When the CEO of a supermarket business proclaims it's a wonderful environment for customers, the flip side is it's a lousy environment for the company.

The new CEO of Australian retail giant Woolworths, Grant O'Brien, mentioned the boon for consumers so many times yesterday he virtually wore out the phrase.

It certainly explains why the half-year sales results delivered by the company's Australian food and liquor division were weak. On a comparable store basis, sales were up only 1.5 percent in the half year to 1 January, and they increased an even less impressive 1.1 percent in the fourth quarter.