Speaking at a strategy briefing day, John Durkan, the Managing Director of Coles said that Coles Liquor remains on-track to deliver on the five-year transformation plan and that there would be a continued focus on store investment. “Beyond supermarkets, we are continuing our journey to transform our liquor business and improve our Coles Express convenience offer,” Durkan said. “On liquor there has been a strong execution on the transformation strategy to date; a solid foundation has been built and we are proud to be delivering a more consistent experience for our customers.

We are continuing to invest in our store network, with the next evolution of the Liquorland format having been trialled successfully. “There is still plenty of opportunities for us to deliver greater value and a better offering to our customers through improving our exclusive brand portfolio and liquor direct. These are two areas where we continue to build a point of difference. Currently, Liquorland has the fastest click and collects an offering in the market and it now makes up more than 60 percent of all Liquorland online orders.”

Durkan also outlined how Coles is planning an anytime, anywhere shopping experience for its customers through investment across a number of channels. “We are making significant investments in providing our customers with innovative home delivery and pick-up solutions.

We are building an extensive click and collect network across all our brands and providing customers with an array of options like in-store service desk grocery pick-up, concierge pick-up, click and collect at Coles Express sites and dedicated click and collect lockers. “We continue to develop our home delivery offer as this part of the business continues to experience significant growth.” Earlier this year Wesfarmers revealed plans to demerge the Coles business and that Durkan would be stepping down after 10 years in senior leadership positions at the business, with former CEO of Supermarkets and Convenience at Metcash, Steven Cain, stepping into the role.

Source: The Shout