24 Facts About Woolworths Limited

Woolworths Group Limited is an Australian trans-Tasman retailer headquartered in Bella Vista, Sydney, with extensive operations throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Woolworths Limited experienced steady growth throughout the 20th century and began to diversify its business, closing the last of its variety stores in the 1980s to focus on its portfolio of other retail brands.

Since 2012, Woolworths Limited has undergone significant consolidation, divesting its shopping centre, electronics retailing, home improvement, fuel retailing, liquor retailing and hospitality businesses to concentrate on supermarket retail.

Woolworths Limited currently owns Woolworths Limited Supermarkets, customer loyalty program Everyday Rewards and discount department store Big W in Australia and the Countdown, SuperValue and FreshChoice supermarkets in New Zealand.

Woolworths Limited opened its first store, the Woolworths Limited Stupendous Bargain Basement, in the old Imperial Arcade Pitt Street, Sydney, where Westfield Sydney now stands, on 5 December 1924.

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New Woolworths Limited store was the first variety store in the world to use cash registers that print receipts for customers.

Woolworths Limited grew further in the 1930s, despite the depression, until by the end of 1933 it had 23 stores.

In 1957, Woolworths Limited began to diversify from variety retailing when it opened its first food store at Dee Why, Sydney.

In 1996, Woolworths Limited entered the petrol retailing market, initially with wholly-owned "Plus Petrol" outlets located in shopping centre parking lots.

Woolworths Limited expanded its liquor retailing portfolio with the acquisition of the Dan Murphy's liquor barn stores in 1998.

In 1999, Woolworths Limited began a joint venture with the Commonwealth Bank called Woolworths Limited Ezy Banking, which was scaled back by 2006.

In 2001, Woolworths Limited expanded its consumer electronics retailing interests with the purchase of the Tandy chain in Australia from InterTan.

Also in 2001, Woolworths Limited established the smaller format liquor retailing chain BWS to complement its big-box liquor retailer Dan Murphys.

In 2005, Woolworths Limited expanded its portfolio to 250 hotels by acquiring the Taverner Hotel Group.

In 2012, Woolworths Limited placed 69 shopping centres it owned into a real estate investment trust known as Shopping Centres Australasia Property Group, which listed as a separate entity on the ASX on 26 November 2012.

In December 2016, Woolworths Limited announced it would sell its Caltex Woolworths Limited branded petrol stations to British multinational oil and gas company BP for AU$1.

On 9 November 2018, Woolworths Limited announced it would instead sell its petrol stations to the British company EG Group for $1.

In March 2019, Woolworths Limited launched a stand-alone media business called Cartology to communicate with supplier partners and customers.

Woolworths Limited indicated that it would explore options to divest the newly created Endeavour Drinks business in 2020, subject to shareholder approval at an annual general meeting.

Also in 2019, Woolworths Limited admitted to having underpaid its employees by millions of dollars.

In 2020, Woolworths Limited was found to have repeatedly ignored consumers who had tried to prevent receipt of marketing emails and had not attempted to improve, despite the AMCA notifying the company that they had received customer complaints.

In October 2020, Woolworths Limited rebranded its supply chain function as Primary Connect with the goal of evolving it into an end-to-end service provider for the group as well as external businesses.

In February 2022, Woolworths Limited Group rebranded its logo to better represent "what its collective businesses and platforms stand for today".

Woolworths Limited says that it showcases its impact on a "Better Tomorrow [sic]".