Grocery supplier goes under

AUSSIE Farmers Direct erred by pushing into the broader grocery market and was burning through $500,000 a week before its collapse, administrators say.

They say the group was ultimately sunk by its decision to stray from its core business of selling fresh milk and bread into a full-line grocery offering that brought it into direct competition with supermarkets.

The online grocery provider, which opened to much fanfare in 2005 and promised to shake up the $90 billion grocery sector with its direct-toconsumer food delivery business, has collapsed into administration.

Aussie Farmers Direct closed immediately yesterday, leaving stranded around 100 franchisees, 260 employees and 100,000 customers nationally.