My Tangle with the Coles Contract Thing
Alright, so I thought I’d share a bit about this whole Coles contract journey I went through not too long ago. Felt like wrestling an octopus sometimes, honestly.
It all started pretty simply. I make this niche little product, right? Just a small home-based thing. Someone suggested trying to get it into Coles. Sounded massive, a bit scary, but hey, you gotta try. So, I reached out, sent samples, did the whole song and dance.
Surprisingly, they actually got back to me. Liked the product, they said. Wanted to talk supply. I was buzzing, proper excited. Thought, ‘This is it, the big break!’ Then came the paperwork. Oh boy, the paperwork.
They sent over the ‘standard supplier agreement’. Standard? Felt anything but. It was this huge document, pages and pages of dense text. Looked like it was written by lawyers for other lawyers, not for someone like me just trying to sell some stuff I make in my shed.
Dealing with the Details
I spent days just trying to read it, understand what I was actually signing up for. Some bits were straightforward, like delivery times and quality standards. Fair enough. But then there were clauses about indemnities, insurance levels that seemed sky-high for my tiny operation, payment terms that felt like they’d pay me sometime next century.
- First hurdle: Insurance. They wanted levels of public liability insurance that would cost me more than I’d probably make in the first six months. Had to shop around like crazy to find something remotely affordable.
- Second hurdle: Payment terms. 90 days? Really? For a small supplier, that’s a lifetime. Kills your cash flow stone dead.
- Third hurdle: The sheer complexity. Rebates, marketing contributions, penalties for this, that, and the other. It felt like they held all the cards, and I was just expected to sign on the dotted line.
Tried talking to the contact person I had. Nice enough bloke, but basically just said, ‘Yeah, that’s the standard contract’. No wiggle room, seemed like. Felt very much like a tiny cog trying to fit into a massive machine. You either fit exactly, or you don’t fit at all.
The Outcome and What I Reckon
So, what happened in the end? Well, after weeks of back and forth, getting quotes for insane insurance, and basically pulling my hair out trying to figure out if I could even afford to be a Coles supplier according to this contract, I had to make a call.
I looked at the numbers, the risks, the stress it was already causing. The dream of seeing my product on those big shelves was tempting, real tempting. But the contract just felt too one-sided, too risky for someone my size. It felt like I’d be constantly worried about tripping over some clause I didn’t fully understand.
So, I pulled back. Politely declined to proceed with that specific contract. Told them maybe down the track if things change, or if there was a way to adjust terms for smaller suppliers. Never heard back on that, unsurprisingly.
Was it a failure? Nah, I don’t think so. It was a learning curve, a massive one. Showed me the reality of dealing with the big players. You gotta have your ducks in a row, and then some. You need proper resources, maybe even legal advice, just to navigate the entry process. It wasn’t for me at that stage. Maybe one day, but not like that.
Now I just focus on smaller local shops and online. Less hassle, more personal. Sometimes, the big shiny goal isn’t worth the headache of getting there, you know?
