Ann: FY24 Half Year Results Presentation, page-2

While COL/WOW and even Aldi would also be suffering in this regard, 1H 24 price inflation for MTS' supermarkets means that the ex-tobacco sales increase of 6pc (page 7 of the presentation) really resulted in revenue going backwards.

The hardware result isn't great.

It's clear that MTS' retailers (some IGA stores being company owned) are suffering from the ongoing decline in tobacco sales. Competition from many small retailers who illegally sell chop-chop, and have no compunction about selling vapes to minors, can't be helping.

Nonetheless there are some good points.

I was recently in an IGA store in Port Fairy, Victoria that has a monopoly in this trendy, popular holidaymaking town:

https://www.iga.com.au/stores/port-fairy-iga/

The IGA was supposedly smaller format, but it had an excellent range. We had to buy numerous vegetables for a group we were helping to host: every veggie was fresh, and prices surprisingly reasonable. The store was doing a constant trade, and had been renovated within the last few years.

In Sydney and Melbourne the number of larger format IGAs is sparse, but where they exist, many shoppers are aware IGAs range items/brands that are never or rarely found in Aldi. Cosco, WOW or COL.