Coles and Woolies branded "price gougers" by disgruntled shopper
It's no secret that while millions of Aussies are struggling to put food on the table during the ongoing cost of living crisis, supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths are raking in record-breaking profits.
While the unreasonable inflation of grocery prices is endlessly frustrating, it seems as though there's nothing everyday shoppers can do to avoid the price increases.
But that didn't stop one frustrated Aussie from making a statement against the supermarket chains.
The man from Sydney shared a video of him targeting Coles and Woolies shops in the Eastern Suburbs, as he chose to rephrase their taglines.
Heading to a Woolies Metro in Bondi Junction, he printed on the logo, "The price gouge people", playing on their slogan of "The fresh food people".
He then went to Coles in Rose Bay, reprinting their logo of the pointed down hand with the phrase, "Down, down, morality down", referencing the "down, down, prices are down" jingle.
The posted a video of his antics to Instagram, captioning his antics, "So over this bull***t duopoly that Australia just puts up with for some reason. Using inflation as a smoke screen to rake in billions by price gouging people during a cost of living crisis."
"There’s a reason why Coles and Woolworths make double the profit margins of other supermarkets in comparable markets overseas. 2/3 domination of our market leaves battlers with no time to seek out alternatives, no choice but to give into their greed."
The video was quickly met with a flood of support, with one person writing, "When you inevitably get a fine for this, please put up a GoFundMe on Reddit and I will donate to cover part of the cost. Thanks for doing something more people should be doing!"
Another person wrote, "I love how you can hold some tools and wear high-vis and nobody blinks and eye in this country", while several more commenters dubbed the man a "legend".
Speaking to Yahoo News, Woolworths confirmed that the new signage had been removed from their Bondi store, and said they are committed to helping families during the cost of living crisis.
"We're acutely aware of the pressure that's being placed on Australian families through cost of living increases, whether they are our customers or our team members," a spokesperson said.
"And we're doing more everyday to help customers spend less with us."
A spokesperson for Coles also told Yahoo, "We know cost-of-living pressures are front-of-mind for our customers and are always looking for ways to help their dollars stretch further. This week, Coles announced it will bring down the price of more than 500 products for at least three months."
"We value feedback from our customers, and encourage them to let us know about their shopping experience through our normal feedback channel – Tell Coles – or through our dedicated customer care team."
Image credits: Instagram