Woolworths’ latest move in the Aussie supermarket war

Woolworths has made its latest play in an effort to step up its game in the Aussie supermarket war. Will it work?

In effort to expand its network of Metro stores across inner-city locations, Woolworths opened its latest store on York Street in Sydney yesterday.

There are now 16 Metros across Australia but the 310 square metre York Street store is the smallest. 
Targeting workers and rivaling convenience stores, the new metro store will offer coffee, readymade meals and a small range of groceries at the same prices as Woolworths’ larger supermarkets.

Also read: Is Woolworths losing the supermarket war?

“Today, time-poor customers are shopping more frequently, buying smaller baskets of goods, and looking for a quick in-store experience. Our Woolworths Metro stores offer customers real choice and convenience,” a Woolworths spokesperson said.

“Our York Street metro store opening is an exciting new offering for workers and residents of Sydney CBD.”

The metro store in Sydney will offer ready-to-go meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner, including sandwiches, salads, wraps, a bakery and cafe, hot food, sushi, and soup.

These stores will also offer shoppers a $9 meal deal which includes a sandwich, wrap or salad, a snack and a drink.

The news comes after Woolworths’ plan to slash grocery prices was found to do very little to help turn around business profits, instead hinting that the supermarket giant maybe losing ground to its competitors.

Also read: Prices to be slashed further as supermarket war continues

The retailer’s recent sales figures aren’t good news for the supermarket giant – food and liquor sales declined 0.9 per cent during the 13 weeks to April 2, when the figures are adjusted for Easter.

The decline shows Woolworths continues to leak market share to archrival Coles and German discount retailer Aldi.