Woolworths Group New Zealand Limited (formerly Progressive Enterprises) is the second largest grocery company in New Zealand (behind Foodstuffs), 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.
Progressive Enterprises Limited was once owned by the Western Australian Supermarket Group FAL – Foodland Associated Limited which operated Action Supermarkets, SuperValue Supermarkets and Dewsons Supermarkets. It is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Australian Woolworths Group.
History
1948: Progressive Enterprises Limited was established on 9 February 1949 by the Picot family.[1]
1974: Albert Gubay opens the first 3Guys store. Progressive Enterprises purchased the chain in 1987, and rebranded or closed them throughout the 1990s with the store in Hillcrest, Hamilton being one of the last when it closed in January 1998.
1988: Progressive Enterprises became part of Australian business Coles Myer
1992: Coles Myer relaunched Progressive Enterprises onto the New Zealand stock exchange as a public company.
On 25 May 2005, it was announced that Woolworths Limited, one of Australia's largest retailers, would be purchasing Progressive Enterprises along with 22 Action stores in Australia. The deal was worth approximately NZ$2.5 billion and culminated in the official transfer of assets on 24 November 2005.
In 2006, company workers at three distribution centres initiated industrial action in an attempt to win a collective employment agreement and pay rise.[2] The company responded by suspending grocery distribution centre operations and allowing suppliers to send stock directly to supermarkets.[3]
Also in 2006, the company was awarded the Roger Award For The Worst Transnational Corporation Operating in New Zealand.
On 15 August 2007, Progressive Enterprises announced employees on youth rates or under the age of 18 would get paid adult rates, which in some cases can be up to an 80% pay increase. The average pay increased from $9.00 to $13.50.
In August 2011, Progressive Enterprises won a marketing award.[4]
On 22 June 2018, Progressive Enterprise Limited renamed to Woolworths New Zealand Limited.
In June 2022, Woolworths New Zealand established a wholesale business, New Zealand Grocery Wholesalers, following the release in March of a Commerce Commission report on competition in the New Zealand grocery sector.[5] The government gave Woolworths and Foodstuffs one year to establish substantial wholesale agreements or face additional regulation.[6]
In July 2023, Woolworths New Zealand announced the rebranding of all Countdown Supermarkets to Woolworths.[7] The rebrand is expected to be completed in early 2024.
In 2024, Woolworths New Zealand renamed to Woolworths Group New Zealand, to avoid confusion with its supermarket chain of the same name.
In September 2024, thousands of union-affiliated Woolworths supermarket workers went on a two-hour strike to demand better wages and working conditions.[8] In mid-December 2024, Woolworths signed a new collective bargaining agreement with First Union, giving union-affiliated workers a 6.8 percent pay rise over a period of two years.[9]
On 6 May 2025, the Commerce Commission files criminal charges against Woolworths New Zealand for alleged inaccurate pricing and misleading discounts.[10]
Operations
Entrance to a Fresh Choice supermarket
Current store formats
Woolworths NZ runs the following grocery store chains:
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NZ$4,957 million (2008–2009)
