Woman accuses Woolworths of 'blatant profiteering' after filming baby formula rort
A woman has accused a group of shoppers of buying bags of tinned baby formula at Woolworths, despite the supermarket’s two-tin policy.
And after raising her concerns with Woolworths, she has been told the customers are entitled to return to the store as many times as they want to buy more tins.
She labelled Woolworths’ response as “blatant profiteering”.
The woman recorded on camera her confrontation with the group, whom she said were “stacking up” trolleys full of what she claims was baby formula outside Woolworths.
The video, which was shared to social media on Saturday morning, shows filled trolleys and jeeps lined up outside the Chadstone store, in Melbourne’s southeast.
The woman can be seen reprimanding the shoppers for buying bulk baby formula.
“You aren’t allowed to do this,” she tells them.
Baby formula is a lucrative market for overseas buyers, with reports revealing one-kilogram tins bought locally for up to $35 were being resold to overseas consumers for about $100.
The customer shared her video to the Woolworths Facebook page, urging the supermarket giant to “toughen up” on the practice.
“When I arrived this morning outside there were a team of people running in and out buying baby formula in bulk and filling more than 10 shopping trolleys outside,” she wrote in the video caption.
‘Woolworths says it’s ok – what a joke!’
“When I spoke to the onsite authority in Woolworths they insisted that it was ok to do 2 per transaction for as many times as they want - what a joke.”
Some who watched the video said those in the video were not breaking any rules, as the limit was two tins per transaction, not two per person per day.
A Woolworths representative commented on the thread confirming a “two-tin purchase limit” had been introduced to help manage the supply issues.
“We do stock a wide range of baby formula and our stores continue to have many leading brands available on our shelves for parents,” the supermarket added.
“We encourage any parents who find their chosen baby formula is unavailable on the shelf to speak with the store manager, so we can help get stock for them as quickly as possible.”
Woolworths has been contacted for comment.
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