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Woolworths Bethlehem is the first store to open as Woolworths following its rebrand announcement in July.
The parent company of Woolworths and Countdown in New Zealand grew its group sales by 5.7% to A$64.3 billion (NZ$69.54b) in the year ending June 25.
Its sales for the year for New Zealand increased by 4.6% to A$7.9b.
However, the group said its New Zealand earnings before interest and tax fell by 21% to $249 million in the period due to inflation, despite recording a 4.6% increase in sales in the 2023 financial year.
Woolworths New Zealand managing director Spencer Sonn said the Countdown business, which is in the process of rebranding back to Woolworths, had not been immune to rising costs.
“The past year has been characterised by high inflation and we have not been immune to that. We know our customers have been facing cost challenges and, as a business, we are no different,” Sonn said in the group’s earnings announcement statement.
“High global inflation, ongoing supply chain issues and, closer to home, devastating weather events have all had a material impact on our business and affected our performance during the year.”
Sonn said despite the challenging operating environment the supermarket operator had delivered an average 19% increase to its staff wages over two years.
In July, Woolworths announced it would be rebranding its Countdown stores back to Woolworths as part of a $400 million transformation programme to renew its distribution centres and network of 191 stores.
The first new Woolworths supermarket opened in Tauranga last Thursday, with Countdown Bethlehem re-opening its doors as Woolworths Bethlehem after a $5m refresh over five months.
As part of its transformation programme, it has promised “more value for customers” through a refreshed loyalty programme and the launch of “everyday rewards” for New Zealand next year.
It also plans to establish more convenient e-commerce shopping options and will open a new fresh distribution centre in Christchurch in 2024.
More to come.
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