| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1929 |
| Headquarters | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Number of locations | 10 (2011)[1] |
| Owner(s) | Woolworths Limited |
| Parent | Progressive Enterprises |
| Website | www.woolworths.co.nz |
Woolworths is a New Zealand supermarket chain and a unit of Woolworths Limited.
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Founded in 1929 by Percy Christmas, the chain was separated from the parent company Woolworths Limited in Australia and was called Woolworths New Zealand. During this period, the chain was mainly Variety and General Merchandise products trading under the Woolworths brand.
In 1956, Woolworths first entered food retailing with their Food Fair store, but it wasn't until 1967 that Woolworths launched its first Supermarket in Henderson.
This is incorrect. The first Woolworths "Food Fair" (supermarket) was opened at New Lynn, West Auckland - not Henderson, on 30 October 1963. "Lynmall" was the first regional shopping centre in New Zealand (this was six years after the first Woolworths "Food Fair" in Australia opened at Chermside in Brisbane).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolworths_Limited cites the first woolworths supermarket opening in 1971. Depending on if and how that actually differed from the "Food Fair" stores would deem whether that is correct, if at all.
Woolworths was expanding and in 1971 acquired the Self Help grocery chain and later rebranded these as Woolworths.
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.
Ownership changed hands in 1990 when Hong Kong's Dairy Farm International acquired the Woolworths supermarket chain.
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 30,000 sq ft (2,800 m2). The Big Fresh stores were larger, with an average size of 51,000 sq ft (4,700 m2) and offered the widest possible selection and excellent value. The Price Chopper stores were compact with an average size of 14,000 sq ft (1,300 m2) 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
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 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 the next five years. In spite of the change of name, the new Countdown stores will adopt the design and much of the branding of Australian Woolworths stores, including their "W" symbol launched in 2008. The supermarket will continue to operate under the Woolworths banner in Bayfair, Mount Maunganui despite being converted to the Countdown store format, because a Countdown already exists in its Bayfair Shopping Centre. The two supermarkets will continue to operate in tandem. Woolworths Mount Maunganui has taken on the Australian Woolworths logo.
Progress in the rebranding has been swift. In August 2010, the Woolworths brand ceased to exist in the South Island, leaving stores only in the North Island and on Waiheke Island.
There are 10 Woolworths supermarkets across the North Island.
Woolworths also provides New Zealand wide services through its online shopping website[2].
These brands were dropped by Progressive Enterprises when Dairy Farm International Holdings sold the company in 2002, and replaced with the Signature Range (SR) and Basics brands. With the purchase of Progressive Enterprises by Woolworths Limited, these were then phased out and replaced with Woolworths Home Brand and Woolworths Select brands.
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