Woolworths supermarket’s share price has suffered a swift decline this month, following its decision to dump Australia Day merchandise from its stores head of January 26.
Former Liberal MP Craig Kelly blasted the supermarket giant on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, claiming on the social media platform the controversial move had wiped “$2 billion” off the company’s value.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Marketing expert slams former MP Craig Kelly claiming Woolworths share price was a result of it dumping Australia Day merchandise.
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Kelly said it was a case of the adage “go woke, go broke”, but marketing expert Dee Madigan disagreed, denying the claim companies suffered from backlash from going public with their progressive politics.
Appearing on Sunrise on Thursday, Dee said: “Remember when Nike had the adverts with Colin (NFL star Colin Kaepernick) who refused to stand for the (US) national anthem?
“All these people booed Nike shoes — saying this will be the end of Nike — and of course, it wasn’t.”
Dee said a company’s politics only became an issue it shied away from its progressive campaign.
Dee then used transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney and Budweiser Light as an example.
Dylan famously promoted the American beer, which then prompted a widespread boycott, and a crashing of the company’s share value.
“The only danger for brands is when, like Budweiser Light, they get scared of the backlash and pull it, then you get the backlash from both sides,” she said.
Dee claimed the bigger problem was Australians concerned about supermarket practices with farmers.
“This is why Craig Kelly is so wrong — correlation is not causation — Australians are much more concerned farmers are getting paid so little, yet consumers are being charged so much,” Dee said.
“I would say the share price dropping is so much more about the fact there’s going to be senate inquiries into it (prices) and supermarkets may have to behave a little better.”
Woolworths share price has suffered a downward trend since the shock Australia Day announcement — with Woolworths share price at $35.49 on Wednesday, with its previous close at $35.66.
“Go woke, go broke: $2 billion wiped off the value of Woolworths shares,” Kelly said on X (formerly Twitter).
“Since announcing their ban on selling Australia Day merchandise, Woolworths shares have crashed 4.47% — that’s around $2 billion wiped off the value of the Woolworths shares.”
“Woolworths not only down, but down considerably compared to ASX200.”
In a much-maligned decision by the supermarket giant, it announced it would dump Australia Day merchandise, ahead of the national holiday on January 26, earlier this month.
In a statement to 7NEWS.com.au, a spokesperson said Woolworths and BIG W would not be stocking items specific to Australia Day in 2024.
“While Australian flags are sold within BIG W all year round, we don’t have any additional themed merchandise available to purchase in-store in our Supermarkets or BIG W ahead of Australia Day,” a Woolworths Group spokesperson said.
“There has been a gradual decline in demand for Australia Day merchandise from our stores over recent years. At the same time there’s been broader discussion about 26 January and what it means to different parts of the community.
“We know many people like to use this day as a time to get together and we offer a huge variety of products to help customers mark the day as they choose.
“Woolworths and BIG W celebrate the best of Australia every day, and we’re proud to support the farmers, producers, and suppliers who work with us.”
While no additional Australia Day-themed merchandise is available in the group’s physical stores, My Deal, which is part of Woolworths Group, continues to sell some Australia Day-themed products online through third-party sellers for customers who would like to purchase them.
Woolworths has also clarified that its retail teams will have the choice to work on January 26 if they are rostered on, as is the policy for all public holidays.
All other Woolworths teams in support offices will take the public holiday.
In 2023, Kmart confirmed that it would no longer sell Australia Day merchandise in any of its stores.
In contrast, Coles has confirmed that it will continue to sell a “small range” of merchandise in 2024 — controversially bucking the trend set by Kmart and now Woolworths.
In recent years, there have been calls for Australia Day to be moved to a different date or abolished altogether.
The viewpoint is most commonly held in protest to Australia’s colonial history — with many people believing January 26 to be “Invasion Day” as it was the date the First Fleet sailed into Sydney Cove and raised the British flag.
