Eureka Operations Pty Ltd (
trading as
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market (economics), market.
An early form of trade, barter, s ...
Coles Express) is an Australian chain of
convenience
Convenient procedures, products and services are those intended to increase ease in accessibility, save resources (such as time, effort and energy) and decrease frustration. A modern convenience is a labor-saving device, service or substance ...
stores at
Shell Australia
Shell Australia is the Australian subsidiary of Shell. Shell has operated in Australia since 1901, initially delivering bulk fuel into Australia, then establishing storage and distribution terminals, oil refineries, and a network of service stat ...
petrol stations. Its operations are managed by
Coles.
The business venture and corresponding fuel discount offer was launched in July 2003 in response to the similar offer by rival
Woolworths some years earlier, proving attractive to shoppers.
Wesfarmers
Wesfarmers Limited is an Australian conglomerate, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. It has interests predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, operating in retail, chemical, fertiliser, industrial and safety products. With revenue o ...
purchased the retail business of Shell Australia multi-site franchisees in 2003 for
A$94 million. Shell is the exclusive supplier of fuel products, leases the service station property to Coles, and maintains the presence of the "pecten" and other Shell branding on the price board and other signage.
In August 2014, Shell sold its
Geelong Oil Refinery
The Geelong Oil Refinery is an oil refinery owned and operated by Viva Energy in Corio near Geelong in the Australian state of Victoria. In 2017, it was Australia's second-largest oil refinery, able to process 7.5 billion litres of crude oil pe ...
and Australian petrol stations for $2.9 billion to
Vitol
Vitol is a Swiss-based multinational energy and commodity trading company that was founded in Rotterdam in 1966 by Henk Viëtor and Jacques Detiger. Though trading, logistics and distribution are at the core of its business, these are complemente ...
.
Vitol operates these assets as
Viva Energy
Viva Energy () is an Australian company that owns the Geelong Oil Refinery and retails Shell-branded fuels across Australia under a license agreement. It also owns and retails Liberty Oil and Woodside Petroleum-branded service stations. In total ...
, which maintains Shell branding on its service stations under a brand licence arrangement.
Approximately 270 independently franchised Shell service stations remain unassociated with Coles Express where the fuel discount offer is not accepted.
History
The Coles Express brand originally referred to a small number of medium-sized supermarkets Coles ran in the
central business district
A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...
s of
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
and
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
. With the launch of Coles' fuel offer, these were rebranded as Coles Central with the service stations taking the Coles Express branding.
The current Coles Express chain began at more than 150 service stations in
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
on 28 July 2003. After this initial trial, it was followed by a national roll-out from 1 December the same year, starting with
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, and completed in mid-2004. The initial success of the discount offer saw fuel shortages in Victoria after the offer began in New South Wales – where Shell's busiest sites are located – as Shell failed to cope with the distribution of a 30 percent increase in demand.
As at July 2021, there were 723 Coles Express service stations and stand-alone convenience sites across Australia. All former Shell multi-site franchisee sites became Coles Express stores. This transition included the petrol stations and stand-alone Shell Select convenience stores in Melbourne's CBD (which closed by December 2006).
On 20 February 2006, 90 vehicle servicing bays at Coles Express service stations (formerly part of Shell's Autoserv and AutoCare network) became
Kmart Tyre & Auto Service
Kmart Australia Limited ( /ˈkeɪmɑːrt/ ''KAY-mart'', doing business as Kmart, Kmart Australia, Kmart New Zealand and Kmart Australia And New Zealand and stylised as ''Kmart'') is an Australian chain of department stores owned by the Kmart G ...
outlets.
In 2018 Coles Express started trialling standalone convenience sites in Victoria.
Coles and Viva Energy alliance
On 6 February 2019 Coles Express announced a new alliance partnership with their fuel partner
Viva Energy
Viva Energy () is an Australian company that owns the Geelong Oil Refinery and retails Shell-branded fuels across Australia under a license agreement. It also owns and retails Liberty Oil and Woodside Petroleum-branded service stations. In total ...
(Shell). Under the agreement Viva Energy is responsible for setting the price of fuel and receives the retail fuel margin. Coles Express receives a commission per litre from Viva Energy based on fuel volumes achieved and has no direct exposure to retail fuel price movements.
In addition to setting fuel pricing Viva Energy is the exclusive supplier of fuel, oil and lubricants. Viva also maintains it
pecten and Shell branding as well as all fuel dispensing equipment.
Coles Express is responsible for the maintenance of the retail store (including in-store pricing) and the everyday needs of the business.
In September 2022 Coles Group announced it had agreed terms with Viva Energy to sell the Coles Express retail business. As part of the deal
Flybuys will remain a partner and Coles will continue stocking its own-branded products. The deal which is subject to approval by the
Australian Competition & Consumer Commission
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is the chief competition regulator of the Government of Australia, located within the Department of the Treasury. It was established in 1995 with the amalgamation of the Australian Tra ...
and the
Foreign Investment Review Board
The Australian Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), "examines proposals by foreign persons to invest in Australia and makes recommendations to the Treasurer on those subject to the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 and Australia's for ...
is scheduled to be completed in the second half of 2023.
Fuel discount offer
Current fuel discount offers
When a customer spends over a qualifying amount in one transaction at
Coles Supermarkets
Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Coles, is an Australian supermarket, retail and consumer services chain, headquartered in Melbourne as part of the Coles Group.
Founded in 1914 in Collingwood by George Coles, Coles operates ...
, Coles Central or
Coles Online
Coles Online is an online retail site worked by Coles Supermarkets. The administration offers a wide scope of ordinary basic food item items for buy by means of the web and resulting home conveyance or "Click and Collect" areas. The administrati ...
, they are entitled to a fuel discount of 4c per litre or 8 bonus Flybuys points per litre at Coles Express. This discount is obtained by providing a discount voucher, printed at the bottom of their receipt, and includes all Shell fuels. Coles Express also offers a 10c per litre discount on all Shell fuels when a customer spends $20 or more on qualify products in store, this can be used in addition to the 4c per litre discount voucher.
All discount fuel offers or bonus points offers do not apply to Shell Card, Fleet Card, WEX Motorpass or Motorcharge transactions.
Previous fuel discount offerings
An additional bonus discount was introduced in late 2006, with a further 2c per litre fuel discount when customers spent $2 in-store in the one transaction.
The offer was made permanent in April 2007 after rival
Caltex Woolworths
EG Australia is the Australian subsidiary of British company EG Group which operates the EG Ampol chain of petrol stations, selling Ampol (formerly Caltex Australia) fuel at its stations. , there are over 540 EG Ampol petrol stations. The servic ...
created a similar offer of an additional 4c discount if customers spend $5 in the one transaction at their petrol stations. The 2c per litre finished on 1 February 2013.
Coles Express now offers a "Spend $20 and Save 10 cents per litre" this was launched to an "Everyday" offer in late 2015 and has continued since, variations of this deal are offered occasionally e.g. Buy product X for X dollars and save X cents per litre.
Other variations of the fuel offer have been offered from time to time including:
*In the lead-up to Christmas 2006, the 4c offer increased to 10c for customers spending $80 and over in one transaction at Coles Supermarkets; this offer was extended for a further short time in attempt to boost Coles' sales figures.
*
Liquorland
LiquorLand (sometimes referred to as Liquorland) and Henry's Beer, Wine & Spirits (sometimes shortened to Henry's) are franchises of independently owned bottle shops around New Zealand, operated by Foodstuffs. The stores sell a range of beer, w ...
has offered a 20c-per-litre discount offer when customers purchase six bottles of wine in one transaction.
*
Kmart Tyre & Auto Service
Kmart Australia Limited ( /ˈkeɪmɑːrt/ ''KAY-mart'', doing business as Kmart, Kmart Australia, Kmart New Zealand and Kmart Australia And New Zealand and stylised as ''Kmart'') is an Australian chain of department stores owned by the Kmart G ...
has offered a 30c-per-litre discount offer when customers purchased four certain tyres in one transaction.
Gallery
File:Coles-express-clontarf-queensland.JPG, Coles Express on Hornibrook Esplanade, Clontarf, Queensland
Clontarf is a coastal suburb in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Clontarf had a population of 8,279 people.
Clontarf is in the south-west of the Redcliffe Peninsula, approximately by road north-northeast of Brisbane, th ...
File:Coles Express Burwood Highway Vermont South.jpg, Coles Express on Burwood Highway
Burwood Highway is a major transportation link with Melbourne, Melbourne's eastern suburbs. It begins in the suburb of Kooyong, Victoria, Kooyong, Melbourne at the junction of the Monash Freeway as Toorak Road between Monash Freeway and Warriga ...
, Vermont South
Vermont South is a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, 20 km east of its Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District. It had a population of 11,954 at the .
The eastern boundary is Dandenong Creek, which flows from the Dandenong Ranges th ...
, Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
File:Coles Express Elizabeth Street Hobart.jpg, Coles Express/Hungry Jack's
Hungry Jack's Pty Ltd. is an Australian fast food franchise of the Burger King Corporation. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Competitive Foods Australia, a privately held company owned by Jack Cowin. Hungry Jack's owns and operates or sub-l ...
on Elizabeth Street, Hobart
Elizabeth Street is the major street which runs southeast to northwest through the city and suburbs of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It was named by the Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821, Lachlan Macquarie, after his wife Elizabe ...
.
References
External links
Coles Express
{{Authority control
Automotive fuel retailers in Australia
Coles Group
Companies based in Melbourne
Convenience stores
2003 establishments in Australia