The latest survey on the GROCERYchoice website has indicated that, on a total grocery basket, Woolworths supermarkets are the cheapest in 45 of the 61 regions surveyed. This compares with 30 of 61 regions in the previous month’s survey. Independents are again the cheapest in the Eastern Central Queensland sector, with Coles on top in the other 15 regions. The basket prices represent the average price for a retailer within a specified region, not the price for a specific individual supermarket... ...Read more »

Australia’s largest supermarket operator, Woolworths, has unveiled a scheme to their employees that will allow staff to use their pretax salary dollars to spend up to A$1000 each at Woolworths outlets prior to January 9, 2009, The Australian Financial Review has reported. The salary sacrifice plan applies to 115,000 of the company’s 160,000 employees, meaning it could encourage a $115m sales boost. The company will only accept two receipts to come to the $1000 figure, however, encouraging... ...Read more »

Australia’s largest supermarket operator, Woolworths, has informed shareholders that their growth outlook remains on track, with plans to strengthen their market position in coming years. The nature of their business would partially “shield” them from the impact of any downturn, with investments unlikely to dry up because of economic conditions. Speaking at their AGM today, Woolworths Chairman James Strong outlined his belief that there was “continuing potential” to... ...Read more »

Woolworths has launched a roll-out of unit pricing at their 780 stores, making them the first national retailer to display both the actual and unit price on their labels. Aldi, which only operates in Australia’s eastern states, and Franklins, which is based in NSW, were the first to add the unit price (price per kilogram or litre) to their labels. Woolworths general manager of supermarkets, James Aylen, reported that they made their final commitment after a successful trial period, with eight... ...Read more »

Woolworths, Australia’s largest supermarket operator, has fallen short in their attempts to purchase Liquorland in New Zealand, with the liquor chain going to major NZ rival Foodstuffs. “After several approaches from interested parties, DB Breweries, who felt that off-premise retailing was no longer core to their business, selected Foodstuffs as their preferred bidder after a competitive bidding process, believing the New Zealand owned company the most suitable to own, support and grow... ...Read more »

Woolworths, Australia’s largest supermarket operator, has today announced record first quarter sales of $12.8 billion, representing a 9.6% increase on last year. The growth of just under ten per cent surpassed the expectations of analysts ABN Amro, who anticipated growth of around 8.4%. Woolworths’ Chief Executive Officer, Michael Luscombe, believes the results were very positive for the company as they seek to deal with changing economic conditions. “This is a good start to the... ...Read more »

Woolworths has announced a major change in their leadership team with Naum Onikul, the current Director of Supermarkets, set to retire after 21 years with the supermarket giant. Mr Onikul is to be replaced by the current General Manager of Big W, Greg Foran, who will take on the role of Director of Food, Liquor and Petrol. Mr Foran, who will be in charge of the company’s 780 supermarket outlets, as well as the 1022 liquor stores and over 500 petrol stations, has been in retail for almost thirty... ...Read more »

Woolworths Limited, Australia’s largest supermarket operator, yesterday withdrew its application to the Supreme Court for leave to appeal a judgement by the New Zealand Court of Appeal that prevented them from taking over NZ retailer The Warehouse. That judgment confirmed the decision of the Commerce Commission declining clearance to Woolworths acquiring 100% of the shares in, or assets of, The Warehouse Group. The decision does not mean Woolworths has given up on purchasing The Warehouse,... ...Read more »

Woolworths CEO Michael Luscombe has told of Woolworths’ lack of belief in recessions, as the country’s largest supermarket chain continues to head toward their ambitious growth targets. “At Woolworths, we don’t believe in recession and we never have,” he said at the Queensland University of Technology Business Leaders’ Forum in Brisbane yesterday. “Instead of thinking how do we stop spending, how do we stop hiring, how do we shed people? We are actually thinking... ...Read more »

The Warehouse Group Limited, a New Zealand retailer, has taken the decision to discontinue plans to roll out the Warehouse Extra format, which could pave the way for a takeover by Woolworths or Foodstuffs. The Warehouse has been a takeover target for the two major players in the New Zealand grocery sector, Woolworths and Foodstuffs, but a High Court decision that cleared the way for the three Foodstuffs co-operatives and Woolworths Ltd to acquire The Warehouse was overturned by the Court of Appeal... ...Read more »