They've come out and told the market to expect lower returns...

They've come out and told the market to expect lower returns (christmas is no doubt factored in).

I'm not bearish on this, it has a place in a defensive portfolio due to it's strong moat but there's lots of overhang from questionable corporate choices alienating consumers and despite what people say in these threads the "superior supply chain" does not seem to make some things cheaper.

I can go to the market and get fruit and vegetables of a higher quality for half or sometimes a third of the cost. So @JCoure might talk a bit of smack but he is right about the "price gouging" to some degree. I don't actually think it is price gouging in the classical sense and the average aussie has shifted the blame from government to corporations (it's the money printing) but the question does have to be asked if WOW is being run efficiently enough when it's struggling to compete on price with smaller stores.

They do alright on the pre-packaged processed foods, but there's actually quite a demographic shift away from those at the moment. People are becoming considerably more health conscious. So that trend is worth adapting to and keeping in mind.

For me, I see this as being a good buy at the right price but do not consider the current price "cheap" by any means. It's just less inflated than the previous price, which was because it has held a nice boost to it's SP as it's very defensive and large funds wanted that for good reason.

The bullish case for wow is Australia's huge population increases don't seem to be slowing down, for now.