Woolworths announces abrupt departure of chief marketing officer Tony Phillips
Woolworths chief marketer Tony Phillips is leaving the company with immediate effect as new MD of food and liquor Brad Banducci looks to move away from a purely price-driven marketing strategy.
The former Coles executive has been in the role for only 15 months.
He becomes the latest CMO to leave the company after only a short time in the role.
Phillips’ sudden departure comes soon after the company was castigated on social media for a marketing campaign which linked the brand to Anzac war heroes although there is no suggestion that was the catalyst for his exit.
Never nice to hear of someone losing their job so abruptly, and imagining the unspoken realities of the impact on their personal life. This holds true in Tony’s case, albeit that this is what happens when you dance with the devil …
Let’s be clear – this announcement says a lot more about WW’s than it does about Phillips.
however much you polish a turd, it’s still a turd… meaning your customers aren’t stupid. They know you’re ripping off the farmer, who is ripping off the 457 visa/tourist picker, and freezing the shit out of fruit n veg only to go rotten after two days in the fruit bowl. Yes your shitty Ireland baked bread is sub a dollar which tastes like shit and full of salt n sugar. You think your smart by introducing automatic checkout computers and sacking the 15 year check out staff but your only alienating your customers…I can guarantee everyone who does their own checkout is thinking ‘bullshit’ service and wtf with the price of packet of strawberries…. if you want to increase market share, concentrate on customer service, quality products and less marketing bullshit… no one and i mean no one is thinking…”i think ill shop at woolies cause i like the jingle and the birds”…
The next CMO appointment will be the fifth in 4 years.In the same period they have worked with 3 different agencies.
In that 4 years they have also constantly employed high priced marketing consultants.
And still they lose share.
What or who is their problem?
What or who is their problem?
Saw.
This.
Coming.
A.
Mile.
Away.
“Cheap, cheap” is a complete strategic mistake. Everyone wants “good value” food. Not even the poor want “cheap food”.
Still, knowing WW he will have been brought in to clone Coles, then got shot for doing so.
WW.. what f*ckers. good case study in how to self-destroy a dominant market position, rather than capitalise on it
I don’t really understand “However, while far from abandoning the price message, Banducci is keen to put a greater emphasis on the customer experience, leaving the two senior executives ad odds as to the future direction of the company.”
Given Grant O’Brien (CEO/MD) has stated publicly Woolworths is investing in price (i.e. lowering their profit margin – because they’re seen as expensive compared to Coles) I don’t really understand what they’re trying to achieve.
The first, immediate and only problem to fix is that customers see them as more expensive that Coles. Real or imagined there’s no point ‘improving the customer experience’ (whatever they believe that to mean) until they fix the price ‘problem’.
Every single one of my Woolworths shares has lost $10 in value over the past year. Now they’re Cheap Cheap at only $29 each.
Some companies don’t have to market their products / service / experience: because they rock.
Woolies need to strip out execs, [edited by Mumbrella] and start caring about the communities they service, both on the customer and provider side. Middle men can be disrupted and Woolies are a sitting duck.
[Edited by Mumbrella]
Woolworths made a huge mistake when they didn’t give Greg Foran the top job. Now he is running Walmart in the U.S. And Woolworths executive suite is becoming a killing field. The person who made the stupid Foran decision should be unemployable now. Hopefully Walmart will end up buying Woolworths one day, and Karma will prevail.
Granted, the “cheap, cheap” campaign has been a) a poor clone of Coles’ “down Down” campaign and b) as effective as a damp squip, but as CEO, Grant O”Brien must have signed it off. Ultimately responsibility for Woolies’ poor performance must rest with him, not the marketing chief, or not only the marketing chief.. Agree with comments above that even if trying to change price perceptions is the right way to go, the use of the term “cheap” is completely wrong. Suggest they focus on “value” instead.
Ouch has nailed it.
We go to Coles or Aldi as a preference as they appear to be more genuine.
Tony Philips is an excellent executive full stop. Im sure Tony will shine in a new opportunity.
@Groucho. I hope not, then Woolies will lobby to bring down the minimum wage and their employees (working for a grocery chain) could be on food stamps… 😉
This space can be seriously disrupted. Granted the supply chain processes are expensive and scale is on their side, however farmers are p1ssed off and customers can be won. Exciting times.
Having personally worked on this account and resigning also after a short period of time, it’s obvious that they are a company who are not invested in people at every level. Sadly I am also one of many who have similar stories having worked for them!
They are (to date) the most awful account I have ever worked on an clearly Tony had a similar experience!
It’s no secret to other businesses and industries: happy staff = hard motivated workers = high quality work output = increased success in business objectives.
Money doesn’t make the world go around – people do!
As someone who worked on the account back in the 90’s I can’t say i’m a fan of the recent work, The Fresh Food People positioning has been abandoned in reality (running a few ads occasionally doesn’t wash) leaving them without a position in the market. This lack of ‘brand space’ means they will always be compared on price to the two price players being Aldi and Coles….and they lose
Why do that versus communicating via owned/earned media with the loyal customers on how cheap they are making them advocates and running ‘get a friebd to shop with us’ promotions…or any other way of working the community you paid so much to build.
Don’t get Cheap Cheap versus Red Spot Specials, don’t get how cold the layouts are, don’t get how they are so reactive now, don’t get their lack of customer attention.
Sad really, a badly lead company basically waiting to be picked off….
#16 I think the reality is that Woolworths know they can’t really position themselves as the Fresh Food people – especially with their Fruit & Veg offer being what it is. They may have got away with this positioning back in the 90s when many people didn’t seem to know better or care but not now.
I watched MKR most of this season and it was extremely uncommon to see the contestants buying meat, fish or fruit and veg at Coles even though Coles were a major sponsor.
I think the ‘price’ issue for Woolworths is probably more perception than reality however perception is reality in this case.
Not sure which was worse actually. The ‘fresh food people’ selling 10 month cold store fruit and veggies or the ‘cheap cheap cheap’ strategy when clearly they weren’t.
Truth in advertising, ha. Biggest mistakes in retail: (1) underestimate and ignore your customers, (2) screw your suppliers AND your staff so everyone is disgruntled and then fail to comment when the media lambasts you for all of the above. Bye bye market share. Oops. Better fire someone.
But the upside is we long ago discovered the joys of Aldi, Harris Farm and local growers markets. This punter will never darken their door again.
Ever since Woolies moved out to that vast Taj Mahal at Bella Vista, an $80 cab ride from anywhere, they’ve become arrogant, out of touch, almost detached from the real world. In the Roger Corbett days their offices were on top of the shop in central Sydney. Now there’s a true retailer.
Any sense of how this connects with internal politics played out in the executive washroom following the Fresh in our Memories immolation?
these are the same people who in recent times have ploughed $3Billion into the doomed Masters concept. Way to self destruct Woolies.. couldn’t happen to a more deserving crew
#revolvingdoor
#19 I imagine Bella Vista keeps the skinny jean creatives a reasonable distance away from their offices which can never be a bad thing.
Truth be told I think there’s something in the fact that they’re so far away from everywhere else and how it clouds the judgement. The Bella Vista offices are nice in a clinical Hospital sort of way.
#21 There’s the Masters debacle which in itself is diabolical but lets not forget selling DSE for under $100million – its market cap today is over $500 million.
Woolworths themselves had a book value on it of over $440m before they sold it for a song.
The culture at Woolworth’s is the pits….. If anyone dug a little further I imagine Tony is only one of a very large number of Executives who simply can’t do their jobs due to a backward, ego driven, incapable WW Exec team.
Looks like the house brand strategy is a dud.
So glad.