Australian retail giant Woolworths has announced plans to open 39 supermarkets in the coming financial year.
According a report in Perth Now, the roll out is part of a major review of how the company operates. It estimates new initiatives will create 10,000 jobs and potentially boost fresh food sales by as much as A$2.5bn (US$2.6bn).
The move comes in response to major rival Coles opening 21 oulets last year.
Woolworths new chief executive Grant O’Brien said the company also planned to become a leader in multichannel retailing promoting both online and in-store shopping. This would be facilitated by the creation of a mobile platform connecting a smart phone app to the retailer’s online store.
“The future demands that we provide the opportunity for customers to shop as they do today, but also shop online, either from home or on their smart phones,” he said.
“We are increasingly finding that our most valuable customers are ones who do both – for example in our supermarket business, customers who shop both in-store and online spend 70 per cent more than customers who only shop in-store.”
The company also stated it would work to increase the market penetration of its own-brand products.
Woolworths Australian supermarkets division managing director Tjeerd Jegen said the company’s sales of own-brand products lagged behind those of major retailers in other countries. Woolworths would push to double own-brand sales, he added.
“Customers have told us loud and clear that they love the value and quality offered by own brands,” he said. “They have given us a firm mandate to deliver more of this and we will achieve it by expanding our ranges, lowering our prices, further increasing our quality and strengthening our brand presence. We have three very successful and well trusted multi-category own brands and there is a fantastic opportunity to make them better.”
