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Woolworths (Australia)

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Woolworths
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryRetail
Founded22 September 1924; 101 years ago (1924-09-22)
Headquarters
Bella Vista, New South Wales
,
Australia
Number of locations
1,111 including metro (2024) (2022)
ParentWoolworths Group
Websitewww.woolworths.com.au

Woolworths is an Australian supermarket chain, a division of Woolworths Group.

Founded in 1924, Woolworths has since become one of the largest supermarket chains in Australia. The company also operates a number of Woolworths Metro convenience stores.

The company is named after the original Woolworth business in the United States, but is unrelated.

As of 2023, Woolworths is Australia's largest supermarket chain, with a market share of 32.5%.[1] As of June 2023, there were 995 Woolworths supermarkets and 90 Woolworths Metro convenience stores.[2]

History

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Beginnings

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Woolworths Limited (now Woolworths Group) was first registered on 22 September 1924 by five Australian entrepreneurs – Percy Christmas, Stanley Chatterton, Cecil Scott Waine, George Creed and Ernest Williams.[3] The first store was opened on 5 December 1924 in Pitt Street of Sydney's Imperial Arcade, called "Woolworths Stupendous Bargain Basement".[4][5] Following the first store there were only 29 shareholders and there was little interest to accelerate the brand's growth. However, as trading continued and shareholders brought more capital, the dividends paid by the company increased from 5% to 50% after its third year of operation. Consumer interest in the company grew after December 1924, as more branches of the store were established across Australia. Woolworths stores began selling a variety of goods, claiming the lowest prices as well as money back guarantees.[6] At the forefront of retail innovation in Australia, Woolworths stores became the first variety store in the world to install receipt printing cash register machines in 1926.[7] The second Woolworths outlet was opened on 6 August 1927, on Queen Street, Brisbane.[8] Following the opening of the Hobart store in 1940, Woolworths had a store in every state in Australia.[9]

A Woolworths store in 1951 on Sydney Road, Manly

With the company and its stores running successfully, Woolworths began to experiment with expanding their grocery range – more stores began stocking fresh fruits and vegetables and a larger range of food. The first self-service store in Beverly Hills, Sydney was opened in 1955.[8] In 1958 the first supermarket was opened at Dee Why, followed by the first purpose-built supermarket at Warrawong Plaza in 1960.[10] This site closed in 2012, but reopened in 2024. In 1958 Woolworths Limited acquired all 32 Brisbane Cash & Carry stores, which was a popular Brisbane grocery store chain. These were then later rebranded as Woolworths stores.[11] As Woolworths gradually focused more on groceries, the first Big W department store was opened in 1964 at Jesmond, New South Wales.[12]

Acquisition of Safeway and other expansion

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In 1982, Woolworths Limited acquired two Tasmanian grocery brands: Roelf Vos and Purity, which were converted into Woolworths stores in 2000.[citation needed] After the arrival of American supermarket giant Safeway in Australia in 1962, Safeway Australia was bought by Woolworths in 1985. Woolworths Limited acquired all of the Safeway stores and the naming rights in exchange for a 20% equity interest in Woolworths Limited.[13][14]

Whitford City has a 1990's era Woolworths sign atop the original Woolworths store (now part of the main mall) visible from the uppermost rooftop carpark.

In 1987, Woolworths launched the "Fresh Food People" campaign after implementing new company protocols for their fresh food departments.[8]

In 2007, Woolworths announced that it was planning to launch a general purpose credit card in 2008.[15] Woolworths offered these credit card holders reward vouchers redeemable throughout its store network.[16] Woolworths subsequently announced that the Woolworths Everyday Money MasterCard would be launched on 26 August 2008, allowing customers to earn shopping cards redeemable at Woolworths Group retailers.[17][18]

At the time of the acquisition, Safeway had 126 stores across Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales.[19] All Safeway stores in Queensland and New South Wales were rebranded as Woolworths supermarkets, but most Victorian stores continued trading as Safeway.[20] In 2008, Woolworths announced it would rebrand Safeway stores as Woolworths, and this process was completed in June 2017.[21] This was when Safeway Wodonga was closed and rebuilt as a Woolworths, ending the company of Safeway.

Woolworths store in Baxter,Victoria

Further developments

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The company's slogan changed slightly in 2012 to "Australia's Fresh Food People" to promote the fact that 96% of fresh produce sold in Woolworths supermarkets is grown in Australia.[22] In 2014 the original "The Fresh Food People" slogan returned with a new lineup of television commercials. Various other catchphrases have been used in recent advertisements, including "That's Today's Fresh Food People", and "Get Your Woolies Worth."

In 2018, Woolworths Group stopped providing single-use plastic bags during checkout at the same time as Coles Supermarkets, bringing them in line with Australia's third-biggest supermarket, Aldi.[23] In the following three months, Australian's plastic bag use dropped by 80%, leading to 1.5 billion fewer bags going to landfill.[24] Woolworths also committed to removing 180 tonnes of plastic packaging from their products in 2018.[25]

In 2019, Woolworths admitted to having underpaid 5,700 of its employees by up to 300 million dollars from 2010 to 2019.[26][27]

In July 2020, Woolworths were found guilty of breaching spam laws in excess of 5 million times and failing to unsubscribe customers from their mailing lists when requested to do so. The Australian Communications & Media Authority (ACMA) found Woolworths had unlawfully spammed more than a million customers between October 2018 and July 2019.[28] The supermarket was found to have repeatedly ignored consumers who had tried to prevent receipt of marketing emails and had not attempted to improve, despite the ACMA notifying the company that they had received customer complaints. The company was fined $1,003,800.[28]

ACMA chairman Nerida O'Loughlin said of the violation: "The spam rules have been in place for 17 years and Woolworths is a large and sophisticated organisation. The scale and prolonged nature of the non-compliance is inexcusable."[28]

In 2021, Woolworths and ARN launched Woolworths Radio which is powered by iHeartRadio. It plays in stores but also can be available to listen out of Woolworths Stores. It serves as a direct competitor to Coles Radio.[29]

In September 2021, Woolworths launched an online marketplace called Everyday Market. The marketplace allows customers to purchase products from partnered companies, including products not normally sold in the supermarket.[30]

In 2023, Woolworths announced the credit card offering would be discontinued at the end of their 8-year partnership with Macquarie Bank.[31]

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.[32][33]

In 2023, Woolworths came under scrutiny for converting some of its full-size stores into the smaller Woolworths Metro format stores. Woolworths Metro stores typically stock a lesser range of products and have a different pricing structure than the full format stores.[34] In August 2023, residents in Alexandria protested the planned conversion of their local Woolworths to a Woolworths Metro. A petition, promoted by local community groups, gathered over 1600 signatures, with support from the City of Sydney mayor, Clover Moore. Despite the community feedback, Woolworths pushed through with the Metro conversion.[35][36]

2020s inflation period

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A Woolworths vehicle parked in Westminster, Western Australia.

Both Woolworths and Coles Supermarkets have come under scrutiny in 2023–2025 due to their alleged collaboration in price gouging. Together, the two form a duopoly in the Australian supermarket industry colloquially known as Colesworth.[37] The supermarket chain claims this is an ongoing effect of the global 2021–2023 inflation.

CEO Brad Banducci was interviewed on the news program Four Corners in February 2024 and subsequently walked out mid interview, but later returned after being coaxed into returning to complete the interview. He subsequently announced his intention to resign from the position in September of that year with the managing director of e-commerce and loyalty, Amanda Bardwell replacing him as CEO.[38]

In April 2024, Woolworths admitted to underpaying staff by $1.24 million in long service leave entitlements between November 2018 and January 2023. More than a thousand employees in Victoria were affected, and Wage Inspectorate Victoria fined Woolworths $1.263 million.[39][40]

In September 2024, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) brought legal action against Woolworths, accusing the supermarket of misleading customers on discounts through their Prices Dropped promotions.[41] The ACCC claimed that prices under the promotion were subjected to sequential price rises of at least 15 percent for brief periods. It is also alleged that 266 products over a 20 month period were affected by the misconduct committed by the supermarket giant.[42]

Woolworths has committed to phasing out battery cages from its supply chains[43], and to end the sale of caged eggs by the end of 2025.[44] Progress toward this goal has been reported, with own‑brand whole shell eggs already fully cage free and 89% of vendor‑brand whole shell eggs sourced from cage‑free systems as of July 2025.[45] In September 2025, Woolworths did not meet its cage‑free egg commitment, citing industry supply challenges amid avian flu outbreaks. The company did not announce a revised deadline, and animal welfare groups called on it to uphold the original 2025 target.[46]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (August 2024). Supermarkets inquiry August 2024 Interim report (PDF). Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  2. ↑ "2022 Annual Report" (PDF). Woolworths Group. August 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  3. ↑ Davidson, Grant (30 April 2018). "The inspiration behind 10 of Australia's iconic brand names". Davidson Branding. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  4. ↑ "Our History". Woolworths Group. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  5. ↑ "Our Story: 1924 September". Woolworths Supermarkets. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  6. ↑ "Our Story: 1924 December". Woolworths Supermarkets. Archived from the original on 11 July 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  7. ↑ "Our Story: 1926 Printing Cash Registers". Woolworths Supermarkets. Archived from the original on 27 March 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 "Our History: The Woolworths Story". Woolworths Group. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  9. ↑ "Our Story: 1940 Woolworths Expands to Tasmania". Woolworths Supermarkets. Archived from the original on 30 March 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  10. ↑ Murray, James (1999). The Woolworths Way. A Great Australian Success Story 1924-1999. New South Wales: Focus Publishing. pp. 103–108. ISBN 1-875359-540.
  11. ↑ "1923 Brisbane Cash and Carry opens -". Australian Food Timeline. 16 September 1920. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  12. ↑ Wolski, Gilllian (17 November 2020). "Big W reveals major twist in brand's 50-year history". Yahoo Lifestyle. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  13. ↑ "The 70-year battle that changed Australian retailing". Australian Financial Review. 17 August 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  14. ↑ O'Connell, Jan (24 September 1980). "1985 Woolworths buys Safeway". Australian Food History Timeline. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  15. ↑ Carson, Vanda (27 August 2007). "Now it's Woolworths the credit card people". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  16. ↑ "Retailers take on the banks...again". Australian Financial Review. 30 January 2008. pp. 1, 61.
  17. ↑ "Woolworths launches new credit card". news.com.au. 18 August 2008. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  18. ↑ "Woolies MasterCard debuts in two weeks". The Sheet. 15 August 2008. Archived from the original on 14 August 2008. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  19. ↑ Prevor, Jim (2 November 2007). "How Woolworths Started & Grew" (PDF). Perishable Pundit. p. 31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  20. ↑ "Our Story". Woolworths Supermarkets. Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  21. ↑ Powell, Dominic (6 June 2017). "Last Safeway shuts up shop... GDP growth at 0.3%... Kogan has plans for NBN market". SmartCompany. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  22. ↑ "Woolworths unveils fresh 'fresh food' campaign". Inside Retail. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  23. ↑ "Woolworths brings forward plastic bag ban". SBS News. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  24. ↑ Khalil, Shireen (4 December 2018). "We have saved 1.5 billion plastic bags from landfill". News Mail. Archived from the original on 4 December 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  25. ↑ Woolworths Group (1 August 2018). "2018 Annual Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  26. ↑ Bonyhady, Nick (18 June 2021). "Wages ombudsman takes Woolworths to court over underpayments". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  27. ↑ Ryan, Peter; Chau, David (29 October 2019). "'We unreservedly apologise': Woolies admits underpaying staff up to $300m over nine years". ABC News. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  28. 1 2 3 Mills Turbet, Hanna (1 July 2020). "Woolworths hit with record $1 million fine for spamming customers". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  29. ↑ Boland, Bray (1 November 2021). "Woolworths and ARN team up to lock horns with Nova's Coles Radio". Radio Today. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  30. ↑ Blake, Dean (27 September 2021). "Woolworths' Everyday Market launches nationwide". Inside Retail. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  31. ↑ "Woolworths customers furious over major card change". Yahoo News. 8 April 2023.
  32. ↑ 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.
  33. ↑ 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.
  34. ↑ Brook, Benedict (30 June 2023). "Wages ombudsman takes Woolworths to court over underpayments". news.com.au. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  35. ↑ "Supermarkets record huge profits as Australians face cost of living crisis". www.9news.com.au. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  36. ↑ "Major change coming to some Sydney supermarkets - and not everyone is happy". www.9news.com.au. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  37. ↑ The cost of living with Coles and Woolworths | Four Corners. Retrieved 30 March 2024 – via www.youtube.com.
  38. ↑ Jolly, Nathan (21 February 2024). "Brad Banducci quits as Woolworths CEO after trainwreck ABC interview". mumbrella. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  39. ↑ Wong, Leanne (26 April 2024). "Woolworths fined $1.2 million over 'gross failure' to pay Victorian staff entitlements". ABC News. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  40. ↑ "Woolworths fined $1.263 million for underpaying $1 million in long service leave". www.vic.gov.au. Wage Inspectorate Victoria. 26 April 2024.
  41. ↑ Barrett, Jonathan; Butler, Josh (23 September 2024). "ACCC sues Coles and Woolworths over allegations of 'illusory' discounts on common products". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  42. ↑ "ACCC takes Woolworths and Coles to court over alleged misleading 'Prices Dropped' and 'Down Down' claims". accc.gov.au. 23 September 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  43. ↑ "Victorian farmers plead for pause on caged egg phase out". ABC News. 13 February 2025. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
  44. ↑ Brookes, Sarah (13 July 2023). "Ministers get cracking on plan to phase out caged eggs in Australia". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
  45. ↑ "Animal welfare". www.woolworthsgroup.com.au. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
  46. ↑ "Coles abandons plan to stop selling caged eggs by end of year". ABC News. 5 September 2025. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
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