2020 CEO Survey: Steven Cain, Coles

Demand for online shopping will continue to grow, as will cooking at home, says Coles chief Steve Cain.

What are the three enduring lessons or changes to flow from COVID-19?

We expect the step-up in demand for online shopping will continue, albeit not at the pace seen during the pandemic. It has been a major factor in new customers trialling online shopping, and now that they’ve experienced that convenience many of them will want to keep using it.

Cleanliness and hygiene at home. It will be interesting to see whether that eases off once the pandemic is over or if people remain more aware of the importance of hygiene to protect themselves against contagious illnesses.

The rebirth of home cooking. We think people will continue to do more of that, particularly if the economy takes some time to recover and people are eating out less often.

How would you rate the shape of the Australian economy as we head into the new year? It’s hard to talk in aggregate as it differs so markedly between regions, sectors and households.

We applaud governments for the extensive stimulus measures they’ve put in place to keep the economy moving.

What three reforms are needed to sustainably grow the economy?

The key to sustainable growth is to maintain demand, and to do that people need to not only have money in their pockets but be happy to spend it. We’ve been encouraged by policy decisions aimed at increasing employment and boosting liquidity, which should both benefit aggregate demand.

It is important that the economy is allowed to build up some momentum before stimulus measures are removed.

IR reform aimed at boosting flexibility and productivity, and making the approval of enterprise agreements simpler and faster.

What are the three best growth opportunities for your company in 2021?

We’re continuing to progress our technology-led transformation strategy, including optimisation of our store network and modernisation of our supply chain.

COVID has accelerated some long-term trends that were already in place, such as the shift to online.

The necessary shift to cooking more at home and a community-wide focus on health issues has meant that healthy eating is more important to customers than ever. We said in 2019 that part of our strategy was to make Coles a destination for health, and we expect growth in that area.

What impact will digital transformation have on your company?

It is at the centre of our transformation strategy.

We have doubled our online capacity this year alone. We have stopped delivering paper catalogues door to door and are focusing on a more personalised promotion and recipe experience through the digital catalogue.

The use of artificial intelligence in our supply chain helps our stores to order just the right amount of stock.

Advanced transport planning tools allow us to make better use of capacity — directing empty trucks that have delivered loads to our supermarkets to nearby suppliers so they are not driving back to our distribution centre with an empty trailer.

How would you rate business, state and federal government performance this year?

In our sector I think that from the earliest days of the pandemic there was a spirit of collaboration between retail stakeholders, suppliers and state and federal governments to do whatever was necessary to keep everyone supplied with essentials and as safe as possible.

Obviously these are unique circumstances but we learnt a lot about how much can be achieved and how quickly when you decide to commit.