Woolworths dumps its Woolworths Select products under new product changes in Australia

WOOLWORTHS’ Select brand will join Homebrand and the supermarket’s ‘Cheap Cheap’ ad campaign on the scrap heap.

WOOLWORTHS’ Select brand will join Homebrand and the supermarket giant’s ‘Cheap Cheap’ advertising campaign on the scrap heap.

The supermarket has confirmed it will phase out its mid-tier ‘Select’ brand under a transition from ‘Select’ to a new ‘Woolworths’ label.

‘Select’, introduced in 2005, will be replaced as part of chief executive Brad Banducci’s effort to lift the struggling retailer’s sales.

The ‘Select’ private label has struggled with its competitors Aldi and Coles.

A Woolworths spokesman told News Corp Australia that the new Woolworths label will “become food focused”.

Some of the Woolworths Select products offered to customers. Picture: Woolworths website

He also said the price of the new Woolworths labelled products will offer customers “greater value”.

“On price we will offer our customers greater value, which will see the Woolworths label being more competitive in the marketplace than Select currently is,” he said.

More than 1,000 products carry the ‘Select’ brand, ranging from frozen pies and berries to razor blades.

“The new Woolworths label will allow our customers to make a purchase knowing the Woolworths brand guarantees its quality,” a Woolworths spokesman told News Corp Australia.

“This will become a food-focused brand (covering a couple of thousand products) — Select currently covers both food and non-food products.”

The move comes in the wake of Woolworths’ decision to dump its 33-year-old ‘Homebrand’ label, which itself came after the retailer axed an unpopular advertising campaign starring animated birds and singer Samantha Jade.

The Woolworths Homebrand products which are also going. Picture: Woolworths website

The Woolworths spokesman also said the new label will offer customers products that are more consistent.

“The Woolworths label will allow us to offer our customers fresh produce and food products that are more consistent in their promise and delivery,” he said.

The label will be rolled out over the next couple of years, with the bulk of the new range sitting on shelves in the 2017 financial year.