A FIERCE battle for market share between major supermarket rivals, Woolworths and Coles, has pushed up Australian meat consumption, but left lamb looking vulnerable as price-wary shoppers drift to cheaper options.
The arrival of new super-sized US grocery outfit, Costco, in Australia is also set to drive further competition in meat sales - and other food lines - as traditional retailers step up efforts to retain shopper loyalty.
A big marketing offensive by Coles under its relatively new Wesfarmers management has pumped new life into that retailer's share of fresh meat sales, after they slumped early last year from 23 per cent to 18pc by October.
By early 2011 Coles had swiftly clawed back most of its losses, scoring 22pc of Australia's beef, lamb, chicken and pork sales at the end of March, according to Roy Morgan Research for Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA).
Coles advertising featuring celebrity chef, Curtis Stone, its spruced-up store layouts and low-pricing initiatives, including the controversial "Down Down" campaign cutting milk to $1 a litre, have been key factors in drawing extra shoppers to its stores.
But with Coles on the war path last year and Costco building two new warehouse-sized stores in Sydney and Canberra, Woolworths took on the challenge to remain squarely at the top of meat business.
Its advertising blitz centred on a Woolies butcher promoting Australian beef in the heart of New York became the most repeated commercial on Australian television in September 2010.
The campaign was followed by a serious meat price cut promotion by Woolworths.
It worked. Woolies finished the recent financial year with 32.2pc of the national fresh meat market - up about one per cent on 2009-10, and still well ahead of Coles on 20.2pc.
Despite recent rapid price rises for lamb undermining its long-reigning popularity boom, Australians responded to the overall meat marketing war by buying up and eating more.
Total fresh meat sales lifted about three per cent last financial year, according to MLA ,which translated to average weekly meal servings rising by 3.3 million to 132.5m (about six meals cooked weekly for every Australian).
I wonder how much the drop in cost for beef effected overall profit margin? Also, the local big chain Hy-Vee has signed "celebrity chef" Curtis Stone as well to help increase it's overall exposure. It must be working. There are always a ton of customers but they don't offer the highest quality product. I always figured you can try to shine a turd but it's still a turd.
