Parents outraged after Woolies shoppers continue to buy bulk baby powder
Parents have let rip on Woolworths after more photos of people making bulk purchases of baby formula in breach of the four-tin per-customer limit were posted online.
Demand from China has led to a scarcity of formula in Australia with some shoppers stocking up on tins that sell for around $25 here for resale online at more than double the price.
Mums and dads posted photos to the Woolies Facebook page to show there are still some people appearing to capitalize on Chinese demand in breach of store policy.
One father shopping at a Woolies in Sydney's southeast spotted a woman with several boxes of formula in her trolley.
"I spotted this at your Eastlakes store and was brushed off by staff," the father wrote on the Facebook page.
"Seems it's ok to buy A2 formula in bulk here?"
Woolworths responded on Facebook to apologise and reiterate company policy – which should have been enforced at the store.
"We have implemented a reduced purchase limit of 4 tins per person to try and assist with this issue. We are sending your feedback through to the Store Manager who will definitely be making sure that all staff are enforcing this policy."
Another father in Vermont, east of Melbourne, snapped a similar act of skullduggery.
"Excess baby formula purchasing just then... One family .. 12 tins.. Nice to see you have limits.. Hopefully someone that actually has kids doesn't need to purchase tonight (sic)," the man wrote.
One mother from Burwood in Sydney's west let rip on the supermarket and called for a boycott when she spotted a woman with more than a dozen tins in her cart.
"Disgusting I thought you were only allowed FOUR Tins!!!! I'm boycotting Woolworths and many mums will do the same," she howled.
Other parents were frustrated by apparent price increases in formula despite the apparent shortage. In some cases parents said the price per tin had gone up by $5.
"I am very disappointed to see that not only can you not sufficiently supply us with formula but you feel the need to price gauge us at the same time," wrote one mother.
"How do you justify raising my sons formula by $4 a tin."
Woolworths responded to say the increase was on the supply side, reflecting the "increased cost of supply from the manufacturer and not any increase in Woolworths margin".
Chinese demand for milk formula has been increasing since 2008 after a melamine contamination in local supply killed six infants and caused around 100,000 to fall ill.
