Woolworths launches new luxury cafe with a pop-up store in South Africa – Photos
Woolworths has launched a new Woolworths Café concept store with a pop-up store at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.
The new Woolworths Café concept store is inspired by its waterfront surroundings, with the interior designed to make the harbour view a central feature of the customer experience.
According to Mariska van Wyk, head of Store Design at Woolworths, the concept store was designed to create a relaxed environment.
“One of the biggest inspirations for the design was the incredible view over the V&A harbour. From the start, we wanted to make sure that nothing competed with it,” she said in a LinkedIn post.
“The entire interior was designed around preserving this view, with the entrance and architectural forms specifically designed to frame the harbour, making it the first thing you see as you walk into the café.”
The café’s colour scheme also draws on the coffee-making process, taking inspiration from the colours of coffee blossoms through to the darker tones of roasted beans.
The barista station has been placed at the centre of the concept to make coffee preparation part of the experience.
“At the heart of the concept is a celebration of coffee and craft. By placing the barista centre stage, we’ve made the brewing process part of the experience, creating a stronger connection between the customer and the art of making great coffee,” van Wyk said.
The new café also includes The Gift Room by Woolworths, a small pop-up retail space designed to connect the retailer’s hospitality offering with its fashion and gifting business.
The pop-up uses layers of soft fabric to create an experience inspired by unwrapping a present, with the products and space gradually revealed as customers move through it.
Van Wyk said the addition was intended to create a softer transition between the café and Woolworths Fashion, while exploring opportunities to combine hospitality and retail in the same environment.
Strong demand for Woolworths Food
The concept comes as Woolworths continues to expand its food business and explore additional ways of reaching customers.
In its 2026 financial year, Woolworths Food delivered turnover and concession sales growth of 5.7% to R55.37 billion, or 3.7% on a comparable-store basis.
The division’s adjusted earnings before interest and tax increased by 3.2% to R3.71 billion, while its gross profit margin remained unchanged at 24.9%.
Woolworths said its food business continued to outperform the broader market, supported by product innovation and an increased focus on the in-store customer experience.
“Our Food business continued to deliver above-market turnover and concession sales growth of 5.7% and 3.7% on a comparable-store basis,” the group said.
Online sales also continued to grow, with on-demand sales through Woolies Dash increasing by 19.6%. Total online sales accounted for 7.3% of Woolworths Food sales in South Africa.
It said these additional offerings are intended to increase customer engagement, shopping frequency, and the number of ways consumers interact with the Woolworths brand.
“Anchoring the business in Food means protecting and growing our core Food retail proposition, while extending its reach through Food Services, convenience formats, strategic partnerships, digital channels, and selective capability-building opportunities,” the group said.
The café concept also fits into Woolworths Holdings’ broader strategy of connecting its different retail divisions and developing new customer experiences.
For the year, the group reported total turnover and concession sales of R84.5 billion, up 4.3%, while adjusted earnings before interest and tax increased by 2.8% to R5.3 billion.
However, group chief executive Sam Ngumeni said the results reflected a weaker consumer environment during the second half of the financial year.
“These results are not without merit given the macroeconomic context, but they are not good enough relative to the strength of our brand, the quality of our assets, and the level of investment we have made across the Group,” he said.
Photos of the new Woolworths Cafe concept store
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