Woolworths was trying to get a one-up on their competition by opening up their stores early on Anzac Day but as a result, they could now be facing a hefty $2.5 million fine.
The supermarket giant was found to have breached the strict Anzac Day trading restrictions in New South Wales, where the law states that Coles, Aldi and Woolworths are not allowed to open before 1pm, or have staff enter stores before this time.
But according to news.com.au some Woolies stores across the state let their staff in as early as 9am to get ahead on preparing roast chickens, bakery items and deli displays.
Staff were not allowed to legally enter the stores before 1pm this year, or prepare, receive or unpack any items.
A Woolworths spokeswoman wrote in a statement: “Clear direction was given to stores that volunteer salaried managers were allowed to enter and undertake certain limited preparations for opening at 1:00pm.”
“This is in line with the NSW regulations. We were keen to ensure our customers’ shopping experience today, as on all days, met their expectations.”
As proof of the breach, there are multiple images of food items with time-stamps well before 1pm at stores including Casula, Richmond and Engadine.
Bread baked at 12.47pm in Richmond.
Chicken time-stamped at 11.44am in Engadine.
Woolworths competitor Coles wrote in a statement that they’d abided by the 1pm restriction laws, saying that as a result, some of their products, including roast chicken and freshly baked bread, weren’t available for a couple of hours after opening.
“While our stores in NSW were allowed to open from 1:00pm on Anzac Day, the NSW government would not allow our team members into stores before we opened so that we could prepare for our customers,” a Coles spokesman said.
“Unfortunately this meant that some products including roast chickens and store-baked bread were not available for a few hours after our NSW stores had opened.”
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