12 December 2016

Customers rush to Coles Civic on opening day

| Charlotte
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Down, down, toilet paper's down

Down down, toilet paper’s down! Which is OK, because if the worst that happens on a big store’s opening day is that a display of loo rolls collapses in the middle of the lunch-time rush, things are going well, really, aren’t they?

Crowds

The smiles on the faces of the staff picking up the rolling loo rolls told the story today. A big Coles outlet open in the city, staff from Supabarn back at work after a break while the store was transformed, and customers filling the aisles and their shopping trolleys.

Checkouts

Coles Canberra Centre opened its doors for the first time this morning with a catalogue full of bargains, several birthday parties’ worth of balloons and a couple of girls with big Coles signs strapped to their backs walking the streets to promote it all.

spruikers

I popped in to have a look on the way back from a press conference and found myself taken in by a young woman spruiking Coles brand flat bread and dips the second I walked in.

Coles Civic

Another staff member was baking the flat bread a couple of metres from where she stood and warm bags full of it sat enticingly within reach. It was so good, I bought some to complement my home-cooked curry lunch back at the office.

Self serve

I’ll miss Supabarn’s more diverse range of produce, and that sense that by shopping there I was supporting a local business, but it was great to see all those workers enjoying being part of something new today, too.

Catalogues

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