Type Subsidiary Key people - Acting CEO Website bigw.com.au Number of locations 186 Revenue 4.11 billion AUD (2015) Parent organization Woolworths Limited | Operating income Founded 1964 Number of employees 22,000 | |
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CEO David Walker (16 Nov 2016–) Profiles | ||
Big w managing director steps down for health reasons after complaints were made about his verba
Big W is an Australian chain of discount department stores, which was founded in regional New South Wales in 1964. The company is a division of Woolworths Limited and currently operates 186 stores, with about 22,000 employees across Australia and Asia. The company has recently suffered setbacks and its future is in doubt.
Contents
- Big w managing director steps down for health reasons after complaints were made about his verba
- History
- Stores
- Services
- Future for Big W
- References
History
Woolworths Limited developed the Big W brand to provide Australian shoppers with a broad range of general merchandise products in a dedicated one-stop-shop. The Big W chain grew out of Woolworths Limited's original Variety stores, which carried a small range of general merchandise products. The first Big W stand-alone store opened in 1964 at Jesmond, New South Wales. Big W's name reflects the complementary relationship it has with Woolworths Supermarkets. The separation of Big W and Woolworths supermarkets was largely completed by 1989, although a few Woolworths Variety stores continued to operate into the 1990s (such as the one in Rundle Mall, Adelaide).
Stores
In 2015, there were 186 Big W stores trading across Australia: 63 in New South Wales, 46 in Queensland, 34 in Victoria, 17 in Western Australia, 17 in South Australia, 5 in the Australian Capital Territory, 3 in Tasmania and 1 trading in the Northern Territory.
Services
In 2007, Big W began trialling the provision of optometry services in South Australia and since then, these services have been added to selected stores in Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Big W were the first company in Australia to use self-serve checkouts, which were introduced in 2003 on a trial basis in two of Sydney's major stores and began expanding throughout Australia in late 2005.
In August 2014, Big W launched its first Party store at Rouse Hill in New South Wales and its second at the newly refurbished Macquarie Centre at North Ryde in New South Wales. There are currently 134 such stores across Australia.
Big W is the leading and largest physical retailer of books and toys in Australia.
Future for Big W
In November 2016, the chief executive Sally Macdonald resigned. The company had not been at its peak for some time, and there is speculation as to the future of the company. It reported a $1.235 billion annual loss in August, and with the resignation of Macdonald its share price dipped and those of its rivals, such as Target and K Mart, rose. It recently off loaded its Masters hardware chain and much of its fuel businesses in an attempt to raise capital. Commentators are still divided on whether it can recover. While it is certainly possible, the main problem seems to be that the Woolworths Group is "somewhat dysfunctional at the moment".