Butchers lose share as Coles and Woolworths now control more than 50 per cent of meat market

MORE Australians are deserting their local butcher shop and buying their meat at Coles or Woolworths – but there’s one thing the supermarket giants won’t serve up and we’re not talking free fritz for kids.

Dave Armstrong, business owner and certified master butcher at Goodwood Meats. Picture: Matt Turner

• SA’s supermarket revolution

MORE Australians are deserting their local butcher shop and buying their meat at Coles or Woolworths – but nothing beats your neighbourhood butcher for service, quality and attention to detail, industry insiders say.

For the first time in the nation’s history, the Woolworths and Coles groups captured more than 50 per cent of Australia’s $13 billion fresh meat market last year, according to new Roy Morgan research.

And the supermarkets’ gain appears to have come at the expense of butchers and markets, which witnessed a 3 per cent point drop in market share in the past 12 months to 24 per cent.

But Goodwood Quality Meats’ Dave Armstrong said while the big supermarkets might offer the convenience of an one-stop shop, there’s one thing they’ll never serve up like a suburban butcher – and we’re not just talking fritz for the kids.

Mr Armstrong says personalised, one-on-one customer service is what the local store is all about.

“We know our customers by name. We know what they like to eat and what their families like to eat,” he said.

“This shop has been here since 1953 and we’re now serving third generation customers, one of our staff members has been here 35 years.

“We’ve watched children grow from babies in prams, to toddlers to school-age – we’ll have kids walk in without mum and dad, just to get their free slice of fritz and the beautiful thing is they know our names. It is priceless.”

Mr Armstrong took over the inner suburban store several years ago from local identity Mick Hammond, who’d previously run the business for almost five decades.

He says business is increasingly difficult and small retailers can’t compete with some of the one-off specials Coles and Woolies offer for things such as legs of lamb.

“But what a lot of people don’t realise is that across the board our products are generally cheaper than what you’ll get in the supermarket – people tend to look at the packaged price and not the what they are paying per kilo,” he said.

It’s estimated the state had about 500 independent butcher retailers 20 years ago, today there are 300.

Still butchers remain an important part of the social fabric of a community, says Australian Meat Industry Council SA executive director Paul Sandercock.

“It’s in butcher shops where those one-on-one conversations around the produce happen — good butcher shops are still performing well and customers will line up to be served,” he said.

“And it’s the local butcher who’ll supply the meat for the local footy club and wholesale to the local baker.”

Originally published as Butchers lose share as Coles and Woolworths now control more than 50 per cent of meat market