The Age.com.au: Woolworths under the pump
By Leonie Wood
June 4, 2004
Soaring world oil prices have not only cost motorists at the petrol pump – Australia’s largest supermarket chain, Woolworths, has conceded its sales have been hit.
Asked if the rise in petrol prices in recent weeks had magnified the sales growth difference between the rival retailers, Woolworths chief executive Roger Corbett said: “Yes, for a period of time, a very limited period of time, there is an impact.”
He pointed to the bigger Coles-Shell network of petrol outlets (590 compared with 460 in Woolworths-Caltex) and the lack of branding on Woolworths-Caltex sites.