Jump to content

Woolworths Group (Australia)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Woolworths Group Limited
Woolworths Limited (1924–2017)
Woolworths Group (2017–present)
Company typePublic
IndustryRetailing
Founded22 September 1924; 100 years ago (1924-09-22)
FoundersPercy Christmas
Stanley Chatterton
Cecil Scott Waine
George Creed
Ernest Williams
Headquarters,
Australia
Area served
Australia, New Zealand
Key people
Amanda Bardwell (CEO)
Scott Perkins (Chairman)
RevenueIncrease A$67.92 billion (2024)[1]
Decrease A$1.62 billion (2024)
Decrease A$117 million (2024)
Total assetsIncrease A$33.94 billion (2024)
Total equityDecrease A$5.57 billion (2024)
Number of employees
Increase 201,000 (2024)
DivisionsSupermarkets (Woolworths, Metro Woolworths NZ)
General Merchandise (Big W)

Marketplace (MyDeal, Everyday Market, Big W Market)
Finance and loyalty (Everyday Rewards, Woolworths Financial)

[2]
SubsidiariesList of subsidiaries
Websitewww.woolworthsgroup.com.au
Logo used until 2017

Woolworths Group Limited is an Australian multinational retail and finance company, primarily known for the operation of its retail chain Woolworths Supermarkets across Australia, Woolworths (previously known as Countdown) in New Zealand and its discount department store Big W. Headquartered in Bella Vista, Sydney, it is the largest company in Australia by revenue and number of employees, and the second-largest in New Zealand.[3]

Founded in Sydney in 1924 as variety retailer Woolworths Limited, the company entered the New Zealand market in 1929 and has traded in every Australian state and territory since 1960. Woolworths experienced steady growth throughout the 20th century and began to diversify its business, closing the last of its variety stores in the 1980s to focus on its portfolio of other retail brands. Since 2012, Woolworths has undergone significant consolidation, divesting its shopping centre, electronics retailing, home improvement, fuel retailing, liquor retailing and hospitality businesses to concentrate on supermarket retail.

Woolworths currently owns Woolworths Supermarkets, customer loyalty program Everyday Rewards and discount department store Big W in Australia and the Woolworths NZ, SuperValue and FreshChoice supermarkets in New Zealand.

History

[edit]
Woolworths and Big W flagship store and former head office in the Sydney CBD

Founding and early growth (1924–1957)

[edit]

Woolworths opened its first store, the Woolworths Stupendous Bargain Basement, in the old Imperial Arcade Pitt Street, Sydney, where Westfield Sydney now stands, on 5 December 1924. Woolworths Ltd's nominal capital was £185,000, and although 85,000 shares were offered to the public, only 81,707 shares were subscribed for by 619 people, including the five founders – Percy Christmas, Stanley Chatterton, Cecil Scott Waine, George Creed and Ernest Williams. One of the founding investors was Preston Lanchester Gowing, the then chairman of the department store chain Gowings.[4]

The name on the draft prospectus drawn up by Cecil Scott Waine was "Walworth's Bazaar" – a play on the name of F.W. Woolworth, the owner of the Woolworth's chain in the United States and United Kingdom.[5] According to Ernest Robert Williams, Percy Christmas dared him to register the name Woolworths instead, which he succeeded in doing after finding out the name was available for use in New South Wales.

The new Woolworths store was the first variety store in the world to use cash registers that print receipts for customers.[6]

During the late 1920s the company grew, with a second store in Sydney and stores in Brisbane, Perth and Wellington in New Zealand. The company grew further in the 1930s, despite the depression, until by the end of 1933 it had 23 stores. In 1933 the first store in Melbourne was opened and on 1 April 1936 the company bought eight stores from Edments Ltd and opened its first store in Adelaide. Following the opening of the Hobart store in 1940, Woolworths had a store in every state in Australia.[7]

World War II slowed the growth of the company, with the Australian and United States militaries commandeering Woolworths' warehouses in Sydney for storage. After the war expansion was once again rapid and in 1955 Woolworths opened its 200th store, in the Civic Centre in Canberra.

Diversification, expansion and takeover (1957–1993)

[edit]

In 1957, Woolworths began to diversify from variety retailing when it opened its first food store at Dee Why, Sydney.[8] The company further diversified in 1960, opening it first purpose-built supermarket at Warrawong,[9] purchasing the Rockmans chain of women's clothing stores[10] and commencing selling liquor at some outlets.[8]

In the 1960s, the company opened a department store to compete against the likes of Myer and David Jones, under the brand Big W which was short lived, but the name was resurrected in the 70s as a Discount department store as we know it today.[8] Woolworths also began converting its variety stores to supermarkets and removing many of its variety products from sale. In 1979, Woolworths sold its New Zealand operations to LD Nathan & Co.[11]

In 1981, Woolworths purchased 60 percent of consumer electronics retailer Dick Smith, acquiring the rest of the company in 1983 for a total price of A$25 million.[12][8]

In 1985, the acquisition of 126 Safeway supermarkets in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland (including Food Barn branded stores) made Woolworths the largest food retailer in Australia.[13] As part of the purchase of Safeway's Australian stores, Safeway Inc acquired a 20 percent interest in Woolworths Limited.[14] In 1989, the last of the Woolworths Variety stores was closed and Woolworths "Family Centres" were split into separate Big W discount stores and Woolworths branded supermarket stores.

Woolworths Limited was acquired by Industrial Equity Limited in 1989, a consortium of Adelaide Steamship Company, David Jones Limited and Tooth & Co.[15]

IPO and further diversification and expansion (1993–2012)

[edit]

In 1993, Industrial Equity floated Woolworths on Australian Securities Exchange in what was then the biggest initial public share offering in Australia's history.[15]

In 1996, Woolworths entered the petrol retailing market, initially with wholly-owned "Plus Petrol" outlets located in shopping centre parking lots.[16] Woolworths expanded its liquor retailing portfolio with the acquisition of the Dan Murphy's liquor barn stores in 1998.[17] In 1999, Woolworths began a joint venture with the Commonwealth Bank called Woolworths Ezy Banking,[18] which was scaled back by 2006.[19]

In 2001, Woolworths expanded its consumer electronics retailing interests with the purchase of the Tandy chain in Australia from InterTan.[20] Also in 2001, Woolworths established the smaller format liquor retailing chain BWS to complement its big-box liquor retailer Dan Murphys.[21]

A Caltex Woolworths petrol station in Lewisham, New South Wales

In 2003, Woolworths entered into an agreement with Caltex to jointly supply food and groceries to Woolworths owned petrol stations and selected Caltex sites near Woolworths supermarkets, with petrol stations covered by the joint venture co-branded as Caltex Woolworths.[22][23]

With Queensland licensing laws dictating that liquor retail outlets must be operated by a hotelier, Woolworths moved into the hotel industry in 2004 by acquiring 75 percent of the Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group (ALH) in a joint venture with business partner Bruce Mathieson.[24] In 2005, Woolworths expanded its portfolio to 250 hotels by acquiring the Taverner Hotel Group.[25] Statistics provided during the acquisition of the Taverner group showed that over one-third of sales were made up of gaming/pokie machine takings (slot machines) [26] with the total number of pokie machines owned by ALH after its acquisitions being 10,722.[27]

In 2005, Woolworths re-entered the New Zealand market by purchasing the retailer Progressive Enterprises, owner of supermarket brands including Countdown, in a deal that gave the company a 45 percent share of the New Zealand grocery sector.[28] In the same deal, the company also acquired 22 Action supermarket stores in Western Australia,[29] bringing the total number of Woolworths supermarkets in Australia to near 750. In 2006, Woolworths announced that it had taken a 10 percent strategic stake in The Warehouse Group in New Zealand[30] and announced a joint venture with the Tata Group to introduce the Dick Smiths Electronics store format in India.[31]

In August 2007, Woolworths announced that it was planning to launch a general purpose credit card in 2008.[32] It is expected to offer credit cardholders reward vouchers redeemable through its store network.[33] HSBC was subsequently named as its credit card partner.[34] Woolworths subsequently announced that the Woolworths Everyday Money MasterCard would be launched on 26 August 2008 and allows customers to earn shopping cards redeemable at Woolworths group retailers.[35][36] It was suggested Woolworths could earn approximately $20m from credit cards in three years and that it was targeting 100,000 to 150,000 cardholders in the first year.[37]

In April 2008, Woolworths launched Thomas Dux, a gourmet grocer and deli.[38] After the company purchased the Macro Wholefoods organic grocery chain in May 2009, it converted eight stores to Thomas Dux stores.[39] In February 2011, Woolworths announced it would acquire the Cellarmasters liquor business for $340 million.[40]

A Masters Home Improvement store in Majura

During 2009, Woolworths and American retailer Lowe's purchased Danks Ltd[41] owners of the Home Timber and Hardware brand and then entered into a joint venture to launch a new hardware brand named Masters Home Improvement. The first of these stores were opened to the public in Braybrook, Melbourne, Victoria, on 1 September 2011.[42]

Consolidation (2012–2019)

[edit]

In 2012, Woolworths placed 69 shopping centres it owned into a real estate investment trust known as Shopping Centres Australasia Property Group (SCA Property Group), which listed as a separate entity on the ASX on 26 November 2012.[43] Most of the locations contain a Woolworths owned store as an anchor tenant,[44] with the trust deriving most of its rental income from Woolworths Limited stores.[45] Woolworths announced it was exiting the consumer electronics retailing sector in September 2012, completing the sale of its Indian electronics wholesale business to Infiniti Retail for $A35 million[46] and the sale of the Dick Smith Electronics chain to Anchorage Capital Partners for A$20 million.[47] In May 2013, Woolworths acquired a 50 percent stake in analytics firm Quantium for $20 million.[48] In December 2014, Woolworths acquired Summergate, an alcoholic drinks distributor in China for A$27 million.[49]

In 2015, Woolworths' home improvement chain Masters posted a loss of A$227.4 million[50] and on 18 January 2016 Woolworths announced that it intended to "either sell or wind up" Masters hardware and Home Timber and Hardware.[51] Chairman Gordon Cairns said that it would take years to become profitable and that the ongoing losses could not be sustained.[52] On 24 August 2016, it was announced that all Masters stores would close on or before 11 December 2016. It was also announced that Woolworths would sell the Home Timber and Hardware brand to Metcash.[53]

In June 2015, CEO Grant O'Brien retired and Woolworths went without a CEO until the appointment of Brad Banducci in February 2016.[54][55] On 25 August 2016, the company announced a loss of $1.235 billion for the 2016 financial year, the biggest loss in the more than 20 years since it has been publicly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, mainly due to more than $2 billion in write-downs of the failed Masters Home Improvement business and losses in the Big W business.[56]

In April 2016, Woolworths Liquor Group was renamed Endeavour Drinks Group.[57] Woolworths closed all its Thomas Dux stores in 2017; at its peak the brand had 11 stores.[58]

In December 2016, Woolworths announced it would sell its Caltex Woolworths branded petrol stations to British multinational oil and gas company BP for AU$1.75 billion.[59] BP pulled out of the deal in July 2018, saying that sale conditions imposed by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission would make the acquisition commercially unviable.[60] On 9 November 2018, Woolworths announced it would instead sell its petrol stations to the British company EG Group for $1.72 billion, with a 15 year agreement that EG Australia would maintain the Woolworths fuel discount program and enable Woolworths Rewards points to continue to be earned on fuel transactions in its stores.[61] The acquisition was completed on 1 April 2019.[62]

New ventures (2019–present)

[edit]

In March 2019, Woolworths launched a stand-alone media business called Cartology to communicate with supplier partners and customers.[63] In April 2019, Woolworths established a venture capital arm called W23.[64]

In July 2019, the Woolworths announced the merger of its hospitality and liquor interests, including BWS, Cellarmasters, Jimmy Brings, Dan Murphy's and ALH into a single company, Endeavour Drinks, with Woolworths holding an 85 percent stake in the new entity. Woolworths indicated that it would explore options to divest the newly created Endeavour Drinks business in 2020, subject to shareholder approval at an annual general meeting.[65][66] Also in 2019, Woolworths admitted to having underpaid its employees by millions of dollars.[67] In 2021, it was revealed that the Woolworths underpayment of staff was more extensive than first thought[68] More specifically, it was discovered that Woolworths underpaid salaried managers over $700,000 and the Fair Work Ombudsman looked into this further.[69]

In August 2020, Woolworths announced a A$552 million deal to purchase a 65 percent stake in foodservice distributor PFD Food Services, along with the entirety of PFD's property portfolio, as part of the company's push to expand into the business-to-business wholesale market.[70] In June 2021, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission announced that it would not oppose Woolworths' PFD deal due to insufficient evidence that the deal would cause a substantial lessening of competition.[71] In 2020, Woolworths was found to have repeatedly ignored consumers who had tried to prevent receipt of marketing emails and had not attempted to improve, despite the AMCA notifying the company that they had received customer complaints. The company was fined $1,003,800.[72]

In September 2020, Woolworths and pet insurance company PetSure signed a deal to launch a new joint venture called PetCulture. The online business would sell pet insurance, pet food and pet-related products, and veterinary services. Woolworths owns 60 percent of the venture.[73] PetCulture launched in April 2021.[74] That month, Woolworths also paid $223 million to increased its stake in Quantium from 47 percent to 75 percent.[75] Following the transaction, Woolworths and Quantium established a new joint data science and advanced analytics business called Wiq.[76][77] In October 2020, Woolworths rebranded its supply chain function as Primary Connect with the goal of evolving it into an end-to-end service provider for the group as well as external businesses.[78] In February 2021, Woolworths restructured its red meat business, creating a new standalone division called GreenStock.[79] In 2021, Woolworths launched HealthyLife, an online platform which offers health and wellness advice, products and services.[80]

Having been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Woolworths successfully completed the demerger of its alcohol, hotel, and gambling businesses into a new ASX-listed company, Endeavour Group in June 2021, with the new company holding the Dan Murphy's, BWS, AHL, Cellarmasters and Jimmy Brings brands.[81][82] After the float, Woolworths held a 14.6 percent stake in Endeavour Group. It sold portions of its stake in December 2022 and April 2024, before divesting completely in August 2024.[83][84][85]

In February 2022, Woolworths Group rebranded its logo to better represent "what its collective businesses and platforms stand for today". The company says that it showcases its impact on a "Better Tomorrow [sic]".[86] It was designed by Re, a business design division of UK-based advertising firm M&C Saatchi.[87][88]

In May 2022, Woolworths announced a $243 million bid to acquire an 80 percent stake in online marketplace MyDeal from its founder, Sean Senvirtne.[89] The acquisition was finalised in September 2022.[90] In July 2022, Cartology announced it had made a deal to acquire targeted advertising company Shopper Media for $150 million.[91] In December 2022, Woolworths Group said it would acquire a 55 percent stake in pet business Petspiration Group for $586 million.[92] That month, it also inked a deal with SuperPharmacy to acquire the company's technology and warehouse assets and rebrand SuperPharmacy's six retail stores as HealthyLife Pharmacy. Woolworths will also provide e-commerce and warehousing services to SuperPharmacy.[93] In March 2023, HealthyLife launched telehealth services through a partnership with Global Health, allowing patients to make appointments with doctors, naturopaths and dietitians.[94] That month, Woolworths also announced it would shut down its export business Woolworths International by the end of June 2023.[95]

In May 2023, Woolworths acquired Milkrun, a fast grocery delivery startup which ceased operations the previous month and competed with the supermarket's Metro60 delivery service. Woolworths rebranded Metro60 as Milkrun.[96][97]

In July 2023, Woolworths announced that its New Zealand-based Countdown supermarkets would be rebranded as Woolworths over the next three years commencing early 2024. The NZ$400 million rebrand will be accompanied by the launch of the Everyday Rewards programme for New Zealand consumers.[98] In November 2023, Woolworths launched MarketPlus, a platform for businesses to sell products across its MyDeal, Everyday Market, and Big W Market marketplaces.[99]

In February 2024, Woolworths announced that Brad Banducci would retire as CEO in September 2024 and a $781 million loss due to major write-downs. Amanda Bardwell, head of WooliesX, is set to succeed Banducci as CEO.[100]

Brands and businesses

[edit]

Consumer

[edit]
Woolworths Supermarket in Baxter, Victoria
  • Woolworths Supermarkets – Australia's largest supermarket chain, operating 995 stores across Australia
  • Woolworths New Zealand
    • Woolworths NZ – Woolworths NZ's flagship supermarket chain. 191 full-service supermarkets, operating across the North and South Islands of New Zealand.
    • SuperValue – franchised convenience supermarket
    • FreshChoice – franchised full-service supermarket
  • Big W – Discount department store chain, which sell a wide range of general merchandise
  • Everyday Rewards – Customer loyalty program offering discounts, fuel savings and rewards
  • Woolworth Financial Services & Insurance – A range of Woolworth's branded financial products across credit cards, gift cards and insurance
  • MyDeal – Online marketplace acquired in September 2022[90]
  • PetCulture – Pet products, services and insurance online business established as a joint venture with PetSure in September 2020. Woolworths owns a 60 percent stake in the venture.[73]
  • HealthyLife – Health and wellness online business launched in 2021[80]

Business

[edit]
  • Woolworths at Work – Online shopping platform aimed at small-to-medium businesses and organisations[101]
  • PFD Food Services – Food service distributor which Woolworths acquired a 65 percent stake in August 2020[70]

Retail platforms

[edit]
  • Cartology – Media business established in March 2019[63]
  • Primary Connect – Supply chain arm established in October 2020[78]
  • Quantium – Analytics firm which Woolworths owns a 75 percent stake in[75]
  • Wpay – Payments platform launched in June 2021[102]

Other

[edit]
  • W23 – Venture capital arm established in April 2019[64]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2024 annual report" (PDF). Woolworths Group. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Woolworths under fire from anti-poker machine groups for introducing gambling rewards card in pubs". ABC News. 17 September 2015.
  3. ^ NZPA (26 October 2007). "Commission: Red Shed takeover would create a 'pure duopoly'". Business story. The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2006. Commerce Commission lawyer Stephen Kos told the court the market essentially consisted of a single acknowledged price leader and other price followers. 'The effect of the merger would be a creation of a pure duopoly.' ... Now Woolworths and Foodstuffs had roughly equal market shares, Kos said.
  4. ^ "GOW372_Annual(pg1-14)" (PDF). Retrieved 11 July 2010.
  5. ^ "Woolworths is only called 'Woolworths' because of a cheeky dare in 1924". NewsComAu. 27 December 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  6. ^ "How Woolworths Started & Grew" (PDF). perishablepundit.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Our Story: 1940 Woolworths Expands to Tasmania". Woolworths Supermarkets. Archived from the original on 30 March 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d "Our History: The Woolworths Story". Woolworths Group. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  9. ^ Murray, James (1999). The Woolworths Way. A Great Australian Success Story 1924-1999. New South Wales: Focus Publishing Pty Ltd. pp. 103–108. ISBN 1-875359-540.
  10. ^ "Woolworths Supermarkets Assignment Help".
  11. ^ Dunn, Sarah (24 March 2016). "Half a century in retail: Des Flynn". The Register NZ. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  12. ^ Nigel Moll (September 1992). "Logbook - Lindy's legacy". Flying Magazine. 119 (9). Sportsman's Market, Inc.: 46. ISSN 0015-4806. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  13. ^ Prevor, Jim (2 November 2007). "How Woolworths Started & Grew" (PDF). Perishable Pundit. p. 31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  14. ^ O'Connell, Jan (24 September 1980). "1985 Woolworths buys Safeway". Australian Food History Timeline. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  15. ^ a b "COMPANY NEWS; Stock Issue in Australia". The New York Times. 13 July 1993. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  16. ^ Ruming, Orlander (6 October 2016). "Woolworths petrol goes back to 1996". Daily Liberal. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  17. ^ "Woolies liquors up for market share". Australian Financial Review. 25 August 2000. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  18. ^ "Woolworths, CBA launch 'Ezy Banking'". Australian Financial Review. 12 July 1999. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  19. ^ "Woolworths set to take on banks in credit card war". Australian Financial Review. 9 January 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  20. ^ "InterTAN, Inc. Announces Sale of Australian Subsidiary". PR Newswire. 10 April 2001. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  21. ^ "Behind Woolies' $10b liquor sale". Australian Financial Review. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  22. ^ "Woolworths, Caltex finalise petrol deal". Sydney Morning Herald. 28 April 2004. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  23. ^ "Woolies and Caltex join forces". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 22 August 2003. Archived from the original on 20 February 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  24. ^ Evans, Simon (27 October 2004). "Woolies wins pub war as Coles folds". AFR. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  25. ^ "Woolworths JV buys Taverner Hotel Group". Sydney Morning Herald. 26 October 2005. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  26. ^ "Home" (PDF). www.woolworthsgroup.com.au. Archived from the original on 4 January 2007.
  27. ^ "Retail Giants Place Side Bet on Pokies", theage.com.au, 28 March 2006.
  28. ^ "Woolworths gains New Zealand footprint". Sydney Morning Herald. 26 May 2005. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  29. ^ Mitchell, Sue (28 May 2005). "Woolies to squeeze suppliers in NZ". AFR. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  30. ^ Mitchell, Sue (3 March 2015). "Woolworths sells The Warehouse stake, abandons NZ expansion plans". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  31. ^ Kruger, Colin (24 October 2011). "Blow for Woolies as Tata ends Indian venture". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  32. ^ "Now it's Woolworths the credit card people". The Sydney Morning Herald. 27 August 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2007.
  33. ^ "Retailers take on the banks…again". Australian Financial Review. 30 January 2008. pp. 1, 61.
  34. ^ "Woolies way ahead at checkout". Melbourne Herald Sun. 27 February 2008. Archived from the original on 29 February 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2008.
  35. ^ "Woolworths launches new credit card". news.com.au. 18 August 2008. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  36. ^ "Woolies MasterCard debut". Financial Informer. 16 August 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  37. ^ "Woolies makes move into credit cards". Australian Financial Review. 19 August 2008. p. 13.
  38. ^ Palmer, Daniel (23 April 2008). "Woolworths open first Thomas Dux store". Australian Food News. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  39. ^ Mitchell, Sue (2 December 2009). "Woolies launches Macro brand". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  40. ^ Janda, Michael (24 February 2011). "Woolies buys Cellarmasters, posts profit rise". ABC News. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  41. ^ Greenblat, Eli (25 August 2009). "Woolworths moves into hardware with Danks buy". SMH. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  42. ^ "First Masters store opens today in Braybrook, Melbourne". Archived from the original on 19 December 2013.
  43. ^ "ASX welcomes Shopping Centres Australasia Property Group" (PDF). Australian Securities Exchange. 26 November 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  44. ^ King, Mike (31 October 2012). "Should you buy SCA, Woolworths' property fund?". The Motley Fool. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  45. ^ Cummins, Carolyn (9 August 2017). "Woolworths boosts SCA Property annual results by 73pc". Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  46. ^ "Infiniti acquires India biz of Woolworths for Rs.200 cr". The Hindu. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  47. ^ Janda, Michael (27 September 2012). "Woolworths sells Dick Smith to private equity". Australian Broadcasting Corp. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  48. ^ Connolly, Byron (29 August 2014). "Quantium helps Woolworths get personal with customers, CEO says". CMO. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  49. ^ Mitchell, Sue; Evans, Simon; Grigg, Angus (3 December 2014). "Woolworths buys China liquor business Summergate". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  50. ^ Knight, Elizabeth Knight (11 September 2015). "Masters is a home improvement haemorrhage". The Sydney Morning Herald. Faifax Media. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  51. ^ "Woolworths intends to exit Home Improvement business". www.woolworthslimited.com.au (Press release). Woolworths Limited. 18 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016. Woolworths Limited (Woolworths) today announced that it intends to commence an orderly process to exit its home improvement businesses, Masters Home Improvement and Home Timber & Hardware, ...
  52. ^ "Woolies winds up Masters". Courier Mail. News Corp. 17 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  53. ^ "Woolworths Update on Home Improvement Exit – Woolworths Limited". www.woolworthslimited.com.au. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  54. ^ Homewood, Sarah (17 June 2015). "Woolworths CEO to retire, topping off senior management exodus". AdNews. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  55. ^ Homewood, Sarah (26 February 2016). "Woolworths names new CEO". AdNews. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  56. ^ "Woolies food and petrol business down 40 per cent". www.dailytelegraph.com.au. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  57. ^ "Rebrand for Woolworths Liquor Group". Retail World Magazine. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  58. ^ "Woolworths farewells Thomas Dux". Retail World Magazine. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  59. ^ Westbrook, Tom (28 December 2016). "Australia's Woolworths sells petrol chain to BP for $1.3 billion". Reuters. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  60. ^ "BP abandons Woolworths fuel network purchase". Australian Financial Review. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  61. ^ "Woolworths Group to sell Petrol business and enter into commercial alliance with EG Group". Woolworths Group. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  62. ^ "EG Group taps former Caltex executive to run Woolworths Petrol". Australian Financial Review. 18 April 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  63. ^ a b "Woolworths Launches Stand-Alone Media Business". B&T. 18 March 2019.
  64. ^ a b "Woolworths sets up VC arm to target growth". Australian Financial Review. 5 February 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  65. ^ Letts, Stephen (3 July 2019). "Woolworths to pull the plug on pokies, pubs and alcohol". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  66. ^ Hatch, Patrick (3 July 2019). "Woolworths to offload poker machines, pubs and bottle shops". The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment Co. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  67. ^ "Wages ombudsman takes Woolworths to court over underpayments". 18 June 2021.
  68. ^ "Coles accused of underpaying more than 7,500 workers by $115m". TheGuardian.com. 2 December 2021.
  69. ^ "Woolworths accused of underpaying staff up to $1m". the Guardian. Australian Associated Press. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  70. ^ a b Mitchell, Sue (19 August 2020). "Woolworths' $552m stake in PFD panned by independent". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  71. ^ "ACCC approves Woolworths' $550 million takeover of PFD". Sydney Morning Herald. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  72. ^ Mills Turbet, Hanna (1 July 2020). "Woolworths hit with record $1 million fine for spamming customers". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  73. ^ a b Greenblat, Eli (1 March 2021). "Brad Banducci and Woolworths launch PetCulture with Richard Enthoven". The Australian. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  74. ^ Macdonald, Anna (9 June 2021). "Online retail site PetCulture launches first campaign". Mumbrella. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  75. ^ a b Mitchell, Sue (20 April 2021). "Woolworths doubles down on data, takes control of Quantium". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  76. ^ Crozier, Ry (15 July 2022). "Woolworths and Quantium are now calling their combined entity 'wiq'". iTnews. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  77. ^ Zuhra, Bibi (17 July 2022). "Woolworth and Quantium's combined entity now called 'wiq'". Auspreneur. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  78. ^ a b "Woolworths beefs up Primary Connect logistics operation". ATN. 29 October 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  79. ^ Condon, Jon (26 February 2021). "Woolworths restructures red meat business across Australia". Beef Central. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  80. ^ a b Cooper, Alexandra (31 May 2021). "HealthyLife to support Woolworths' customers health and wellness". Food & Beverage Industry News. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  81. ^ "Endeavour Group makes Australia stock market debut after Woolworths split". Reuters. 24 June 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  82. ^ "Endeavour Group". endeavourgroup.com.au. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  83. ^ Macdonald, Anthony; Thompson, Sarah; Sood, Kanika (13 December 2022). "Pubs to pets: Woolworths sells $636m Endeavour Group stake". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  84. ^ Ignacio, Celene (1 May 2024). "Woolworths agrees to sell 5 per cent of Endeavour Group for $468 million". Inside Retail Australia. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  85. ^ Thompson, Sarah; Sood, Kanika; Rapaport, Emma (30 August 2024). "Woolworths sells out of Endeavour Group; Goldman Sachs on trade". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  86. ^ "Woolworths Group symbolises its collective impact on a Better Tomorrow". Woolworths Group. 7 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  87. ^ Kruger, Colin; Battersby, Lucy (7 February 2022). "Markets Live, Monday February 7, 2022". WAtoday. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  88. ^ Greenblat, Eli (7 February 2022). "Woolworths overhauls corporate logo to reflect its businesses following liquor and hotels business sale". The Australian. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  89. ^ LaFrenz, Carrie (20 May 2022). "Woolworths defends $243m offer for MyDeal". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  90. ^ a b Koehn, Emma (13 September 2022). "Big W's online reach expands as Woolies finalises MyDeal buy". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  91. ^ Koehn, Emma (18 July 2022). "Woolies forks out $150m for targeted ad company Shopper Media". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  92. ^ LaFrenz, Carrie; Rapaport, Emma (14 December 2022). "Woolworths barks up a new tree, splashes $586m on PETstock owner". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  93. ^ Koehn, Emma (16 December 2022). "Woolies amps up wellness focus with new pharmacy deal". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  94. ^ Koehn, Emma (21 March 2023). "'No-brainer': Woolies muscles into telehealth". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  95. ^ Wood, Richard (28 March 2023). "Woolworths scraps export business, 51 jobs to go". www.9news.com.au. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  96. ^ Barrett, Jonathan (25 May 2023). "Woolworths buys MilkRun with plan to resurrect collapsed fast grocery delivery service". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  97. ^ Bonyhady, Nick (24 May 2023). "Milkrun bet it could beat Woolies. Now it's part of it". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  98. ^ Shaw, Aimee; Pullar-Strecker, Tom (18 July 2023). "Countdown supermarkets to rebrand back to Woolworths". Stuff. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  99. ^ Catterson, Rosalea (13 November 2023). "Woolworths Launches MarketPlus". Power Retail. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  100. ^ Terzon, Emilia (20 February 2024). "Woolworths chief executive to retire as supermarket giant announces $781 million loss". ABC News. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  101. ^ Dong, Irene (3 August 2022). "Woolworths at Work for SMEs launches online after a long beta phase". Inside Retail. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  102. ^ Mitchell, Sue (2 June 2021). "Woolworths takes on banks with payments platform Wpay". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
[edit]