Woolworths group chief executive Brad Banducci has announced he will step down from the top job. Photo / Getty Images
Woolworths group chief executive Brad Banducci has announced he will step down from the top job. Photo / Getty Images
Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci will step down within months, but Australian politicians say this will not stop supermarket giants from price gouging during a cost-of-living crisis.
Banducci will resign in September after 13 years working for Woolworths Group, including eight and a half years in the topspot.
The announcement has paved the way for Woolworths to appoint its first female CEO, with Amanda Bardwell to take the role.
Woolworths and Coles have faced accusations of price gouging customers, stifling competitors and ripping off suppliers.
Woolworths group chief executive Brad Banducci has announced he will step down from the top job. Photo / Getty Images
”When customers get to the checkout, they should get the lowest prices possible and when farmers are getting less for their products ... the price at the check out should reflect that,” he told ABC radio.
But National’s leader David Littleproud did not hold back.
”It’s about time,” he told Sky News today.
”The behaviour of Brad Banducci in that documentary on Monday night shows that once you tear away the very shallow exterior of these CEOs, underneath it is a very deep-seated and very sinister value of the company that he was leading - that was exploiting farmers and consumers.”
Asked about Brad Banducci’s resignation, Anthony Albanese (right) said he wanted to “talk about things other than personalities”. Photo / Getty Images
The Government has directed the Australian consumer watchdog to launch a probe into prices and competition within the supermarket sector after appointing former Labor minister Craig Emerson to review the effectiveness of the grocery code of conduct.
A Senate committee has also been established to examine supermarket prices.
But Littleproud says the Government should go further.
”We should have scaling penalties right up to divestiture powers, where we can actually take away some of their stores within geographical areas, to give more competition and even remove some of the chains that they have,” he said.
Bardwell was chosen after an international search supported by external consultants.
The managing director of Woolworths Group’s e-commerce arm helped take WooliesX from infancy to a A$7 billion ($7.43b) market-leading business.
”Amanda is highly respected throughout the organisation and I know, like Brad, will live our purpose and work hard to achieve Woolworths Group’s full potential,” Perkins said.
But Greens senator Nick McKim says new leadership will not fix the issues in the food and grocery sector.
”Farmers, workers and shoppers are going to keep getting smashed regardless of who wears the CEO badge,” he said.
”It is price gouging, corporate power and market dominance that are the real problems.”
Woolworths posted a A$929b net profit after tax for the six months to December 31, up 2.5 per cent from a year ago.
The supermarket chain announced on Wednesday it suffered an A$781 million first-half loss, including an A$1.5b writedown of goodwill from its New Zealand supermarkets and A$209m change in accounting treatment of its holdings of Endeavour Group, the alcohol retailer it spun off in 2021.
Excluding those items, Woolworths posted an A$929m net profit after tax for the six months to December 31, up 2.5 per cent from a year ago with sales were up 4.4 per cent to $34.6b.
