Coles called out over controversial aisle sign: 'Isn't that racist?'

Reddit users have questioned Coles after a shopper shared a photo of a controversial aisle sign in one of the supermarket chain's Melbourne stores.

“How are these three categories related..?” asked the shocked Coles customer in his post.

The photo in question shows the sign for aisle 10 of a Melbourne Coles store, which lists three different product categories that shoppers can find in the aisle: “Cat food”, “Dog food” and “Asian”.

Reddit users voice anger over 'racist' Coles sign

Thousands of Melbourne Reddit responded to the image, with some saying the Coles sign perpetuates racist stereotypes about Asian people.

“Yo, that’s racist,” commented one user.

“I'm not exactly the most PC person around but um... isn't that kind of a racist implication?” chimed a second.

While a third responded: “Pointing out a potentially harmful stereotype isn’t being PC”.

Shoppers defend Coles staff for mistake

However not everyone was convinced the sign was an act of “casual racism”, with dozens claiming it was likely just overlooked by Coles staff.

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“It's honestly probably a case of incompetency and not thinking about stuff really vs being racist,” commented one Redditor.

Others suggested people were pulling the “racist card”, when Coles was probably merely in the midst of rearranging the aisles.

“Likely, they're moving stuff around and doing it over a few days, so come back in a week and it's probably going to be different again. Our Coles reshuffle shelving all the time,” said one shopper.

“Can confirm. I do merchandising. Give it a week and it’ll be different,” confirmed a retail worker in response.

Coles responds to controversial aisle signs

A Coles spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia the supermarket has more than 800 stores across Australia, each with different layouts, and accommodating a wide range of product categories is challenging.

The spokesperson advised the signage at the store has already been corrected.

“While we would typically aim to ensure special ranges, such as Asian or other international foods, are located within the grocery section. In some smaller stores or where aisles are split, they may be found in a different area,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that the store has “split aisles” at each end to help customers navigate the store, meaning the differing products are not arranged close to one another on the shelves.

“So, while the signage appeared to show pet food and Asian food located next to each other, they are actually in very separate sections,” clarified the spokesperson.

“We’ve reviewed our in-store signage and will continue to look for ways to make it easy for customers to navigate our stores and find the products they are looking for.”

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