Hi Mars,
I do believe that is the case. Their incentive structure / measure of success is ROC and that is a key measure that they have always used to compare their success and progress.
They have a long history of buying companies and they are one of the few Australian companies that does it properly (i.e. makes its owners happy with profitable sales). So this is part of the WES DNA. It does not surprise me that they are selling Coles as its usefulness has ended and it as a standalone business is always going to struggle to get a decent return on capital. Even Officeworks is doing well in terms of ROC even with its high goodwill attached, so this is as much about potential ROC to historical ROC.
They clearly do not have that challenge with Kmart who are killing it and of course Bunnings.
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