Woolworths should ditch its discount chain Big W and spin off its New Zealand division, according to some major investors who want the retailing giant to focus on turning around its local supermarkets where sales growth has been slower than Coles.

Those investors are complaining that the country’s largest supermarket operator is too complicated compared to its smaller rival, which has drastically simplified its operations to focus on groceries and liquor. Coles has outperformed Woolworths in terms of sales growth over the past 12 months.