Three new formats for FoodWorks

Independent retail supermarket group, Australian United Retailers Limited (AUR), the company behind FoodWorks, has announced a new retail strategy, which will see three new FoodWorks formats rolled out from 2017.

AUR’s chief procurement and commercial officer, Anthony Abdallah; CEO, Rick Wight; and chief operating officer, Kym Coventry delivered the new retail strategy for FoodWorks to suppliers this week.

“One retail format no longer caters for the evolving shopping habits of our customers and these new formats have been specifically developed to take our business into the future by responding our offer to the needs of the communities we service,” Mr Abdallah said.

The relaunched FoodWorks retail formats include:

• FoodWorks Supermarkets – targeted to families and the primary shopper in major cities/towns. Core range includes extensive offerings across all departments, with a heavy fresh food focus.
• FoodWorks Local – targeted to families/elderly couples living in regional areas, as well as holiday makers/visitors depending on the location/demographic of the store. Core range tailored to location and could be a mix of all departments as well as impulse categories, with a strong fresh foods focus.
• FoodWorks Express – targeted to a transient customer base, which includes a combination of passing traffic, public transport users and local residents. Core range focus centred around impulse categories such as confectionery, soft drinks, fresh and on-the-go meal solutions.

Mr Abdallah said the new retail formats would provide more targeted sales growth opportunities for its suppliers who could now use the data and analytics available to tailor products and promotions to the different retail formats.

“This is an exciting time for our business, suppliers and customers. We are confident this new strategy will drive more traffic through our stores, increase sales and profitability and ensure our customers are getting access to the products they want and need,” he said.

Since FoodWorks Supermarket Group and AUR merged in 2004, the company now has close to 650 supermarkets, food and convenience stores nationwide, with more than 400 of these outlets operating under the FoodWorks banner.

Stores will start transitioning to the new formats from early 2017 and the complete changeover is expected to take 12 to 18 months.

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