News: UPDATE 1-Australia's Woolworths cuts dividend as half year profit slides, page-31

agree wholeheartedly, sold all WOW after disappointing result however it is not Aldi affecting the grocery market it is the economy with more people struggling with the cost of living combined with large mortgage payments at my local Aldi the customer base has significantly declined as Woolies opposite ramp up competitive pricing my local Coles appears to be doing Ok however there fresh food is far from fresh and they have no competition for 5 - 20kms, the big surprise is the local IGA a franchise its fresh food is really fresh by comparision, and general grocery line are becoming more competitive and certainly win in terms of convenience as they are the closest , in rural areas throughout Australia WOW and MTS have strong representation, I shop at Woolies, Coles and IGA, Aldi product is average at best and Coles specials will beat Aldi everytime with a flexible approach to what you put in your basket.

As for the future of grocers it is an enormous premium on the share price considering the return which is the reason I decided to sell, if its stability you want food looks a pretty safe bet but no guarantee, if its money you want there are certainly better stocks available on the ASX because growth at present appears only to be keeping pace with the cpi with declining profit being the cost.

So good luck