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Woolworths Is Smashing Coles in Australia's Supermarket Wars

Woolworths Is Smashing Coles in Australia's Supermarket Wars

(Bloomberg) -- Woolworths Group Ltd. is winning the war against Coles. 

Comparable food sales jumped 5 percent at the Australian supermarket chain in the fiscal second quarter, compared with just 1.3 percent at Coles, the chief rival owned by conglomerate Wesfarmers Ltd.

Woolworths’ supermarket business generates the bulk of the company’s profits and first-half earnings jumped 38 percent.

Click here for a breakdown of Woolworths’ first-half results

As food sales grow, Chief Executive Officer Brad Banducci is also making his supermarkets more profitable, while profit at Coles fell in the first half. Under his tenure, Banducci has cut prices and jobs, and slowed the pace of store openings and on Friday he said there were “early signs” of a transformation.

Woolworths Is Smashing Coles in Australia's Supermarket Wars

To contact the reporter on this story: Angus Whitley in Sydney at awhitley1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anand Krishnamoorthy at anandk@bloomberg.net, Edward Johnson

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