Rear Window

Woolworths’ trashed reputation will cost Banducci

The supermarket has gone from the 7th most reputable corporate in Australia to the 42nd.

Myriam RobinSenior writer

Jul 7, 2024 – 5.39pm

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In the dire days of 2021, adding reputation to Woolworths’ performance scorecard must have seemed a stroke of genius.

Never mind sales per square metre driving bonus results. For chief executive Brad Banducci’s final years, Woolies was going to be right-on. Supermarkets were frontline services operations keeping us fed through a pandemic (when not employing laid-off aviation employees) and the Fresh Food people were Australia’s most valuable (from a brand equity perspective). What could go wrong?

Myriam Robin is a senior writer based in the Melbourne newsroom. She has previously been a Rear Window columnist and editor, and before that reported on financial markets and media.