Annandale Townsville Coles store's poignant Anzac Day display sparks intensely patriotic reaction

A statue of a soldier put up inside a Coles store by a staff member ahead of Anzac Day has sparked an intensely patriotic reaction on social media, despite some viewing it was 'a sales tactic'. 

The statue of the veteran was placed prominently in the store at Annandale, a suburb of Townsville in north Queensland, and a photo of the display was uploaded to Facebook last Wednesday. 

The sculpture was created by a Coles employee who works at the store as a tribute to her father, who was a war veteran. 

The statue was placed on a small table and was decorated with red poppies around its base. 

A flag which read 'Lest We Forget' was draped over the front of the display, while dozens of boxes of Anzac biscuits were placed neatly around the statue. 

The supermarket is located opposite Townsville's Lavarack Barracks, which is the largest army base in Australia. 

A photo of the moving tribute was shared by a local shopper, Carol Bocking. 

'Coles Annandale Townsville. Huge Display right as you walk in, brilliant,' she wrote. 

Hundreds of shoppers quickly flooded the post with comments praising the store for putting up the poignant display. 

'Well done, showing respect for the fallen and for their sacrifices! Thank you!' one customer said. 

'Lest we forget that's a nice display,' another shopper wrote. 

'Awesome, Coles.'

Some others, however, viewed the display as a sales ploy. 

'Why does everyone want to commercialize Anzac Day?' one person said. 

'If it were actually for ANZAC DAY it would be a display and nothing else,' another user wrote. 

But other shoppers hit back at the comments, arguing it was disrespectful to suggest the statue was installed to boost sales. 

'How is it commercialised? Remembering men & women who gave for their country,' one shopper said. 

A spokeswoman from Coles told Daily Mail Australia that they will be selling Anzac biscuit tins as part of its ongoing partnerships with veterans' organisations including the RSL to support soldiers and the armed forces. 

'Coles is proud to continue its longstanding community partnership with Bravery Trust and assisting team members who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force or Reserves,' the spokeswoman said.

'Our bakers rise to the occasion for Bravery Trust every year, making nearly 500,000 Anzac biscuits in the week leading up to Anzac Day. It's a cause our bakers love getting behind and we hope our customers can support too by buying a 12-pack Coles Bakery Anzac biscuit on or before Anzac Day.'

The supermarket giant will also be donating 40 cents from the sale of each 12-pack Anzac Day biscuits and cookies sold in store and online.