IndiaRetailBiz

Woolworths, the Australia-based multi-format value retailer, which provides buying, wholesale, supply chain and general consulting services to Croma — a Tata group owned retail chain of 22 stores for durables, electronics and IT products in India, could easily move into food and grocery retailing in India, says a Fairfax report .Woolworths, an over eight decades old, A$ 47 billion retailer, currently operates 3,030 stores across Australia and New Zealand. According to a financial analyst, the company could favourably look at India as its next destination for expansion.”With diminishing demand in New Zealand and increasing scrutiny by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission inquiry into grocery prices, the company’s focus may move to India,” said Craig Woolford, a Citi analyst to Australia’s Fairfax group, publishers of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

“To maintain its profit growth, Woolworths must look overseas for acquisitions and considers India as a possible market for expansion,” added Woolford.

Woolworths, a major foods and liquor retailer known across Australia as “The Fresh Food People,” operates supermarkets, convenience stores, liquor, petrol, general merchandise, and consumer electronic stores, employs over 180,000 persons and serves nearly two million customers every day, accounts for 31% of all food and liqour sales in Australia. It also opertes a discount chain of electronic stores called “Big W” in the continent.

Ajit Joshi, the Chief Executive of Tata group’s Infiniti Retail, which owns and operates Croma retail chain in India, according to the Fairfax report, had last year indicated about possible expansion that among others could include groceries and general merchandise retail. Tatas, incidentally are already selling food and grocery through Star Bazaar hypermarket chain that is owned and operated by another retail company of the group.

A spokesperson for Woolworths, however, refused to make any comment on the IANS report saying ”the media reports are highly speculative and (that) the company will not be making any comment on the reports.”