An angry mother filmed a shocking scene in the Woolworths supermarket as supermarket customers loaded baby formula into their wheelbarrows in blatant defiance of the two cans per person.
On Sunday, Brisbane's mother, Clara Warry-Bush, posted on the Facebook page of the Woolworths supermarket that she had seen "at least six people" loading baby formula into the stroller at Sunnybank Hills's Woolworths supermarket, according to Australian News Corporation. At the same time, there is "a lot of cash to change hands."
"it doesn't include the other two wheelbarrows I saw in the parking lot, filled with milk powder," she wrote. I approached the desk, but was told that the supermarket could not stop them because each customer could only buy two cans of milk powder, but they could go in and out of the supermarket many times. "
"it's disgusting," says Warry-Bush. "your employees have the right to refuse to sell. They sat outside the desk with a clear view. There is no doubt that the supermarket has not done anything to stop it, which makes it very difficult for us to buy milk powder. "
In response, a customer service representative at Woolworths said: "We have introduced a restriction on purchasing only two cans of milk powder per person in stores and online stores across Australia. We understand how frustrating customers can be when they cannot buy the products they need, and we will continue to work with suppliers to increase the supply of these products and find new ways to ensure that families can buy what they need. We have conveyed your feedback to the store management team to remind them of it. "
Over the past two years, videos and photos related to customers snapping up milk powder on supermarket shelves have flooded social media, sparking controversy over "grey market" transactions.
In October, a customer filmed at a Melbourne Coles showed customers taking milk powder directly from the loading tray, which had been snapped up before it was put on the shelf. Last month, Brisbane shoppers filmed several women and rushed into a Coles supermarket to empty the milk powder that had just been placed on the shelf. In August, another mother in Brisbane filmed a group of milk powder buyers, up to eight.
It is estimated that there are 80, 000 Chinese consumers in Australia called "purchasing agents" who buy vitamins, milk powder and other products in Australia and sell them on social media platforms, such as social app, Weibo or online shopping platforms. Some people can earn as much as A $ one hundred thousand a year.
Supermarkets and drugstores have introduced restrictions to appease angry Australian mothers, who have been complaining about shortages since 2015. Even so, daigou has not violated any laws.
Ben Sun, head of marketing consultancy Think China, said the current price of a can of milk powder in China is between A $40 and A $50, a "profit of about 70 to 100 percent" compared to Australian prices of about A $20 to A $23.
He said: "these purchasing agents, go to Coles,Woolworths or Chemist Warehouse to buy goods, we call it grass-roots purchasing agents." They cannot obtain goods directly from brands or dealers. Think about two cans per person, and if they go in and out of the supermarket 20 times, there are 40 cans. Such purchasing agents are usually part-time or sideline, earning between A $20,000 and A $30,000 a year as a part-time job. Purchasing agents earning more than A $ one hundred thousand a year cannot go to Coles or Woolworths to sweep the shelves on their own. "
Sun said grass-roots purchasing agents will "always" exist. "two cans is the best thing to do," he said. "you can't really stop people from buying from retail stores, and you can't judge them according to their race or the language they speak."
He added that the increase in demand is ultimately a good thing because it creates more jobs and business opportunities "as long as we can manage inventories to ensure that Australian mothers are well cared for".
On Facebook, comments from netizens have also been polarized in response to Warry-Bush posts. "this has to be taken seriously!" wrote Toni Saul, but Julie Thomson said employees had no right to refuse service because "technically, The client didn't do anything wrong. "Yes, this is not an ideal situation, yes, there should be different ways to deal with it, but because of discrimination, businesses need to be very careful," she said.
"it's not discrimination," Warry-Bush said. "I'm not denigrating them because of their race. I hate what they did. I want to draw the attention of the Woolworths and take appropriate measures to stop this behavior. "