As Australia’s supermarkets come under the microscope as part of an ongoing Federal Government Senate Inquiry, ChannelNews reported how the Big W and Woolworths boss – Brad Banducci – is being threatened with prison time over misleading comments.
However, Woolworths has previously courted controversy too. In December, after an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, it received the nod to purchase a 55 per cent stake in Petspiration Group for around A$438 million down from the previous figure of A$586 billion.
The ACCC gave its nod for the deal after Woolies agreed to sell some of the PETStock stores to get the deal over the line.
Now, Australia’s largest dog and cat store Pet O is reported to be on the verge of buying around 40 PETstock stores.
The deal is believed to be in the tens of millions of dollars. Investment bank Jarden has been leading the process of finding a buyer for those stores.
PETstock is Australia’s second-largest speciality pet retailer and has a range of pet products and services which are available both in-store and online.
PETstock has 276 stores, 65 vet clinics and 162 grooming salons.
It was Banducci’s personal ambition that saw Woolies lean into the pet business. Woolies looked at the acquisition as a way to break into the A$10bn specialty pets sector.
Pet tech meanwhile is a very lucrative business as well. The likes of JB Hi-Fi for example have a number of products that range from pet cameras and trackers to toys and accessories.
