Wesfarmers’ decision to divest Coles food, liquor and convenience business surprised some retail analysts but it was arguably prudent to exit the increasingly competitive category. The value of the Coles supermarkets business had almost certainly peaked, notwithstanding the demerger into a new entity listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. The listing unfortunately coincided with a period when investors were bearish on retail stocks. Coles had lost some of the ground it had made up on th