A TikTok video calling for people to boycott Coles and Woolworths has racked up more than a million views, as consumers demand supermarkets making record profits offer relief to their customers from cost-of-living pressures.
Brisbane woman Dylan Fragomeni is leading the call for a boycott of the two supermarket giants on December 23rd and 24th in a video posted to multiple social media sites, which she says are among the most profitable days for the businesses.
“The point of the proposed boycott is to say hey we’ve had enough, we can’t afford this,” she said in the video.
“We know that you recorded record profit margins last year which means you can afford to lower the prices which means we can afford to shop with you again.”
Fragomeni said she was calling for the boycott in light of the massive profits of more than $1 billion posted by the two companies, and said she would continue to call for action until prices were lowered.
“If we need to absolutely we’ll continue to boycott to once a week, once a month, whatever works for people,” she said.
“But if we don’t do something about it nothing’s going to happen.”
However, responses to the call to boycott were mixed, with some saying the companies would not notice a drop in sales over a single day.
“She obviously has not worked at a senior level in FMCG retail,” one person wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“The stock is contracted months earlier. If you buy your leg ham on the 19th or the 24th it makes no difference.”
Despite record high prices on supermarket shelves, profits are not been felt by producers. Earlier this month, calls arose for the ACCC to investigate after farmers were paid up to 70 per cent less per kilo of meat while shelf prices remained steady. Similarly, dairy farmers haven’t seen their margins increase.
Shadow Agricultural Minister David Littleproud, who raised the initial questions over price discrepancies, reiterated the urgency of an inquiry in a media stand up last week.
“When you’re seeing a 70 per cent reduction in sale yard prices compared to an eight per cent reduction at the supermarket, someone’s cleaning up — and that’s Coles and Woolworths,” he said.
“Where are the CEOs of Coles and Woolworths? They’ve gone hiding, they won’t front up and front any media and say why their prices are still exorbitant.”
He said shelf prices had remained high for six months, when they should have reflected lower farmyard prices within a matter of weeks.
