quick overview:
- Growth in trading space;
- number of new stores slowed but growth remains strategically relevant;
- modernisations ongoing; and
- operational excellence a key focus in stores.
2009 focus
upgrade and modernisation
Continue to increase trading space in relevant locations and upgrade and modernise selected stores.
new stores
Rollout 28 new corporate stores (nine full-line and 19 food stand-alone) and 12 new franchise stores, including 10 Woolworths Food Stops. Focus on fewer food stand-alones but bigger format stores.
training and development
Implement a structured training programme in a phased approach with clear career paths for store employees.
retail: selling and real estate
Woolworths real estate and format strategy is driven by customer convenience which ensures that the right product is available at the correct location for Woolworths customers. Ongoing analysis of customer data provides valuable insight for real estate development and effective store cataloguing.
During the year, trading space grew by 7.3%. Woolworths opened 42 stores, bringing the total number of stores to 385 in 2008.
10 full-line stores were opened over the last year in key retail developments, supporting a cross-shop between clothing, food, beauty and general merchandise all located in one store. One clothing and general merchandise store was opened during the year.
17 new food stand-alone stores were located in suburbs, providing a convenient food shopping experience for local customers. 14 Woolworhts Food Stops were opened on Engen forecourts, further supporting a convenience offer for Woolworths customers.
Return on investment from new store openings, specifically the food stand-alones, has met expectations. Despite exceeding the required hurdle rate, there are a couple of smaller food stand-alone stores which are under-performing and lessons learned from these stores are applied to new store developments.
11 stores were modernised during 2008 to give customers the contemporary experience of a world-class retailer. Improving service in stores has been a priority over the last year by setting clear standards, measuring performance and rewarding star performers. Assisted self-selection continues to be the guiding principle of in-store service which is differentiated through specialist services in key areas such as WCollection, Country Road, Connect and beauty.
Driving operational excellence by maximising the use of existing in-store resources continued to be an important focus. Driving better staff productivity levels, optimising the utilisation of space, reducing expenses and improving in-store discipline contributed to operational excellence over the last year.
Woolworths continues to support 157 franchise operations in South Africa, in selected African countries and in the Middle East.