Event: Woolworths

The head of Nine Entertainment sees a “world of growth in publishing” on the horizon backed by laws designed to force tech platforms into commercial deals, even as the network cuts costs across its newsrooms.Parliament passed revamped media bargaining laws last week, clearing the way for levies on global tech platforms that fail to strike deals with Australian news outlets for the use of their journalism.Nine’s chief executive officer, Matt Stanton, told analysts on Wednesday he expected platforms such as Google and Facebook owner Meta to contribute amounts comparable to those under their previous arrangement, struck in 2021.“There’s a number of variables that fly around, not just in news media bargaining, but yes, there is a world of growth in publishing,” Stanton said.He said Nine also had a “good pipeline” of AI deals coming through after recently signing an agreement allowing Microsoft’s Copilot to access content.Sign up for the Breaking News Australia emailThe upbeat outlook comes at a challenging time for the broadcaster and publisher, which is stripping out more than $160m in costs over a three-year period as it revamps its business.Nine recently announced a redundancy program at its Sydney Morning Herald and the Age newsrooms after the metropolitan mastheads were hit by a prolonged, weak advertising market.Nine’s business masthead, the Australian Financial Review, has been spared the cuts and remains a robust revenue earner, according to financial results for the year to 30 June released on Wednesday.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionNine reported broadly flat revenue streams from its publishing arm, and a small decline from its streaming and broadcast unit, despite a record result for Stan. Nine’s television network has been weighed down by a weak advertising market.Stanton said the company was focusing on “growth assets”, which include its newly acquired digital outdoor media company QMS, while…

Ooshies were not just fun to collect – the tiny plastic Disney figurines were powerful enough to move sales between Australia’s supermarket giants.Woolworths Group said on Wednesday that Australian food sales jumped 7.6 per cent in the first eight weeks of the 2027 financial year, with its Ooshies promotion contributing an estimated 1.5 to 2 percentage points of growth. That accelerated from 4.6 per cent sales growth in the 2026 financial year.Chief rival Coles Group felt the other side of the craze. It said a day earlier that supermarket sales rose almost 4 per cent and it gained market share in the year through June, but growth slowed in July amid a “competitor’s collectibles campaign” – a reference to Ooshies.Woolworths’ supermarkets had “a very strong start” to the financial year, Jefferies analysts Michael Simotas and Naveed Fazal Bawa wrote in a note, “with solid underlying growth compounded by the Ooshie benefit”.An Ooshies case. Photo: WoolworthsThe numbers underscore the financial stakes behind what might look like a mere promotional gimmick.The country’s dominant grocers are fighting to lure shoppers at a time when some of Australia’s most vaunted consumer brands are confronting growing public scepticism over pricing. Coles and Woolworths have become lightning rods as cost-of-living pressures and discount scandals fuel anger over whether customers are getting a fair deal.

Woolworths’ latest Disney “Ooshie” collectibles have not only captivated Australian children, they have led to a short-term slump in competitor Coles’ sales.The latest rubber figurine promotion was scheduled to end on Tuesday, but strong customer interest meant Woolworths prematurely ran out of Ooshies a week ago.Coles on Tuesday released its full-year results, showing it had grown supermarket sales and gained market share against Woolworths in the 12 months to June.Growth continued into July but then slumped amid a “competitor’s collectables campaign”, Coles announced.That was a reference to Woolworths’ recent Ooshies promotion of Disney, Marvel and Star Wars characters that could be collected after a customer spent $30.The Coles chief executive, Leah Weckert, said the moderation in sales was a “temporary impact” lasting nearly four weeks. It mostly affected bricks-and-mortar shops rather than online shopping.RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Toner said the impact of the Woolworths campaign could scare Coles investors.Ooshies, designed to fit on to the top of pens or pencils, come in generic packaging. It is not clear what figure you have received until the pack is ripped open, mostly by keen children who then trade the Ooshies at home or school in an attempt to collect all 40 characters.Schoolchildren also stage Ooshie battles where they flick the characters to try to knock down competitors’ figures.Woolworths has hosted dedicated swap meets across the country in recent weeks to help customers complete their collections.Sign up for the Breaking News Australia emailAdult customers have turned to online marketplaces to trade Ooshies. A dedicated Facebook Ooshie swap group added almost 2,500 members in the past week and now has more than 45,000 members.The 2019 Ooshies craze culminated in two farmers destroying a rare lion Ooshie live on TV in a protest against online bullying after they tried to sell it. On Tuesday,…