Woolworths : unveils the next generation of supermarket

Larger fresh food offering and convenient shopping solutions set tone for renewed customer experience

Wednesday, 31 January 2018: Shoppers in Sydney's Inner West are the first in Australia to experience a new fresh and convenient frontier in supermarket shopping, with the official launch of the renewed Woolworths Marrickville Metro.

The store represents the largest individual investment by Woolworths in a store renewal since the program began in late 2015.

With an expanded fresh food offering, customers can pick their own living lettuce from a hydroponic setup, enjoy a flame-roasted chicken, select something for entertaining from the cheese cave or peruse the macro wholefood market aisle with over 200 certified organic lines.

A new 'Ready to Go' section at the front of the store, filled with ready meals, fresh sandwiches, salads and healthy juices also caters for time-poor customers looking for easy meal options. For those who choose to shop online and pick up their orders in-store, there are Pick up lockers located conveniently at the customer service desk.

Woolworths Supermarkets Managing Director, Claire Peters said: 'Woolworths Marrickville Metro marks the next evolution of our journey to create a neighbourhood food store that provides a great shopping experience for our customers, good prices on products they want, a great fresh offer and the convenience they are looking for.

'Our teams have spent a great deal of time understanding how our customers like to shop, looked across the globe for inspiration and designed the store with the local customer at the forefront to create this next generation grocery shopping experience. Every possible angle and aisle in this process has been revisited and the result is a rustic yet future-proof design with a real community spirit.'

Customers can also experience a full production bakery including freshly-made artisan bread, a new and larger range of fruit and vegetables, in-store butchery and fish market. Support for local producers is also a focus, with products being ranged from local brands such as Hellenic Patisserie and Pepe Saya.

Claire Peters added: 'We're also committed to reducing our impact on the environment and operating our stores more sustainably, so a lot has changed behind the scenes too. We've fitted out the store with LED lights to reduce power usage, switched to carbon-efficient refrigeration and air-conditioning systems and have an area in-store where customers can bring in their soft plastics to be recycled.'

The adjacent BWS has also been renewed, providing customers with a seamless journey between both stores and the ease of paying for their items from a dedicated register.

Claire Peters concluded: 'Being part of the local community is very important to us, so we're proud to support local schools and community groups via the store, and also help minimise food waste via our partnerships with Foodbank and OzHarvest to help provide meals to Australians in need.'

Last year, Marrickville Metro donated 18,000 meals to OzHarvest, while the store supports the St Pius Catholic Primary School in Enmore, providing fruit and veg for their Crunch&Sip program.

Store highlights include:

• Produce - Check out the Living Lettuce corner - where the hydroponic growing setup means the lettuce continues to grow until you place it in your shopping trolley - that's about as fresh as it gets.
• Deli - Designed for entertainers, customers can pick up cured meats sliced to order, their favourite olives from an expanded olive bar or select from over 200 cheeses in the cheese cave.
• Flame-Roasted Chicken - For the first time, Woolworths is doing flame-roasted chicken - perfect for family dinners. The juicy Free Range chicken has been expertly marinated with breadcrumbs, herbs and the juice of half a lemon - and hand-stuffed in-store. It's then flame roasted for 30 minutes to tender perfection.
• Bakery - Order custom-made party cakes at the bakery, enjoy freshly-made flatbread and artisan ranges.
• Butcher - Organic, Heart Smart and locally sourced meat - whatever you choose, the butcher team will cut, mince or vacuum pack it while you wait. A new and free 'Bag and Bake' service is now also available in meat and poultry.
• Seafood - All of the fish is caught locally from Australia and New Zealand. A new addition to the store is the 'Bag and Bake' offering which has some fantastic marinade options, and free.
• Macro Wholefoods Market - Over 200 certified organic lines, loose nuts, seeds and grains and an expanded gluten-free range to suit various dietary requirements.
• Sushi - Fresh sushi made to order and handmade by expert sushi chefs. Platter pre-orders also available.
• Pick up - For those who choose to shop online and pick up their orders in-store, there are Pick Up lockers located at the front of the store for a seamless and convenient experience.
• Ready to Go - 'Ready to Create' bags which are available in the Ready to Go section is an innovative new meal kit concepts offering convenience for customers who want to cook great recipes from scratch without the hassle of shopping for all the ingredients. Ready to create is the first meal kit concept available at a mainstream retailer in Australia allowing customers can pick up a bag whenever it suits them.

Opening hours for Woolworths Marrickville Metro are Monday - Sunday, 7am - 10pm.

-ENDS-

For further information, contact: Menreet Kaur, Woolworths PR Manager, mkaur4@woolworths.com.au, 0466 916 146