Coles started as a single variety store in Melbourne in 1914 and became one of the country’s two supermarket giants. Here’s how it makes its money.
Coles Group is one of Australia’s two biggest supermarket companies, alongside Woolworths, and one of the biggest companies on the ASX.
George Coles opened his first variety store in Collingwood, Melbourne, in 1914. Coles was owned by Wesfarmers from 2007 until 2018, when it was spun off as a separate listed company. It is based in Melbourne, reports in Australian dollars, and its financial year ends in late June.
Supermarkets
Coles runs more than 800 supermarkets. Supermarkets make up most of its sales and earnings.
Supermarkets make money on volume rather than big margins. For every $100 Coles sells, it keeps only a few dollars as earnings, so small changes in prices, costs, theft and wastage can make a big difference to profits.
It earns higher margins on its own-brand products, which it sells as Coles, Coles Finest and other labels. It also earns money from advertising, as brands pay to promote their products in its stores, app and website, and from the Flybuys loyalty program, which it co-owns with Wesfarmers.
Online shopping is growing quickly, with more than $5 billion of sales a year. Coles has opened large automated warehouses with British company Ocado to fill online orders.
Liquor
Coles also runs liquor stores under the Liquorland, First Choice Liquor Market and Vintage Cellars brands. Its liquor business has struggled with competition and changing drinking habits, and Coles is overhauling it.
Prices and the risks
Coles and Woolworths together sell most of Australia’s groceries, which brings close attention to their prices. A 2025 inquiry by the competition regulator, the ACCC, found the supermarket industry was concentrated and among the most profitable in the world, although it didn’t find price gouging. The ACCC has also taken both supermarkets to court over some of their discount claims.
The risks include price competition from Woolworths, Aldi and others, cost-of-living pressure on shoppers, rising wages and other costs, and regulation, including a new mandatory code of conduct for supermarkets.
Leah Weckert has been chief executive since 2023.
Latest results, as at 9 November 2026
Full year to June 2026, reported 25 August 2026: sales rose 2.8 per cent to $45.6 billion, and profit before one-off items rose 13.7 per cent to $1.26 billion. Supermarket sales rose 3.7 per cent and online sales jumped 26 per cent, while liquor sales fell 3.3 per cent. Coles paid total dividends of 78 cents a share, fully franked.
First quarter of the 2027 financial year, reported 2 November 2026: sales rose 2.2 per cent to $11.2 billion. Supermarket sales rose 3.6 per cent, with comparable sales growth slowing to 2.7 per cent, and liquor sales fell 1.3 per cent. Its shares fell sharply on the update.
Next update: Coles reports its half-year results, to December 2026, in February 2027.
