Our History (2024)

In December 2017, the Annual General Meeting of shareholders approves the change of our company name from Woolworths Limited to Woolworths Group Limited.

The same year, we also create a new business and innovation arm, WooliesX, which combines our digital, e-commerce, data and customer divisions.

Woolworths purchases a stake in the analytics firm Quantium.

With the aim of growing the business using improving customer analytics capability.

Taking our drink business online.

Since its humble beginnings in 1982, Cellarmasters has grown to become one of the largest direct wine marketers in the world.

Each week, around 21,000 cases of wine leave our Barossa Valley warehouses to be delivered straight to the front doors of thousands of customers around the country.

Woolworths acquired the Cellarmasters business in 2011.

Woolworths opens the first Croma store in Mumbai, India.

Croma is India’s first chain of multi-brand outlets for consumer electronics and durable products.

As their wholesaler, we’re responsible for providing their entire inventory of stock – as well as lending a hand with their IT, training and store layout.

Taking our drinks and hotel operations to a whole new level.

In 2004, our drink and hotel operations take a gigantic leap forward with the acquisition of Australian Leisure and Hospitality Limited.

Time for a whole new way of doing business.

Project Refresh was our home-grown business change program – designed to help us realign and transform the way we managed the Group.

Results driven and focused on best practice, our first task was to find ways to improve efficiency and eliminate waste and duplication.

The end of the road for an Australian icon?

For the first time in 65 years, no final dividend is recommended or paid on Woolworths’ shares.The following year, IEL advised of an unconditional offer for all shares to be bought at $3.65 cash per share.

Our Directors recommended acceptance of this offer, and on 28 April 1989 – having acquired 98.4% of our shares – IEL preceded with the compulsory acquisition of the remaining Woolworths shares.Later that year, the Woolworths Group’s shares were de-listed and the company no longer appeared on the Stock Exchange.

The start of our exciting journey into the world of electronics retail.

In 1981, Woolworths acquireds 60% of the companies owned and operated by Dick Smith Electronics (the remaining 40% would follow in 1983).

Later, in 2001, we add Tandy to the Dick Smiths Electronics Division, and in 1996, we open the first Dick Smith PowerHouse, in Bankstown, NSW.

Australia gets a taste for discounts with its first BIG W discount department store.

When BIG W opened its doors for business in Tamworth, NSW, nobody expected it to be the enormous success it was.

But by the end of 1978, we had opened 13 BIG W discount stores across all five states and even one in the ACT.

Our first supermarket heralds a new beginning for Woolworths.

In 1960, we began to develop what we now know as purpose-built supermarkets.

Under one roof – with adjacent parking – customers could access a range of food and variety goods at value prices.

Our first – built in Warrawong, New South Wales – was such a success that store plans still on the drawing board, were reviewed and immediately converted to adopt the new model.

By 1955, shoppers were doing it for themselves.

Although common place today, Woolworths’ first self-service stores revolutionises the shopping experience – allowing customers to select their purchases in-store and pay at cash registers at the front.

Our first self-service store – located in Sydney’s Beverley Hills – was quickly followed by dozens of other Woolworths stores wanting to jump on board with this pioneering formula.

Giving the team security in their retirement.

Our success meant that we were in a position to create an assurance scheme that would provide Woolworths employees with the security they needed in their retirement.

After all, these were the people that had seen us through the great depression – the ones who’d worked tirelessly to help us come out, unscathed, on the other side.The scheme was made retrospective to the company’s foundation (all the way back to 1924) so that all employees would be covered from the day they joined the team.

We officially become a ‘chain’ when our second store openes on 6 August 1927.

It was never our intention to develop into a ‘chain’, but when we were offered a bargain-priced premises on Queen Street in Brisbane, we had to accept it.

The depression years were wreaking havoc across the world, but for some reason, Woolworths continued to grow.

In 1926, we became the first variety chain in the world to introduce receipt-printing cash registers.

In 1929, we opened our first store in New Zealand and by 1930, we had 16 stores across New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and New Zealand.