COLES/BI LO ___________________________________________________________________________________ On Monday 31st July 2006 Coles Myer CEO John Fletcher outlined the Coles Myer strategic update. The aspects of the strategy that are relevant to AMIEU members are: "Renaming and re-branding the company to Coles Group Limited, comprising three businesses; Creation of a new, integrated everyday needs business comprising food, liquor, fuel and general merchandise under one umbrella Coles brand; Spending $60 million to improve the customer experience in supermarkets". The "umbrella Coles brand"  means that Bi Lo stores are to become Coles stores. Coles management had informed the Union that Bi Lo will be re-badged  and be operating as Coles stores by the end of the 2006/2007 financial year.  That is by 30th June 2007. It is the intention that when a Bi Lo store is re-badged to become Coles the meat room will continue to operate as it is currently. Coles Management has informed the Union that if this position changes the Union will be informed. The Strategic update also envisages that a small number of stores, either Coles or Bi Lo, will cease operation as supermarkets.   They will either be closed, sold or converted to other Coles Myer businesses.   The Union has not been informed as to which stores these are, or when they will cease operating. The first Bi Lo stores to be converted to Coles are the Nth Croydon and Keysborough stores.  The Union has no further knowledge of the order of the conversions. Once the Bi Lo stores are converted to Coles stores they will be subject to the ongoing Coles store refurbishment program. As part of that program meat rooms are replaced with retail ready meat.  This simply means that once the Bi Lo store is converted to a Coles store they will be covered by the current Coles policy of gradually refurbishing the store and introducing retail ready meat and eliminate the need for a meat room. The Union has been informed by Coles Management that 3 Bi Lo stores will be re-badged as Coles and converted to retail ready meat in the financial year 2006/2007.  Swan Hill Bi Lo has already been informed that they are the first of the three.  Coles Management has told the Union that they will inform the members in the other 2 stores prior to the refurbishment commencing. Coles Management has not informed the Union as to how long it will take before all Coles stores, that is both current Coles Stores and existing Bi Lo Stores, are refurbished and converted to retail ready.