In his update on the Woolworths results Chris Gilmour commented that it is a world-class business and, if located anywhere else, would be "pumping" (If Woolies is trapped in economy’s pincer, then all other retailers are likely to struggle, July 19). He allocates blame to Malusi Gigaba for this. However, Woolworths is short of being a world-class business for a number of reasons. It is also struggling with changing purchasing habits affecting the whole world in the general merchandise and apparel categories. Poor inventory management execution, including: too much space allocated to high-volume, low-margin individual product in fresh [product]; category planning with too little attention paid to profit per square metre; slow shelf refill of limited-space, high-margin fresh product; and product presentation driven by a push-distribution philosophy, or an inadequate supply of product the consumer wants. All of this will lead to depressed sales in food and a loss of margin. Retail indi...
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