The environmental grounds on which Coles partially based its decision to quit high volume catalogue printing and letterbox distribution in Australia has been slammed by paper and print industry association, The Real Media Collective.

The supermarket giant announced this week that from September 9 it will no longer print and distribute its weekly catalogue to over seven million Austalian letterboxes which is made possible via a 14,000-strong network of walkers.

The decision is a big hit for IVE Group with executive chairman Geoff Selig telling the Australian Securities Exchange it will strip between $35 million and $40 million from its revenues but says thanks to early planning as COVID-19 hit the company is in a strong position to mitigate the lost revenue.

Coles put the decision down to an increase in online customer engagement due to increased online shopping due to COVID-19, but also said the decision to embrace an enhanced digital strategy would save up to 80,000 trees a year and would be a win for the environment.

Environment card in question

The Real Media Collective CEO Kellie Northwood hit back: “The claim that Coles is stopping production of its supermarket catalogues due to environmental concerns is simply disingenuous.

“For every Coles customer spending 60 seconds browsing a digital catalogue they will emit 12g of CO2 compared to looking at a printed catalogue for a day and only emitting 0.5g of CO2.

“All of Coles catalogues are made from a renewable resource, using bio-diverse and planted forestry principles, and the paper making process is powered by hydro-electricity – paper carries the highest environmental credentials over e-waste and CO2 powered digital streaming.”

Northwood’s message has gained some cut through in the mainstream media, in a win for the printing industry that is constantly faced with the argument that print is bad for the environment.

The Australian newspaper and the Australian Financial Review have both quoted Northwood yesterday on the issue.

She also claimed that at a time of record unemployment, a supermarket retailer like Coles, which has benefited hugely from the pandemic, should consider the effect its decision will have on jobs.

“In an era where Australia is in recession and double-digit unemployment is looming, the impact of Australian job losses should be met with concern, especially when supermarkets have made record profits from the COVID pandemic,” Northwood said.

“Digital media channels reduce local employment and contribution to local economies, and regional economies will suffer the most with major employment for paper manufacture being within Maryvale, Victoria and Boyer, Tasmania.”

“Whilst at times seen as a ‘quick cost out’ or ‘customer data collection’ the long-term ramifications are severe, particularly in economic times of local rebuilding. Australia’s print media channels alone, excluding design and editorial, employ 258,000 Australians across metropolitan and regional locations, skilled and unskilled labour sources.”

Internet connectivity concerns

Northwood also pointed to how customers would be effected by no longer receiving a physical catalogue in the mail.

“We know that a lot of Australians rely on catalogues to plan and budget for their weekly shopping, both for themselves and their families, there are many Australians who are being left behind by big brands and digital social exclusion is a growing divide. With this example, our most vulnerable, will not have access to the best offers from Coles Supermarket catalogues once they go online,” she said.

Northwood said Australian Bureau of Statistics data and the Australian Digital Inclusion Index (ADII) report indicate that over 2.5 million do not have internet connectivity in their homes and more than four million Australians access the internet solely through a mobile connection.

In 2019, mobile-only users have an ADII score of 43.7, some 18.2 points lower than the national average (61.9), she said.

Effectiveness of print

Northwood also pointed out that printed catalogues are one of the only media channels to have grown in the past seven years.

“The media landscape in recent years has experienced digital disruption, and all channels have their place in the marketing mix, however digital media often report on percentage – 50% increases, whereas when that is equated to actual Australians reading and engaging the real number is low,” she said.

“When compared to catalogues, few channels have the numbers.

“Of the 13.4 million Australians who have read a hardcopy or online catalogue, 11.2 million have read a printed catalogue whereas only 334,000 have read an online catalogue. And Supermarkets are one of the strongest performers, with 86% of Australians who have read a printed catalogue reading supermarket catalogues and 8.6 million people say catalogues are the media most useful when purchasing groceries.” 

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