Who owns Coles?
Coles
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- Brand origin
- Australia
- Main production
- Several countries, incl. Australia
Coles is an Australian supermarket and retail brand founded in Melbourne in 1914. Coles is ultimately owned by Coles Group Limited, an Australian publicly listed company.
coles.com.auOwnership chain
- BrandColesAustralia
- Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd
- Ultimate ownerColes Group LimitedAustralia
About Coles
What is Coles?
Coles is an Australian supermarket brand operated within the Coles Group. Coles Supermarkets is the group’s flagship food and grocery business. Coles Group’s other operations include Coles Online, Coles Liquor, Coles Express and financial services. Coles Group is headquartered at 800 to 838 Toorak Road, Hawthorn East, Victoria, Australia. Coles Group Limited trades on the Australian Securities Exchange under the code COL and is a component of the S&P/ASX 200 index. Coles was described as Australia’s second-largest retailer in a Reuters report published in 2007. Coles operated 830 Coles supermarkets and 31 Coles Local stores in 2025.
Who owns Coles?
Coles is ultimately owned by Coles Group Limited, according to Made O’Meter’s ownership data verified on 13 September 2026. The ownership chain is Coles, Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd, and Coles Group Limited. Coles Group Limited is headquartered in Australia and is a publicly listed company. Coles Group shares trade on the Australian Securities Exchange under the code COL. Because Coles Group Limited is publicly listed, Coles does not have one private corporate owner. Its shares are held by institutional investors, companies and individual investors. State Street Corporation and its subsidiaries held 7.25 percent of Coles Group shares, Vanguard Group held 7.03 percent, and BlackRock Group held 6.21 percent according to shareholder data updated in September 2026. Coles Group’s official website is coles.com.au.
Where does Coles come from?
Coles originated in Australia. George James Coles opened the first Coles store on Smith Street in Collingwood, Victoria, on 9 April 1914. The store was originally called a Coles Variety Store. G.J. Coles & Coy Pty Ltd was formed in 1921. Coles opened its first city store on Bourke Street in Melbourne in 1924. Coles entered food retailing in 1958 by acquiring 54 grocery stores, including the Dickins supermarket chain. In 1960, Coles acquired Matthews Thompson, a New South Wales retailer with 248 stores. These acquisitions established Coles as a large Australian grocery retailer.
How did Coles change owners?
Coles has changed corporate ownership several times. G.J. Coles & Coy merged with Myer Emporium Ltd on 25 July 1985 to form Coles Myer Ltd. The merged company’s official name became Coles Myer Limited in January 1986. Coles Myer acquired full ownership of Kmart Australia in 1978 by exchanging its 20 percent stake in Coles for the U.S. Kresge Company’s 51 percent stake. Coles Myer sold Red Rooster to Australian Fast Foods in 2002. Coles Myer acquired Shell Australia’s retail business in 2003 and used the business to create Coles Express. Coles Myer sold Myer to a consortium controlled by U.S. private-equity group Newbridge Capital for A$1.4 billion on 2 June 2006. Coles Myer changed its name to Coles Group Limited in November 2006 after the sale of Myer. Wesfarmers acquired Coles Group Limited through a scheme of arrangement on 23 November 2007. Wesfarmers paid approximately A$19.3 billion for Coles Group, making the transaction Australia’s largest corporate takeover at that time. The 2007 acquisition included Coles, Kmart, Target and Officeworks. Officeworks and Harris Technology were placed in Wesfarmers’ Home Improvement and Office Supplies division. Wesfarmers invested about A$8 billion in the Coles businesses during the decade after the acquisition. Coles Group shares began trading again on the Australian Securities Exchange on 21 November 2018 after Wesfarmers shareholders approved the demerger. The demerger was completed on 28 November 2018.
What products does Coles make?
Coles is primarily a supermarket retailer rather than a single-product manufacturer. Coles supermarkets sell food, groceries and household products through physical stores and online retail operations. Coles also operates Coles Local stores, which are smaller supermarket outlets. Coles Group’s retail portfolio includes Coles Liquor and Coles Express in addition to the Coles supermarket business. Coles entered food retailing in 1958 through the acquisition of grocery stores, including the Dickins supermarket chain. The Coles brand is therefore associated with supermarket retailing, grocery distribution and related consumer services rather than one specific manufactured product.
Is Coles a US company?
Coles is not a US company. Coles originated in Australia, its first store opened in Collingwood, Victoria, and Coles is ultimately owned by Coles Group Limited, an Australian publicly listed company. Wesfarmers owned Coles from 2007 until the Coles Group demerger completed in 2018. Some shareholders of the publicly listed Coles Group are international investment firms, including State Street, Vanguard and BlackRock, but that does not make Coles a US company. Coles Group’s headquarters are in Hawthorn East, Victoria, Australia.
Are Coles and Woolworths Australian owned?
Coles and Woolworths are Australian-origin supermarket businesses, but the ownership structure of each company is determined by its current shareholders. Coles is ultimately owned by Coles Group Limited, an Australian publicly listed company. Coles Group was previously owned by Wesfarmers from 2007 until its demerger in 2018. Coles and Woolworths are separate corporate groups and are not owned by the same parent company. Coles Group shareholders include Australian and international institutional investors as well as public investors.
Who owns Coles and its related businesses?
Coles supermarkets are operated through Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd within the Coles Group structure. Coles Group Limited is the ultimate owner recorded for the Coles brand. Coles Group’s wider operations include Coles Online, Coles Liquor, Coles Express and financial services. The 2007 Wesfarmers acquisition also included Kmart, Target and Officeworks, but those businesses were not all retained within the same Coles Group structure after later corporate changes. Bunnings is not part of the Coles ownership chain. Bunnings was included in Wesfarmers’ portfolio, while Coles Group was demerged from Wesfarmers in 2018.
Who are the largest shareholders of Coles?
The largest reported shareholders of Coles Group include State Street Corporation and its subsidiaries, Vanguard Group and BlackRock Group. State Street Corporation and its subsidiaries held 7.25 percent, Vanguard Group held 7.03 percent, and BlackRock Group held 6.21 percent of Coles Group shares in shareholder data updated in September 2026. These are shareholdings in Coles Group Limited, not direct ownership of individual Coles supermarkets. Coles Group is publicly listed, so ownership can change as investors buy or sell shares.
Frequently asked questions about Coles
Who owns Coles in Australia?
- Coles is ultimately owned by Coles Group Limited, an Australian publicly listed company. The ownership chain is Coles, Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd, and Coles Group Limited.
Does Wesfarmers still own Coles?
- No. Wesfarmers owned Coles after acquiring Coles Group in 2007, but the Coles Group demerger from Wesfarmers was completed on 28 November 2018. Coles is now ultimately owned by publicly listed Coles Group Limited.
Who owns Coles and Woolworths in Australia?
- Coles and Woolworths are separate Australian-origin supermarket businesses with different corporate ownership structures. Coles is ultimately owned by Coles Group Limited, while Coles Group is not the owner of Woolworths.
Who owns Coles garlic bread?
- Garlic bread sold under the Coles name belongs to the Coles retail brand and is sold within the Coles supermarket business. The Coles brand is ultimately owned by Coles Group Limited. The available ownership information does not identify a separate owner for a particular Coles garlic bread product.
Who owns Coles Point Tavern?
- The available Coles ownership information identifies Coles supermarkets as part of Coles Group Limited, but it does not establish that Coles Group owns a business called Coles Point Tavern. A tavern using the word Coles in its name should not be assumed to belong to Coles Group.
Who owns Coles energy?
- Coles energy services are associated with the Coles Group’s financial and consumer-service operations, while the Coles brand is ultimately owned by Coles Group Limited. The ownership information does not establish that Coles Group owns the electricity or gas infrastructure supplying customers.
What is Coles Arcana?
- The available ownership information does not identify a Coles Group business or product called Coles Arcana. Coles is the Australian supermarket brand ultimately owned by Coles Group Limited.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org: Coles Group, colesgroup.com.au: investors, marketscreener.com, intelligentinvestor.com.au, investing.com, colesgroup.com.au: DownloadFile.axd, colesgroup.com.au: Corporate Governance Statement.pdf, uk.marketscreener.com, colesgroup.com.au: about us, wesfarmers.com.au: coles transaction, en.wikipedia.org: Coles Supermarkets, sbs.com.au, shoppingcentrenews.com.au, wesfarmers.com.au: acquisition of coles, colesgroup.com.au: media releases, reuters.com, abc.net.au: 9554658, wesfarmers.com.au: corporate transactions, abc.net.au: 9555286, abc.net.au: 103494070, wesfarmers.com.au: coles acquisition update.pdf, wesfarmers.com.au: demerger of coles
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Sources: en.wikipedia.org: Coles Group, en.wikipedia.org: Coles Supermarkets, colesgroup.com.au
Ownership data is compiled from public sources and verified where possible. Spotted an error? Suggest a correction below.
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