Aldi latest to drop Australia Day merchandise
Aldi is the latest retailer to confirm it will not be stocking an Australia Day range ahead of the public holiday later this month.
The supermarket declined to comment on the decision, which will see Australia Day-themed merchandise absent from its Special Buy collection in late January.
It follows an announcement from Woolworths Group on Wednesday that the business, which also owns BIG W, would not be selling merchandise related to January 26 in its stores.
“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 told Mumbrella in a statement.
Woolworths Group attributed the decision to a “gradual decline in demand” for Australia Day merchandise, as well as “broader discussions” about what January 26 means to different parts of the community.
Coles Group yesterday confirmed it would not be following suit.
In a statement shared to Mumbrella, a spokesperson for the supermarket giant said: “We are stocking a small range of Australian-themed summer entertaining merchandise throughout January which is popular with our customers for sporting events such as the cricket and tennis, as well as for the Australia Day weekend.”
Last year, Kmart became the first major retailer to pull its Australia Day collection, citing the changing community sentiment towards the national holiday.
“We respect that January 26 means different things to different people and we aim to foster an environment that is inclusive and respectful of both our customers and teams,” a spokesperson said in 2023.
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