Woolworths and Coles will no longer stock Australia Day merchandise

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The lead up to Australia Day will look different in supermarkets this year with Coles and Woolworths confirming they'll no longer be stocking merchandise in relation to Australia Day.

Transcript

00:00 The Australia Day has been taking a bit of a different shape in the last few years.

00:05 Celebrations for the day seem to be fading out in certain pockets of society.

00:11 Woolworths have said that they will no longer be stocking extra merchandise in any of their

00:15 stores right across the country.

00:17 Woolworths spokesperson have said that while Australian flags are sold all year round in

00:22 Big W stores, it's the extra merchandise that won't be sold in stores leading up to January

00:29 26.

00:30 They added that there has been a gradual decline in the demand for Australia Day themed merchandise

00:36 over the last few years.

00:38 They also recognised that there's been a broader discussion around January 26 and what it means

00:43 to different people in the community.

00:47 Coles have said that they will be stocking a small range of Australian merchandise throughout

00:51 January.

00:52 They said it is popular with their customers for sporting events like tennis or cricket.

00:58 This isn't the first time we've seen a major retailer boycott Australian themed merchandise.

01:04 Kmart last year announced that they wouldn't be selling any Australia Day merchandise leading

01:10 up to January 26.

01:12 That decision caused quite a bit of controversy and backlash.

01:15 It's going to be interesting to see whether the same reaction is felt here with Coles

01:20 and Woolworths deciding to pull their Australia Day merchandise.

01:24 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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