Founded in 1929 by Percy Christmas, the chain was separated from the parent company Woolworths Group in Australia and was called Woolworths New Zealand. During this period, the chain sold mainly variety and general merchandise products trading under the Woolworths brand.
In 1956, Woolworths first entered food retailing with their Food Fair store,[2] and its first dedicated food store opened in 1963 in New Lynn.[3] It wasn't until 1967 that Woolworths launched its first Supermarket in Henderson.[citation needed]
Woolworths Supermarket, Upper Hutt, 1974
An article on NZ Foodstuffs history blog longwhitekid - "Research Sucks: Woolworths and the Advent of American Style" [4] about Woolworths Food Fair and food supermarkets, and the advent of American-type convenience shopping elements, explores the discrepancies in dates and who was first in the race to become the country's first, dedicated "U.S.-style" supermarket, depending on the definition of such.
Woolworths was expanding and in 1971 acquired the Self Help grocery chain and later rebranded these as Woolworths.
1979 - 1990 L.D. Nathan
In 1979, Woolworths was sold to L.D. Nathan. At that time, L.D Nathan owned the Super Value North Island supermarkets. They rebranded these stores to Woolworths.
1980 saw L.D. Nathan acquire the McKenzies General Merchandise stores. These stores were then rebranded as Woolworths. With the large number of general merchandise and supermarkets L.D Nathan decided in 1985 to split the into two separate divisions: supermarkets and general merchandise. L.D Nathan rebranded their General Merchandise business in 1988 to DEKA. 1987 and 1988 saw the launch of the Price Chopper and Big Fresh brands.
The chain had three supermarket brands, each with a different offering: Woolworths is a full-service supermarket; Big Fresh offered a themepark style shopping experience with model animals, dioramas and music; and Price Chopper was positioned in the discount sector.
The Woolworths stores are broad-range supermarkets with an average size of 30,000sqft (2,800m2). The Big Fresh stores were larger, with an average size of 51,000sqft (4,700m2) and offered the widest possible selection and excellent value. The Price Chopper stores were compact with an average size of 14,000sqft (1,300m2) and were limited-range discount stores located mainly in small towns.
In 1995, Woolworths introduced a pilot online shopping site with a small group of users. This was early days for online shopping in New Zealand. Woolworths was a key player in introducing online supermarket shopping to the New Zealand market.
In 1999, Woolworths developed a mini supermarket format at two BP fuel forecourts in a trial project, but BP pulled out of the project in 2000.
In 2000, The Food Safety First (FSF) Programme was introduced in all Woolworths and Big Fresh stores nationally. This programme employed HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point). This programme was created by the Ministry of Health to identify all potential hazards and controls them before they result in food poisoning problems.
In 2001, Woolworths partnered with Gull Petroleum to establish mini supermarkets at Gull fuel forecourts called Woolworths @ Gull
2001 - 2009 Progressive Enterprises
Former Woolworths Logo used until 2009
In 2001, Dairy Farm International sold its Woolworths New Zealand Limited business and it merged with Progressive Enterprises, the operator of Foodtown, Countdown, SuperValue and FreshChoice. In 2005, Woolworths Limited re-acquired the New Zealand unit.
In 2003, the onecard was launched. This card offers shoppers exclusive discounts on products and entry into competitions. The card was previously known as the Foodtown card, but was relaunched with a new name after the merger between Progressive and Woolworths (NZ) Ltd. The card can now be used in Woolworths, Foodtown and Countdown stores.
Unlike membership-loyalty schemes in most retail outlets, Woolworth's Onecard specials are the predominant visible price on member-discounted products; you have to look closer to see the non-member price, which is typically above the price available at competing supermarkets.
In October 2006, Progressive Enterprises announced a Discount Fuel Scheme with Gull Petroleum and Shell to offer discounts on petrol when shoppers spend $40 or more in their Woolworths, Foodtown or Countdown Stores. This scheme is similar to the one their parent company Woolworths Limited offers in Australia.
In 2008 Progressive Enterprises approached its 943 New Zealand suppliers (which Woolworths calls "Trade Partners") to use electronic commerce or EDI to integrate supply chain orders (such as Purchase Orders and Invoices) in the same way that Woolworths does in Australia.[5]
2009-present: Rebranding
In September 2009, it was announced that the Woolworths brand would almost cease to exist as most of the stores would be rebranded as Countdown over a five-year period.[6] In spite of the change of name, the new Countdown stores would adopt the design and much of the branding of AustralianWoolworths stores, including their "W" symbol launched in 2008.
Progress in the re-branding was swift. In August 2010, the Woolworths brand ceased to exist in the South Island. By 14 November 2011, the re-branding process was completed as the Meadowlands store was changed to Countdown.[7]
In 2018, Woolworths Mount Maunganui was rebranded as a Countdown supermarket following the closure of its shopping centre competitor and sister store of the same name on the opposite side of the shopping mall, marking the end of the Woolworths supermarket brand in New Zealand.
Private Label brands
Woolworths Select
Woolworths Home Brand
Woolworths Naytura
Woolworths Freefrom
Woolworths Essentials
Signature Range
Previous Private Label brands
Basics - Replaced by Homebrand in 2005
No Frills - No Frills was originally used with Franklins Australia as their generic range of products, with their ties to Dairy Farm International Holdings the No Frills product was launched into the Woolworths New Zealand Supermarket Group and had a huge success with the Price Chopper and Big Fresh brands. Originally, the No Frills brand was only used for its peanut butter, honey and potato chips but expanded its range to more than 800 products in packaged groceries and perishables.
First Choice - First Choice was another generic range of products Woolworths New Zealand Supermarket Group had sold. Launched in 1998, it was developed to provide an alternative to the leading brands but cheaper. First Choice products were typically priced between 10-15% less than the national brands. First Choice had over 600 different products.
PAK'nSAVE is a New Zealand discount food warehouse chain owned by the Foodstuffs cooperative.
Foodtown was a New Zealand supermarket chain owned by Progressive Enterprises. As with Woolworths, the Foodtown brand was phased out in the late 2000s, with all stores rebranded as Countdown by the end of 2011. Foodtown supermarkets were typically integrated with a shopping centre; the chain had few stand-alone stores.
Countdown is a New Zealand full-service supermarket chain and subsidiary of Woolworths NZ, itself a subsidiary of Australia's Woolworths Limited. Countdown stores are normally larger than the average New Zealand supermarket. The first Countdown store opened in 1981 and the chain has expanded to 180 stores as of 2018. It is the largest single supermarket chain in New Zealand in terms of number of stores, although the rival Four Square chain has a larger number of premises including smaller retail stores in rural areas.
Woolworths Group Limited is a major Australian company with extensive retail interest throughout Australia and New Zealand. It is the second largest company in Australia by revenue, after Perth-based retail-focused conglomerate Wesfarmers, and the second largest in New Zealand. In addition, Woolworths Group is the largest takeaway liquor retailer in Australia, the largest hotel and gaming poker machine operator in Australia, and was the 19th largest retailer in the world in 2008.
Woolworths NZ is the second largest grocery company in New Zealand, with revenue of NZ$6.2 billion for the year to June 2018. Alongside Foodstuffs, Woolworths NZ forms part of the New Zealand supermarket duopoly.
Foodstuffs (NZ) Ltd is jointly owned by two New Zealand grocery and liquor retailers' cooperatives, Foodstuffs North Island Limited and Foodstuffs South Island Limited. Together, the two cooperatives collectively control an estimated 53% of the New Zealand grocery market. The group owns retail franchises Four Square, New World and Pak'nSave, in-store private labels Pam's, Pam's Finest and Value, and a ten percent stake in The Warehouse.
A discount store or discount shop is a retail shop which sells products at prices that are lower than the typical market price.
Franklins was a supermarket chain selling packaged groceries and perishables throughout New South Wales, Australia. It created the "No Frills" brand of generic products, promoted by their mascot, "Red Sock," and labelled itself "Australia's Original Discount Grocer." Franklins also had stores in Queensland, Victoria and South Australia until 2001. In 2011 the chain was bought by Metcash and the stores were sold off to independent buyers to operate as IGA or Aldi supermarkets. The last Franklins was at Westfield Miranda shopping centre; it closed in April 2015.
No Frills is a Canadian chain of deep discount supermarkets, owned by Loblaw Companies Limited, a subsidiary of George Weston Limited. There are over 200 franchise stores located in nine Canadian provinces.
Woolworths is an Australian chain of supermarkets and grocery stores owned by Woolworths Group. Founded in 1924, Woolworths along with Coles forms a near-duopoly of Australian supermarkets, accounting for about 80% of the Australian market.
Action was an Australian supermarket chain.
FreshCo Ltd. is a Canadian chain of deep discount supermarkets owned by Sobeys Inc. It was launched in March 2010. As of April 2019, there were 98 FreshCo stores.
Independent Grocers Alliance (IGA) is an Australian chain of supermarkets. IGA is owned by Metcash, but individual IGA stores are owned independently. Its main competitors are Woolworths, Coles and Aldi Süd. It is the fourth largest chain, since Aldi overtook Metcash in supermarket revenues. In 2019 it was reported that IGA had 7 per cent of the grocery market.
Food For Less was an Australian discount supermarket chain owned by Woolworths Limited. It was originally established in Queensland, where a discount 'food barn' chain operating as "Jack the Slasher" was acquired by Woolworths in 1990. It later expanded into New South Wales and became the low-cost supermarket chain for Woolworths, competing with Franklins No Frills and Coles Myer's Bi-Lo. The chain expanded on the purchase of 67 of the Franklins supermarket chain stores in New South Wales and Queensland by Woolworths. The "No Frills" stores then became Food For Less stores with a more upmarket appearance and also launched a new logo at the same time. It is positioned as a budget low-cost chain and while it mainly sells dry groceries and frozen perishables only, a small number of older stores also sell fruit and vegetables. Since 2010 most stores have closed or been refurbished and converted into Woolworths. As of September 2019 no stores remain under the "Food For Less" banner. The store in Beresfield, NSW has since gone through a renewal and refurbishment and The Food for Less signs were taken down and current Woolworths signs put up in their place in 2018. The store in Macquarie Waters NSW closed on 5 April 2012, with the building earmarked for demolition in 2017. Hurstville NSW closed its doors in November 2015. Maryborough QLD closed its doors in November 2016. The store at Roselands NSW closed in August 2018.
Big Fresh was a New Zealand supermarket chain. The first Big Fresh store opened in 1988 in Mount Wellington, Auckland. In 2003, the Big Fresh brand was shut-down by its owner Progressive Enterprises, with branches converted to Countdown or Woolworths, or shut down altogether.
Price Chopper was part of the Woolworths New Zealand Supermarket Group, their brands included: Woolworths, Big Fresh and Price Chopper.
Cold Storage is a supermarket chain in Singapore, owned by Dairy Farm International Holdings.
Bayfair Shopping Centre,, is the main shopping mall in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand.
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