Coles is suffering a spot of social media backlash after a store’s stand of Mother’s Day gift ideas featured washing powder and sanitary napkins.
The offending store hasn’t been identified, however, it was called out by an eagle-eyed shopper called Elise who promptly posted an image of the display to Facebook.
Not that it improves things, apparently the shot was taken yesterday, the day after Mother’s Day. The display also including slippers, bed socks and homewares.
The woman who posted the image, adding: “Washing powder. In the Mother’s Day section! Are you fucking kidding me, Coles?”
Others commented: “2020 is full of surprises.” Another added: “And pads, like your mum wants some pads for Mother’s Day.” While a third said: “It’s not 1962. So sexist Coles.”
A spokesperson for Coles telling B&T that it “was not our intention to offend customers” and it would “review the layout in our stores in future”.
The spokesperson added: “At Coles we celebrate all mums, grandmas, aunties, stepmothers and all of the important women in our lives on Mother’s Day. Our annual range of Mother’s Day gifts, which include treats like slippers, mugs and chocolates, are popular with our customers and are usually displayed in a special section of our store, often alongside other promotions.”
However, it’s not the first time lazy supermarket workers have been busted trying to up-sell sanitary pads on a special occasion.
Here’s another of B&T’s favourites from a few years ago:
