Case Study Analysis COMM1100 T2
In this assessment you will apply the tools and concepts you have learned and
developed the first half of the course to analyse a business case. Tutorial activities in
Weeks 1 – 5 provided an opportunity for you to practice the skills needed to
complete this assignment.
The case and questions are released at 9 am (AEST) on Friday 1 July.
The assessment is due at 5 pm (AEST) on Friday 15 July.
1,200 words excluding references.
You do not need a cover page and you do not need to copy the questions into your
response.
You are expected to include between five and ten references and use Harvard
Referencing.
20%
Submission is via the Turnitin link on Moodle under Assessments.
Your submission must be in either PDF or Word format.
Save your file as [Your zID][Your Name] Case Study Analysis COMM1100
No resubmissions are allowed.

This is an individual assessment. Any evidence of collusion at any point after the release of the case
study will result in an Academic Integrity investigation.


Case study information and background

The following articles outlines the current situation around rising grocery costs in Australia and the
response of one of the two major supermarkets to this issue.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/woolworths-announces-price-freeze-as-cost-of-living-
soars/2c923ea8-ebdc-4a17-9052-6cfe24651523
Woolworths announces 'price freeze' as
cost of living soars
By Emily McPherson • Senior Journalist
9:02am Jun 15, 2022
Supermarket giant Woolworths has vowed not to raise the price of almost 200
"essential trolley items" until the end of the year, despite inflationary pressures.
Some of the items in the prize freeze include flour, sugar, oats, eggs, tea bags,
coffee, pasta, frozen peas, cheese blocks, bread rolls, bacon, and baby essentials
such as nappies.
Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci will officially announce the price freeze in an
email to customers tomorrow morning.
"The challenges we've worked through together in the last two plus years have
been unparalleled – from droughts and fires to COVID (A thru O), floods and
supply shortages and now inflation and the pressure on household budgets," the
email from Banducci reads.
Food inflation began at the end of last year, and initially affected mostly meat and
imported products, Banducci said.
Now, inflation was affecting almost every category of goods Woolworths sold, he
said.
"Most recently, we have seen material inflation in vegetables given the very poor
growing season on the Eastern Seaboard, due to the rain, high humidity and low
light levels – hence what you may see on cucumbers, capsicums and lettuces
amongst others."
Grocery prices have seen huge jumps in eastern states this year as floods, the
pandemic and fertiliser shortages put increasing pressure on suppliers.
Recent Consumer Price Index data shows a 6.6 percent average price hike for
vegetables in the last quarter.
Fruit has gone up by almost 5 percent while meat and seafood has gone up by 4.8
percent.
Banducci advised shoppers wanting to cut down on rising costs to get creative
and mix up their usual shop by buying frozen instead of fresh produce, for
example.
Mandarins and oranges were also good seasonal buys with plenty of supply at the
moment, he said.
Reacting to Woolworths' price freeze, a spokesperson for Aldi Australia said its
supermarkets still offered better value.
"There is no better indication of savings for customers than comparing your
receipt at the end of your shop," the spokesperson said.
"At ALDI, our low price model means we are able to provide quantifiable savings
on your whole basket every time you check out with us."
Speaking on Today yesterday, Coles Chief Operating Officer Matt Swindells
warned shoppers to expect fruit and vegetable shortages to last for weeks as
growers combat a "double whammy" of cold weather and flooding.
Swindells said that while there were shortages of lettuce, berries, beans, there
were ample stocks of alternative fresh produce.
"There is still plenty of citrus, plenty of apples, pears, grapes ... veggies are under
pressure but you can still find great value across the shop. You don't to have come
away from eating healthy," he said.
"Pumpkin's cheap, when it is cold and it is wintery, pumpkin and cumin soup will
go quite far."
Items in the Woolworths price freeze include:
Pantry essentials - flour, sugar, vinegar, oats, eggs, tea bags, coffee, canned
tomatoes,
tomato sauce
Meal essentials - pasta, frozen peas, cheese blocks and shredded cheese, bread
rolls, bacon, chicken tenders, cans of tuna, yoghurt, juice, salsa
Baby essentials: Little One's nappies, Smiling Tums pouches

https://www.canstarblue.com.au/groceries/woolworths-price-cap-groceries/
Woolworths introduces price caps
on essential groceries to help ease
cost of living
Posted by Megan Birot 15/06/2022
Woolworths has announced a price freeze on almost 200 ‘essential’ products until
the end of 2022, in a bid to ease cost of living pressures for millions of Aussies.
The price cap will only apply to Woolworths homebrand products including flour,
sugar, eggs, coffee and tea, pasta, frozen peas, cheese blocks, as well as baby
essentials like nappies and food pouches, and cleaning products like laundry
powder, garbage bags, and dishwashing liquids.
Shoppers were formally notified of the price cap via email correspondence from
the supermarket giant’s CEO this week.
“The challenges we’ve worked through together in the last two-plus years have
been unparalleled – from droughts and fires to COVID, floods and supply
shortages and now inflation and the pressure on households’ budgets,”
Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci wrote.
“Most recently, we have seen material inflation in vegetables given the very poor
growing season on the Eastern Seaboard, due to the rain, high humidity, and low
light levels – hence what you may see on cucumbers, capsicums, and lettuces
amongst others.”
“Incidentally, our current price for iceberg lettuce on the Eastern
Seaboard is between $6.00 and $6.90 a head, much higher than we would like,
but our biggest challenge is keeping stock in supply,” the email said.
It comes after Coles also announced its own measure to ease the cost-of-living
crunch, offering shoppers 10% off $100 and $250 Coles Mastercard gift cards,
although there is an added purchase fee and a limit on how many cards you can
buy. The offer is valid until June 21.
Rising grocery prices a concern for the majority of Aussies
A recent Canstar Blue survey found a whopping 71% of Australian shoppers have
noticed an increase in the overall cost of groceries, while over a third (35%)
admitted to having had to cut back on what they normally buy at the supermarket
to combat rising costs − 25% of Aussies now stick to only buying essential items
and no luxuries. Interestingly, over half of Australians (57%) think supermarkets
are using COVID-19 and economic events to introduce unnecessary price
increases.

Your assignment is to answer the following questions. You do not need to copy the
questions into your assignment – doing so will unnecessarily add to your word count.

Question 1 (+/- 500 words)
(a) Who are the key stakeholders in Woolworths’s decision to cap the price of 200 household
items until the end of 2022? Describe at least four stakeholders in terms of how they
affect and are affected by the decision?
(b) Based on your analysis above, evaluate Woolworths’s decision from a utilitarian perspective.

Question 2 (+/- 400 words)
Suppose the competing supermarkets price their products in the normal way, without reacting to
Woolworth's move. Also suppose that inflation will continue at 5% per year for the next two years
until conditions return to normal.
(a) Discuss the losses and gains that Woolworths’s will experience during the inflation period.
(b) Considering Woolworths’s level of market power, which of their stakeholders are likely to
benefit or be harmed as a result of Woolworths’s decision?
(c) Suppose Woolworths’s endures losses during the inflation period. Are there reasons why the
decision may nevertheless be beneficial to the company in the long run?

Question 3 (+/- 300 words)
Considering Woolworth’s decision to price freeze some household items until the end of 2022, what
would an external supplier of fresh vegetables need to ensure when entering a legal agreement to
supply their products to Woolworths?


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