolworths anytime soon. However, the ones that are more conscious about it can only expect that it will make a difference in the future, when the ACCC take strong measures or the political inaction ends, and someone who genuinely cares and is strong enough to change this is put in charge. In the meanwhile, we will keep enjoying the convenience to just walk for 10 minutes and find a shop, or receive rewards and discount on products and even fuel, and keep ignoring all the ones losing from this. In the end, it is a battle and someone will lose. If not the big duopolistic market, a part of the population will pay.

He wont let us freak-dance :: essays research papers

Saturday night, May 15, 2004, was Lemoore High School's prom. As Lemoore principal Jim Bennett looked around the dance floor, he saw most of the guys dancing behind their dates, grinding their hips against the girls as the girls gyrated back against them. They were freak-dancing, which is how most people dance to hip-hop, but Mr. Bennett had always felt it was too sexual for a school event. "It's [the same as] foreplay," he says. During the last song of the night, a girl got on all fours and rubbed her butt against her date's groin. Mr. Bennett was horrified: That's it, he thought to himself, I have to stop this! So at the start of the next school year, he announced that freak dancing would be banned at all future dances. SELF-EXPRESSION At 9 P.M. on Saturday, December 11, Lemoore seniors Kelley Castadio and her best friend, KayDe Naylon, both 17, walked into their winter formal with their dates. All fall, Kelley and KayDe had been looking forward to their first senior formal. "Lemoore is a small town, and there's not much to do on Saturday nights," says Kelley. "So it's a big thing to have a dance." And dances, KayDe adds, are "one of our school's only traditions." At 9:30, the DJ put on Nelly's "Hot in Herre." Almost all of the 400 students on the dance floor immediately began freak-dancing—and Mr. Bennett walked right over to the DJ. "Stop the music," he said as he took the mic. "Ladies, gentlemen," he announced sternly, "if you continue freak-dancing, there will be no more dances." Some of the students booed Mr Bennett as he gave the mic back to the DJ, who turned the music up. But since KayDe, Kelley, and their friends had always danced that way to hip-hop music, they couldn't believe Mr. Bennett would carry out his threat—so they kept on freak-dancing. SCHOOL RULE On Monday morning, KayDe was at her school's career center when she noticed the weekly newsletter for the staff. "Freak dancing is ... obscene!" she read in Mr. Bennett's column. All dances were going to be called off, he had written, unless students came up with a plan to stop the freak dancing. "I couldn't believe that he was serious," KayDe says. "That's just how we dance—like my parents used to do the twist!" She and Kelley had been elected to plan the Sadie Hawkins dance in February, and if Mr.

A Symbol of Strength and Courage

I happen to be the youngest of the clan. My siblings often talk about what I call â€Å"the olden days†, going Into explicit details of their many childhood tales of fun and hard times mixed. Their stories were full of fun, excitement, and mischievousness. In each tale one or many of my siblings' anecdotes would include the trouble that they had gotten themselves Into, and then always tell of my mom's response. Mom would definitely give you her opinion (as she stood with her hands on her hips, fussing at you) on whatever crazy idea you had, but she would always still come to our rescue.Now that I am an adult I see Just how brave my mom really was. I TLD always believe that my mom was courageous. When I was young, I resented her for many years for the things that I had to endure as a child. I couldn't understand why certain decisions concerning us were made. I remember saying to myself when become a mother I will be different, my children will have options, our life will be bet ter. However, in a time when marriage was supposed to last forever, my mom with only a 10th grade education ended up raising her children mostly simplemindedly.My sisters and brother would often describe how my father's drinking affected their lives when they were young. I was too young to remember those times but I was told how mom would get up early in the morning and go Into the vegetable fields to work in order to put food on the table for her children. Later, when I came along mom worked in the seafood industry. It all was very labor intensive work standing on your feet all day. But mom never complained. My favorite memory is when I would get home from school and my mom would have dinner prepared and you walked into all kinds of luscious smells coming from the kitchen.My mom never really talked about that time of her life, she Just showed her children her love for them by ensuring we had what we needed. What makes my mom great? I used to ask myself that very same question, but not anymore. Now that I am a mother of two challenging teenagers, I have a world of respect and gratitude for my mom for the way that she raised my siblings and me. The morals, values, and belief system that are now Ingrained In me; I can only hope and pray are ingrained in my children as well. I often think about my holding and the lessons I learned from my mom.Growing up, in VA, was not the sleet thing In ten world My Tie consisted AT Nanning clothes on ten line, rolling in wood for the stove, and pumping water from the well to bring into the house. Everyday doing the same thing over and over, I hated them so much. I was upset that we had to live that way. It wasn't until years later that I realized, that my mom was right there with us every step of the way and encouraging us all that we could do much better in life. Each day I strives to do better in school.I also, realized that those chores were making me responsible and teaching me work ethics even while I was young. I have hop efully passed on to my children my hard working nature and taught them responsibility as well. Mom spent each day of her life showing those around her how much she loved Christ. I saw my mom as a beacon of hope and encouragement to me each day of my life. As I look back and reflect over my childhood, we went through some really hard times. But I can say that my mom let her faith guide her and keep her positive in the midst of bad situations.I never saw y mom cry or get upset over the things that we went through. I do remember her taking us to church and helping us to develop a relationship with Christ. I often think back to times when my mom would sit on the couch in our living room and she would sing hymns. She didn't have the best voice in the world but it didn't matter. She would sit there for an hour and sing and record herself on her tape recorder. Then she would playback her songs and sing along. I never got the chance to tell my mom, how much that encourages me even to this d ay.She showed me how to stay in a costive frame of mind and not be overtaken by disappointing situations. Caring, dedicated, compassionate, understanding, committed, and loving my mom, not Muhammad All was the greatest. I'm only sorry that it took me so long in life to realize it, because once I did, there wasn't much time left for me to spend with her. My mom spent her life sacrificing for her children and family. As I sat at her funeral and listened to all the wonderful things people said about my mom, I can only hope and pray that one day those great words can be said about me.

Roman Empire And Han Dynasty - 960 Words

Roman Empire and Han Dynasty Comparison When comparing Han China and Roman Empire, many political, geographical, and religious similarities can be found, though many differences are also prevalent. Though Roman and Han political structures both emphasized bureaucracies, they came to them quite differently. Through many amounts of expansion, both societies spread culture and earned money, though expansion was eventually their downfalls. Their religions differed immensely, with Rome emphasizing polytheism and Han China focusing on Confucianism. The differences and similarities between these two civilizations are to be discussed in this essay. One might ask, Which civilization yielded the best economy during this era? Though both Rome and†¦show more content†¦Rome maintained peace through conquering all threats and expanding in every way they could. Wu Ti’s rule was so successful in the start that peace just happened. He kept the people fed and happy, which stopped any rebellion from forming. Both societies valued strict laws and every citizen was expected to adhere to them. Han China and Rome are actually very similar in their geographical conquests. First of all, both civilizations were the largest and most expansive in their areas. Rome stretched from Spain, England, and France to Mesopotamia and North Africa. The Han dynasty expanded to Korea, Indochina, and central Asia. These huge areas allowed a feeling of power and more economic stability, but also had a few downfalls. Because Rome’s population began to dwindle by the end of its empire, they could no longer supply enough people to protect its borders, so they had to turn to outside sources for its military. These outside sources had distrusting loyalties, so, Rome’s borders were not so well protected and eventually fell to nomadic invasion. Han China also fell to this fate. Its centralized rule weakened and allowed for multiple invasions by the Huns to destroy it. Because of both Han China and Rome’s weak centralized rule, expanded territories, and not enough people to suppo rt the vast areas, they both crippled under the weight of outside invasions. A huge difference between the two civilizations, however, was their level of isolation. Being in China, the HanShow MoreRelatedThe Han Dynasty And Roman Empire1059 Words   |  5 PagesThe Han Dynasty ruled China from 206 B.C.E to 220 A.D, and Polybius wrote his account of Rome around 200 B.C.E. Though the Han Dynasty and Roman Empire existed simultaneously, they were vastly different because they were separated by thousands of miles and high mountain ranges. It is widely agreed upon that the two empires had very little contact, especially in the years when Polybius wrote his account. 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