{"id":621451,"date":"2022-08-31T13:51:27","date_gmt":"2022-08-31T11:51:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=621451"},"modified":"2022-09-01T14:43:25","modified_gmt":"2022-09-01T12:43:25","slug":"big-changes-coming-for-woolworths-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/621451\/big-changes-coming-for-woolworths-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Big changes coming for Woolworths in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Retailer Woolworths says it plans significant reinvestment into its South African business, particularly in digital and data, with a further R8 billion of capex scheduled over the next three years.<\/p>\n<p>The group <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/621283\/woolworths-hikes-dividend-as-it-touts-healthiest-balance-sheet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">on Wednesday<\/a> (31 August) published its results for the 52 weeks ended 26 June 2022, showing marginal turnover, buoyed by strong online sales growth and encouraging second-half performance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am very pleased with the Group\u2019s performance. We have delivered the healthiest balance sheet in almost a decade, double-digit profit growth supported by strong momentum in Australia and signs of the turnaround of FBH, and the return of excess cash to our shareholders,\u201d said WHL Group CEO Roy Bagattini.<\/p>\n<p><a  data-lightbox=\"post-image\" href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/WoolworthsResults-e1661937236560.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-621477\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/WoolworthsResults-e1661937236560.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"347\" srcset=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/WoolworthsResults-e1661937236560.png 1200w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/WoolworthsResults-e1661937236560-300x87.png 300w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/WoolworthsResults-e1661937236560-1024x296.png 1024w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/WoolworthsResults-e1661937236560-768x222.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The group admitted that its food business underperformed, despite very strong online growth.<\/p>\n<p>Food grew turnover by 4.2% &#8211; reflecting the impact of the high Covid base and the return to out-of-home consumption, an increasingly competitive backdrop, and low product inflation across key categories, it said.<\/p>\n<p>Woolworths has competition in the premium space with the likes of Shoprite <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/565748\/shoprite-wants-to-position-checkers-in-the-mid-to-upper-market-as-it-targets-pet-baby-and-health\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Checkers<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/611476\/pick-n-pay-is-taking-on-woolworths-with-new-premium-house-brand\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pick n Pay<\/a> increasingly playing in that space.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"RG8ZSZkpEk\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/616003\/luxury-food-shootout-woolworths-vs-pick-n-pay-vs-checkers\/\">Luxury food shootout: Woolworths vs Pick n Pay vs Checkers<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;Luxury food shootout: Woolworths vs Pick n Pay vs Checkers&#8221; &#8212; BusinessTech\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/616003\/luxury-food-shootout-woolworths-vs-pick-n-pay-vs-checkers\/embed\/#?secret=5mrfyCYxOA#?secret=RG8ZSZkpEk\" data-secret=\"RG8ZSZkpEk\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Online sales increased by 45.4%, contributing 3.2% of South African sales, assisted by the further rollout of the group\u2019s on-demand online offering.<\/p>\n<p>Woolworths has previously noted that its i<span id=\"page274R_mcid20\" class=\"markedContent\"><span class=\"markedContent\"><span class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">nvestment is increasingly shifting to <span class=\"highlight selected appended\">digital<\/span>, data, and online. Woolworths said it will e<span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">xpand the scope of an already-established group-wide data organisation<\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">, <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">elevate data analytics, and embed a culture of data-driven decision-making<\/span>. It said it will further leverage <span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">the existing wealth of data<\/span> <span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">to better inform decisions <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">and processes<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"page274R_mcid20\" class=\"markedContent\"><span class=\"markedContent\"><span class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">Additionally, the group said it will &#8216;r<span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">efresh loyalty&#8217;<\/span> <span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">in all its businesses to &#8220;enable greater differentiation <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">and personalisation as a driver of increased engagement and <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">incremental spend&#8221;.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a  data-lightbox=\"post-image\" href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/WoolworthsCapex.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-622049\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/WoolworthsCapex.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"656\" height=\"710\" srcset=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/WoolworthsCapex.png 656w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/WoolworthsCapex-277x300.png 277w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 656px) 100vw, 656px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>To address the softer than expected growth in food, Woolworths said its biggest opportunity lies in growing the core business.<\/p>\n<p>It will focus on the following key priorities:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Driving on-shelf availability;<\/li>\n<li>Amplify its differentiated value proposition;<\/li>\n<li>Increase its marketplace presence;<\/li>\n<li>Dial-up marketing and customer engagement;<\/li>\n<li>Continue to drive profitable growth and sustain returns on capital.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"markedContent\"><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">Woolworths said it will a<\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">ccelerate physical<\/span> <span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">space growth<\/span> <span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">and test <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">new concepts, formats and layouts<\/span> at its stores. It will also d<span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">rive<\/span> <span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">on-shelf availability, range consistency, <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">and increase localised offerings<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>For its Fashion Beauty and Home division, which showed signs of recovery in the reporting period, Woolworths said it will continue to execute its \u2018edit to amplify\u2019 Fashion strategy and drive opportunities to grow market share in Beauty and Home, by:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Implementing a more flexible, responsive sourcing model, including increasing its local manufacturing component.<\/li>\n<li>Driving a multi-year investment in FBH value chain to transform its planning systems, processes and logistics.<\/li>\n<li>Nearing the end of space rationalisation, and a new format W Edit coming on stream<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"markedContent\"><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">Woolworths said it aims to a<\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">chieve<\/span> <span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">\u2018right price, first time\u2019 and will o<\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">ptimise its physical footprint<\/span> <span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">while trialling new catalogues and formats. It will also e<\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">xpand its beauty<\/span> <span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">offer in existing doors and introduce new <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">stores, including Africa.<\/span><br role=\"presentation\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"markedContent\"><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">The group is also targeting increased market share for its &#8216;Home&#8217; division<\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">, with a particular focus on key categories, <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\">while also leveraging online<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/619645\/perfect-storm-hits-retailers-in-south-africa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Perfect storm hits retailers in South Africa<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Retailer Woolworths says it plans significant reinvestment into its South African business, particularly in digital and data, with a further R8 billion of capex scheduled over the next three years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":621485,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[26,4067,17345,949],"class_list":["post-621451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-headline","tag-pick-n-pay","tag-shoprite-checkers","tag-woolworths"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=621451"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":622051,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621451\/revisions\/622051"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/621485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=621451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=621451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=621451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}