Overview Key strengths Key risks Strong market position in the concentrated supermarket sector in Australia and New Zealand. Persistent competitive pressures in the Australian supermarket sector, resulting in the need to compete on price to defend market share. Predominant exposure to the resilient nondiscretionary food and retail staples segments. Earnings pressure from elevated operational costs and persistent challenges in the New Zealand Food and BIG W divisions. Hard-to-replicate Australian supermarket network, which creates significant barriers to entry. Large, ongoing capital expenditure (capex) requirements. Supportive financial policy with a commitment to an investment-grade rating. A review by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission recommended largely incremental rather than drastic measures, such as forced divestitures. Accordingly, while the changes should promote improvements
