Coles First Quarter Sales Fall Behind Woolworths Amid Shrinking Volumes

Retail News Asia reported that Coles Group generated 11.2 billion Australian dollars in first-quarter revenue for fiscal 2027. Total sales grew 2.2 per cent year-on-year, placing the supermarket group behind its main rival Woolworths, which achieved a 4.7 per cent sales expansion over the same period. [1]

Supermarket operations at Coles increased 2.7 per cent on a comparable basis, according to Retail News Asia. However, this growth rate lagged domestic price increases across the sector. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows headline inflation reached 4.3 per cent in the twelve months through September. [1]

Because shelf prices rose at a faster rate than overall cash register revenue, underlying sales volumes declined across the Coles store network. Retail News Asia reported that budget-conscious customers are increasingly splitting their shopping baskets across competing grocery chains. [1]

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission serves as the primary competition regulator and price monitoring authority in Australia. It functions within the Department of the Treasury to enforce business compliance and protect consumer rights. [2]