Why not a co-op instead? Owned by members rather than a corporation/shareholders.
On the other hand, if government subsidisation works well for medication (with the PBS) and university (with CSP places), maybe it’d work well for other necessities like food too.
Owned by individual isn’t the same thing. Whoever owns the IGA still has an interest in making a profit. A Co-op is like a club where the store is owned by club members. The idea is the store sells everything at/near cost price.
Whether your co-op can buy cheaper than Colesworth retail prices is a different matter.
The Government however can in theory buy products at enough scale to be at a comparable wholesale price to Colesworth - and if they start selling at/near wholesale cost price, it can put pressure on the duopoly to actually compete.
Whether your co-op can buy cheaper than Colesworth retail prices is a different matter.
Some people are willing to pay a bit more if it means supporting a community store over a big corporate one.
I’m living in the USA now, and there’s a lot more supermarkets here. In my area in California, there’s a few local chains with 3-4 stores, some co-ops, and the major stores. The biggest supermarket (Walmart/Sam’s Club) only has 20% market share, and even the top 5 companies (Walmart, Kroger, Costco, Albertsons and Ahold Delhaize) still only account for 44% market share. The top 3 in Australia (Coles, Woolworths, and Aldi) account for around 75% market share.
Why not a co-op instead? Owned by members rather than a corporation/shareholders.
On the other hand, if government subsidisation works well for medication (with the PBS) and university (with CSP places), maybe it’d work well for other necessities like food too.
Like IGA. Pretty sure they’re owned by individuals.
Owned by individual isn’t the same thing. Whoever owns the IGA still has an interest in making a profit. A Co-op is like a club where the store is owned by club members. The idea is the store sells everything at/near cost price.
Whether your co-op can buy cheaper than Colesworth retail prices is a different matter.
The Government however can in theory buy products at enough scale to be at a comparable wholesale price to Colesworth - and if they start selling at/near wholesale cost price, it can put pressure on the duopoly to actually compete.
Some people are willing to pay a bit more if it means supporting a community store over a big corporate one.
I’m living in the USA now, and there’s a lot more supermarkets here. In my area in California, there’s a few local chains with 3-4 stores, some co-ops, and the major stores. The biggest supermarket (Walmart/Sam’s Club) only has 20% market share, and even the top 5 companies (Walmart, Kroger, Costco, Albertsons and Ahold Delhaize) still only account for 44% market share. The top 3 in Australia (Coles, Woolworths, and Aldi) account for around 75% market share.