 | |
 Headquarters inHawthorn East, Victoria, Australia | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| |
| Industry | Consumer staples |
| Predecessors | Coles Myer Ltd Wesfarmers(spun-off) |
| Founded | 9 April 1914; 111 years ago (1914-04-09) Collingwood, Victoria, Australia |
| Founder | George Coles |
| Headquarters | 800Toorak Road,Hawthorn East, Victoria, Australia |
Number of locations | 1,858 stores[1] (2025) |
Key people | |
| Products | Retail and consumer services |
| Revenue |  A$43.68 billion (2024)[3] |
| A$11.39 billion (2024) | |
| A$1.118 billion (2024) | |
| Total assets | A$19.87 billion (2024) |
| Total equity | A$3.62 billion (2024) |
Number of employees |  115,000 (2024) |
| Subsidiaries |
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Coles Group Limited is an Australian public company operating several retail chains. Its chief operations are primarily concerned with the sale of food and groceries through its flagship supermarket chainColes Supermarkets, and the sale of liquor through its Coles Liquor outlets. Since its foundation inCollingwood, Victoria in 1914, Coles has grown to become the second-largest retailer in Australia after its principal rival,Woolworths, in terms of revenue.
Formerly known as Coles Myer Ltd. from 1986 to 2006, Coles Group was owned byWesfarmers from 2007 until 2018, when it wasspun-off, with it once again listed as an independent public company on theAustralian Securities Exchange, containing Coles Supermarkets,Coles Online,Coles Express,Coles' liquor division, Coles' financial division, andFlybuys.[4]
George Coles father married Ann Cameron "Annie" Topp ofBuninyong on 20 August 1902[5] and sold his shop, measuring 20 by 18 feet (6.1 m × 5.5 m),[6] in theVictorian country town ofSt James to eldest son George in 1910 for £4500,[7] he then moved toWilmot, Tasmania (around 30 km south ofUlverstone), where he opened yet another shop. G.J. Coles learnt his trade from his family's general store inWilmot, Tasmania which his father owned between 1910 and 1921, the wooden heritage store continued but was destroyed by fire in 2014.[8]
The Coles brand we know now was founded in 1914 byGeorge Coles when he opened what was called the "Coles Variety Store" inSmith Street in the Melbourne suburb ofCollingwood.[9] More stores opened and the chain was regarded as the leaders in providing value to Australian shoppers. The building formerly occupied by the original Coles Variety Store is ironically now the location of aWoolworths outlet – the major competitor to Coles.
Coles was run in succession by members of the Coles family from 1914 until the mid-1970s by the "famous five knights", brothers Sir George,Sir Arthur, Sir Edgar, Sir Kenneth and Sir Norman – known by their first initials – GJ, AW, EB, KF, NC.[10]
In 1960, the first supermarket was opened in the Melbourne suburb ofBalwyn North and in 1973, a Coles store had been established in all capital cities of the country. In 1975, Sir Thomas North was appointed the first Managing Director of Coles who was not a member of the Coles family.[11]
Kmart Australia Limited was born out of a joint venture between G.J. Coles & Coy (Coles) and S.S. Kresge (laterKmart Corporation) in the US. The first store opened in the Melbourne suburb ofBurwood in 1969. In 1978, Kresge (Kmart) exchanged its 51% stake in Kmart Australia for a 20% stake in G.J. Coles & Coy Coles, allowing Coles to fully acquire Kmart Australia.[12][13]
By the 1980s, Coles primarily operated supermarkets, whilstMyer operated the department store chains Myer andGrace Bros, as well as theTarget discount variety store chain in Australia, and fast food restaurant chainRed Rooster (which it acquired in 1981).[14] Both Coles and Myer grew throughout Australia through growth and acquisitions, and both independently listed on theAustralian Securities Exchange. In August 1985, the Myer Emporium Ltd and GJ Coles & Coy Ltd merged,[15] becoming the largest ever Australian Corporation.[16] The official name change to "Coles Myer Limited" followed in January 1986. The U.S.Kmart Corporation continued to hold shareholding in the merged company until Kmart sold its 21.5% stake in November 1994.[12]
A new head office opened in 1987 atHawthorn East,Melbourne. As of 2022, it remained the head office for Coles Group and associated subsidiaries.
In September 1993, Coles Myer signed a licence agreement withBrinker International for theChili's Texas Grill restaurant chain. It opened the first Chili's restaurant in August 1994 in Sydney with plans to open up to 50 locations across Australia.[17] A second Chili's opened in February 1995.[18] Five months later, despite the success of the restaurants, Coles Myer decided to cancel the roll-out to focus on its core businesses.[17] It sold the Chili's licence and two existing restaurants to Red Hot Concepts in late 1995.[18][19]
The merger of Myer Emporium Ltd had included theFosseys variety discount chain. The previously competing brands of Fosseys and Coles Variety Stores became an integrated entity soon after the merge,[20] but by 1994, they were still using the Fosseys brand for country stores and Coles Variety stores in city/suburban areas.[21] Soon after, the Coles Variety Store brand was retired, and all stores converted or closed.
Bi-Lo was acquired by Coles Myer in 1987.[22] It was a major supermarket chain and continued to be owned and operated by Coles Myer in parallel to Coles Supermarkets. Bi-Lo was rebranded to Coles from 2007, the last store rebranded in 2017.
The office stationery chainOfficeworks, based on the US chainOffice Depot, was established in 1993 with the first store opening in the Melbourne suburb ofRichmond in June 1994. This represented a successful introduction of a "category killer" – by comparison, around the same time Coles unsuccessfully attempted to negate the arrival ofToys "R" Us with the short-lived chain World 4 Kids.
In 1996, the operations of Target andFosseys (earlier "Coles-Fossey") merged and the first Baby Target speciality store was opened, followed in 1998 by Target Home. In 1999, regional Fosseys stores were re-badged as Target Country, with metropolitan stores closed. Following Target's operating loss of $43m in 2001, the chain's format was repositioned to compete less withKmart,Woolworths'sBig W,Harris Scarfe andThe Warehouse, and more with Myer, with a focus on "middle class" quality products, especially clothing and home wares.
In 1998, Coles Myer opened the firstMegamart store, a furniture and electrical goods retailer.[23] Harris Technology, a computer hardware and software reseller started by Ron Harris in 1986, was acquired in 1999.
By 2001, there were three Megamart stores and Coles Myer planned to expand the chain,[24] but by 2005 had decided to divest the struggling business. Six of the nine stores were sold to competitorHarvey Norman, with the remainder closed.[25]
In 2001, the company appointedJohn Fletcher, formerly ofBrambles, as chief executive. Fletcher engineered a brief turnaround in the company's fortunes. Fletcher abolished the shareholder discount card, on the basis that it had eroded margins while providing little benefit, and was unpopular with institutional investors. Since their introduction in the early 1990s, the card had induced a tenfold increase in the number of Coles Myer's shareholders, with the overwhelming majority owning only small parcels of shares.
Fletcher also engineered the acquisition of the retail fuel operations ofShell Australia with the fuel outlets rebranded asColes Express, allowing Coles Group to counter the success of Woolworths' discount petrol operation. Woolworths subsequently gained entry to part ofCaltex Australia's network to provide a recognised brand for its fuel offer.
In 2002, Coles Myer soldRed Rooster to Western Australian companyAustralian Fast Foods.[26]
On 17 August 2005, Coles Myer announced that within 12 months, it would decide to demerge, divest or retain Myer. Thirteen expressions of interest were made for all or part of Myer.[27] On 13 March 2006, Coles Myer announced it would sell Myer to a consortium controlled by US private equity groupNewbridge Capital. The consortium also included the Myer family, who held a 5% stake. The sale was completed for A$1.4 bn on 2 June 2006.[28] Coles Myer changed its name to "Coles Group Limited" in November 2006.[29] Coles Group Limited also changed its listed code on theAustralian Securities Exchange from CML to CGJ, which references back to its first ever registered company name of G.J. Coles & Coy Proprietary Limited. The company has in the past been listed on theNYSE (de-listed 6 January 2006), theNew Zealand Stock Exchange (de-listed 1989) and theLondon Stock Exchange.[citation needed]
In April 2006, Coles Myer acquired Pharmacy Direct for $48 million, controversially using Pharmacy Direct's corporate license to skirt laws restricting ownership of pharmacies to qualified pharmacists.[30][31]The Pharmacy Guild of Australia brought a case against Coles to theNew South Wales Supreme Court. In September 2008, the Court ordered Coles to sell the business, which it did in early 2009.[32]
In August 2006, Coles announced that a group of private equity companies led byKohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) was looking to buy the company, with an initial proposal of $14.50 per share. The Coles board rejected the offer stating it significantly undervalued the company, and was conditional on a due diligence process, without a guarantee that the deal would go ahead. A second proposal of $15.25 per share in October 2006 was rejected for largely the same reasons.[33]
In November 2006, long-term senior supermarkets executive Peter Scott was dismissed for an unspecified breach of the company's code of conduct.[34]
On 23 February 2007, the company announced a downgrade of expected earnings and that it was considering ownership options, including the possibility of a full sale of the business or restructuring such as ademerger.[35] On 20 March 2007, it deferred its plans to rebrand Kmart under the Coles banner and create supercentres, and subsequently paused its conversion ofBi-Lo stores to Coles Supermarkets given the lack of success of this move.
On 23 March, Coles Group stated it planned to sell its businesses as either an entire package, or in three parts (Officeworks, Target and the remaining businesses Kmart, Coles, Bi-Lo, Liquorland, Vintage Cellars and First Choice Liquor).[36]
On 3 April,Solomon Lew, the former chairman and long-time antagonist of the current board and management team, sold his 5.8% shareholding of the company. A large portion of these shares were bought byWesfarmers, which was believed to be part of a consortium of bidders includingMacquarie Bank, PEP andPermira. The share price at which the transaction took place was reportedly $16.47, then 2.2% above the market price. A bid for the entire company at this price would have valued Coles Group at A$19.7 billion, well above the two KKR proposals announced in 2006.[37]
In May 2007, Coles reported its slowest sales growth in at least seven years with continuing poor performance from Coles Supermarkets and Kmart.[38]
In July 2007, Wesfarmers announced it intended to buy Coles Group for $22 billion, the largest take-over bid in Australia. The sale was expected to be completed in October 2007.[39]
In August 2007, Wesfarmers foreshadowed its plans for the restructuring of Coles Group following its anticipated takeover, including investment of A$5 billion, establishing three separate divisions (including a combinedBunnings/Officeworks "big box" retailing division), the possible sale of Kmart, and the exit of Coles Group from its head office base at Tooronga.[40]
The independent expert report published in October 2007, advising shareholders preparatory to the proposed sale was critical of the culture within Coles Group.[41]
At a shareholder meeting in Melbourne on 7 November 2007, shareholders voted overwhelmingly with 99.25% approval of the sale of Coles Group to Wesfarmers.[42] The Scheme of Arrangement between Coles Group and its shareholders was approved by theSupreme Court of Victoria on 9 November 2007, the last day Coles Group shares traded on theAustralian Securities Exchange. The Scheme was implemented on 23 November 2007,[43] ending Coles Group as a company with its subsidiaries merged into Wesfarmers' business structure.[44]
In November 2018, Coles Group Limited wasspun-off from Wesfarmers on 21 November 2018, with the company once again listed as a public company on the Australian Securities Exchange under the trading code COL, debuting at A$12.49.[4] At the time of listing, the company included 806Coles Supermarkets, 712Coles Express outlets, 894 liquor stores includingLiquorland,Vintage Cellars andFirst Choice Liquor, Coles-branded financial services and 88 Spirit Hotels, as well as joint-ownership of theflybuys loyalty program.[4] Subsidiaries of the previous Coles Group such as Kmart, Target and Officeworks remain as subsidiaries of Wesfarmers.
In March 2019, Coles andAustralian Venue Co. established a joint venture (Queensland Venue Co) where AVC would take over operations of the Coles' Spirit Hotels and receive its profits while Coles would run the group's liquor stores and receive its profits. Coles received $200 million from AVC as part of the deal.[45][46][47] In May 2020, Coles completed the acquisition of Jewel Fine Foods, one of its suppliers of ready-to-eat meals, after the company went into administration in April 2019.[48]
In September 2022, Coles announced that it would sell its Coles Express stations toViva Energy for $300 million.[49] The deal was completed in May 2023.[50]
In April 2023, Coles announced its intention to purchase two milk processing plants fromSaputo Inc. for $105 million.[51] In February 2024,Coles Liquor reached an agreement to acquire 20 9/11 liquor stores in Tasmania fromFederal Group.[52]
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