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- This article is about the Australian supermarket. For the parent company, see Woolworths Limited. For other retailers of similar name (including F.W. Woolworth and its associated companies), see Woolworth's.
Woolworths is the name of a supermarket chain in Australia, owned by Woolworths Limited. In Victoria, it trades under the name Safeway.
History
Beginning as a single basement store in Sydney, Woolworths now has a shopping centre in almost every metropolitan and regional centre of Australia. In December 1924, Woolworths' first ever store - the Woolworths Stupendous Bargain Basement, opened in the old Imperial Arcade in Pitt Street, Sydney. Woolworths grew rapidly, and had soon acquired a chain of stores: 31 in Australia and 9 in New Zealand. Throughout the Depression, Woolworths looked after Australians by continuing to grow with new stores and employ local workers. Woolworths also encouraged manufacturers to continue to develop their production facilities - leading to an increase in the amount of Australian-made goods sold through Woolworths stores. Twenty five new Woolworths stores opened in the first months of World War II. During this time Woolworths pioneered the supply of a wide range of low price, quality merchandise to rural Australia - especially to remote areas such as Alice Springs and Darwin. Diversification into fresh food led to the opening of Woolworths' first Food Fair Store, and soon became one of Australia's biggest retailers of fresh fruit and vegetables. During the 1980s, Woolworths branded itself as the "Fresh Food People" - claiming a commitment to delivering quality fresh food to their customers. In 1985, Woolworths acquired Australian Safeway. Woolworths had now become the market leader in grocery sales, serving up to 10 million customers per week. In just two years, profit rose from $8 million to an incredible $136 million. In 1993, the $2,450 million Woolworths' share float was the biggest in Australia's history.
Departments
Woolworths Supermarkets throughout Australia are divided up into separate sections, known as departments:
Service
Also known as "Checkout" or "Front End" checkouts and service desk and the service they provide to customersNon Trade
Store management, systems office, backdock, cash and invoice office, also involves magazines and video returns.Service Deli
Sliced meats, cheeses and other Deli foods. Generally also sells hot foods such as chickens.Seafood
Although it is usually placed in the Deli, Seafood is considered a separate trading department.Bakery
In selected stores, baking fresh bread, cakes, etc. in store.Proprietary Bakery
Pre-packaged or Woolworths brand or brand name bread products.Meat
The larger stores have in-store butchers, while the smaller ones receive pre-packaged meats from a distribution centre.Produce
Fruit, vegetables, herbs, nuts, plants and flowers.Perishables
Includes Dairy (chilled goods such as eggs, milk, juices, sliced meats, yoghurts and cheese) and Frozen Foods (vegetables, meals, ice-creams, chicken and deserts).Long Life
Also known as "Grocery", Long Life is the largest department of the store. It includes all areas of a store that are not managed by other groups of staffGrocery Nightfill
Often managed under the command of the long life manager.Liquor
Some stores also have a Woolworths Liquor outlet attached. It is important to note that Woolworths and Woolworths Liquor are separate stores, however those attached to a supermarket are operated under the command of that stores store manager, as opposed to free standing liquor outletsFuel
Woolworths pioneered the 4c/litre fuel offer in 2003. The offer specifies that if a consumer spends more that $30.00 in a single transaction the consumer will receive a coupon which will entitle them to 4c discount per litre of petrol purchased. The coupon can be used at over 470 outlets Australia wide are branded as either Caltex Woolworths Fuel or Woolworths Plus Petrol.External links
- Woolworths - Official Site
"Woolworths (supermarkets)"