blood from a stone

Woolworths, Australia's largest supermarket chain expects profit in fiscal 2008 to rise by between 19 and 23 percent over the previous year.

It's not clear however how CEO, Michael Luscombe, intends to do this; the article notes that he believes competition in the food area was very strong, and notes that grocery prices had become an issue in the current federal election campaign.

"Essentially, I just want to reassure you about the efforts Woolworths is making to keep prices as low as possible for our customers whilst ensuring a fair return for suppliers,'' he said.

although according to another report Woolworths' food prices rose by 2.2 per cent between April and June this year.

do you believe him and if so, where are these massive increases in profitability going to come from?

see the article as published in the Sydney Morning Herald