Coles Group Ltd

F:2OF

Business Description

Sector

Consumer Staples

Industry

Retail

Headquarters

Australia AU

Employees

115 000

IPO date

Nov 21, 2018

Coles Group is one of Australia’s main food and everyday-goods retailers. It sells groceries, fresh produce, meat, dairy, household products, and other essentials through its supermarket stores and online channels. It also runs liquor retailing and some convenience-format stores, so it reaches shoppers across both weekly grocery trips and smaller fill-in purchases.

The company makes money mainly by buying products from suppliers and reselling them to households at a markup. Its customers are everyday consumers, with some business and hospitality buyers also using its wholesale and supply arrangements. Coles depends on high-volume, repeat purchases, which makes it a steady consumer business tied to food spending and household needs.

What makes Coles important in the retail chain is that it sits very close to the end customer. It does not manufacture most of what it sells; instead, it curates shelves, manages sourcing, pricing, and distribution, and uses its store network and online ordering to move products efficiently. That gives it a central role in getting packaged food and household brands from suppliers to Australian shoppers.