Two BIG W stores set to close across Melbourne
In a dramatic overhaul, struggling department store chain Big W has confirmed a number of its Melbourne stores will be closing. Here’s which suburbs will be losing their local store.
Business
Don't miss out on the headlines from Business. Followed categories will be added to My News.
BIG W has announced the closure of three more stores, with two of them in Melbourne.
The Big W outlets in Box Hill and Broadmeadows in Melbourne and Armidale in New South Wales will close at the end of January next year.
The latest store closures were announced on Tuesday by owner Woolworths.
The closures are part of a dramatic overhaul of Big W announced last year which will result in 30 outlets and two distribution centres closing.
Rival Target is also being dramatically shrunk as stores are closed or converted to Kmarts.
Big W managing director David Walker said the discount department store chain would try to redeploy impacted staff across the wider Woolworths group which also owns Dan Murphy’s.
“The decision to close any store is difficult, particularly now that communities are being challenged during COVID-19,” Mr Walker said.
“Supporting our team remains our priority and we are committed to doing the right thing by them. Over the next five months, we will explore every redeployment opportunity available with team members who choose to continue their career at Big W or with other Woolworths Group brands.
“We remain committed to building a strong and sustainable Big W that meets the needs of Australian families.”
The store closures are also a new blow to shopping centre landlords which have written billions off the book value of their centres amid the pandemic.