Woolworths unveils its store of the future

Woolworths unveils its new weapon in the store wars with refrigerated pick-up cabinets, scratch meal kits and made-to-order cakes.

Woolworths’ Claire Peters in the revamped supermarket at Marrickville in Sydney’s inner-west. Pic: Hollie Adams

Woolworths has set the scene for what it hopes will be a continuation of its sales surge, unveiling the latest revamp of its supermarkets format with an expansion of fresh, convenience and pick-up offerings at its Marrickville Metro store in Sydney providing a blueprint for a national rollout.

Under recently-installed supermarkets boss Claire Peters, the $56 billion retail giant is reclaiming floor space from the back of house to make room for expanded seafood, cake and bakery offerings, and placing refrigerated pick-up cabinets and new “scratch meal” ingredients kits at the front of stores in a bid to lure and retain customers.

At the official opening of the revamped Marrickville store today, Ms Peters showcased a whole yellowfin tuna in its expanded seafood section, live lettuce displays in the fresh fruit and vegetable sections, as well as a glass-encased flatbread oven and new made-to-order cakes in a custom-designed bakery section that is claimed to be the biggest in the country.

A whole yellowfin tuna puts the emphasis on fresh food. Picture: Hollie Adams

Ms Peters said the redesign aimed to capture a bigger share of fresh food and convenience sales for time-poor customers as well as improving engagement with the local community through charities and the sourcing of local produce.

But Ms Peters, who joined Woolworths’ biggest division from UK giant Tesco six months ago, said those priorities would not sacrifice value perceptions built on the retailer’s $1bn-plus “investment” in cheaper pricing.

Woolworths last year regained sales growth leadership over Coles after years of losing market share to its smaller rival and the aggressive German discounter Aldi.

A custom-designed bakery section that is said to be the biggest in the country.

Ms Peters said the product range at inner-city Marrickville had been tailored for a local community that skews towards higher incomes and a diverse ethnic mix, but not prices.

“From a price point of view it is exactly the same,” said Ms Peters, who most recently headed Tesco’s Thailand operations.

Woolworths spent several million dollars and 192 days on the Marrickville refit, which had to be conducted without completely closing the store.

The supermarket’s entrance emphasises the fresh, convenience and local community aspects of the store, with pick-up lockers in front of a new section that concentrates the convenience and takeaway food offerings.

Further into the fresh food section is a butcher that also offers bagged oven-ready meats, a seafood counter, milk fridge and a new gourmet cheese room that leads to the expanded bakery.

Convenience meals are part of the bid to lure customers: Picture: Hollie Adams

“There are elements of range that we have localised to the customer needs, which in some case are premium and some cases are ethnicity,” Ms Peters said.

“So actually whether it is a budget, a premium or a mainstream store, whatever we choose to call them, getting the offer right for the customers that shop there is what our path is.”

The more traditional grocery sections have also had a makeover with deeper shelves and wider aisles.

Marrickville is the first major redesign since the 2016 makeover of the Warringah Mall store on Sydney’s northern beaches, and provides a major reference for the 80-100 stores that Woolworths refits every year.

Convenience is the key at Marrickville Woolies.