Woolworths’ Homebrand bites the dust as retailer works to turn its fortunes around
Home Brand scrapped after more then three decades
Woolworths is scrapping its no-frills Homebrand line in favour of its similarly priced but more upmarket Essentials brand, a year after flagging that consumers had fallen out of love with it.
Reacting to the increased perception that the Woolies Homebrand reflected low quality as well as low price, the embattled retailer will rebrand its house label lines over coming months.
The move to scrap the brand is the first major initiative to be undertaken under new CEO Brad Banducci, who took the helm at the end of February.
That is not Woolworths problem. The problems at Woolworths can best be summarised in my view as:
They adverstise a certain product or pricing structure and only keep it for a month or so, eg liptons tea at $3.50 but put price back up.
They advertise cheaper prices, but many items now at Big W can be bought cheaper elsewhere. I have examples.
They terrorise their counter staff who are afraid to offer feedback, because that will see a reduction in casual hours for that person. In other words employee management skills are lousy.
Their stores are getting delapidated, and the fresh food peoples fruit and vegetables are off a few days after buying them.
They can argue about their management skills but the proof of the pudding is in the eating.Masters is a classic example and Big W.
At masters every single male I know says they stock the wrong products. If they were ever right with their model why didn’t they stop growing the number of stores and make what they had work. Shareholders have paid a huge price, which if they are not careful about the company is ripe for takeover.
Big W has joined the race to the bottom in quality of product, particularly clothing, whilst target is heading slightly the other way. empty shelves at Big W doesn’t inspire confidence in management or systems.
All in all it is the contempt that Woolworths show to it’s customers that is damaging it the most. They never consider the customers when withdrawing product from sale aonly their bottom line. The customers and public are sick of their attitude.
Stop advertising what they are not delivering would be a good staff to start the turnaround. It might create some credibility with their Brand name again.
Many Regards Michael
Another reactive Woolworths decision, now by this retailer’s new management, that not only undermines their multi-tier store brand strategy but also assumes the shopper has not worked out what ‘good enough’ quality actually means. Next WW will try to stretch Select up to the premium quality level that Gold is ill-fitted to deliver, while shoppers will continue to regularly shop at multiple retailers to keep putting more value in their basket/s for the same overall spend.
This sounds like a decision made with absolutely no insight into how and why people shop at Woolworths in the first place.
Has anyone in the management team actually listened to what customers have to say?
Good to see the new management continuing the tradition of rearranging the deck chairs.
Oh no! I’ll have to steal me tampons from Woolies instead
“When customers see each product move to the new Essentials packaging they can be assured the product will offer market leading value for money for our customers.”
The red packaging gave a perception of low quality. New packaging – and new name will fool us all. Are we consumers this stupid? Maybe we are.
Yes, they are. Aldi sells exactly the same products but people think its superior.
@harold, no, Aldi house brands are the same quality or better than the “top tier” Woolworths “Select” range, but are sold at similar prices to Woolworths bottom tier Home Brand range.
It looks like Woolworths are going to simply chop out the cheap range and position their new “Essentials” range at higher prices than Aldi.
So customers who regularly shop at both supermarkets are going to simply see their familiar well priced and good quality Aldi lines but are going to be confronted by unfamiliar lines at Woolies, at higher prices. Fail.
Why would Woolworths use a name that is already associated with Target. They’ve been using the Essentials name for their private label products for years.
Good point, I’ve been wondering where I’ve heard that “Essentials” name and now you’ve solved that one for me.
Talking of Wesfarmers, this whole exercise sounds like a thought bubble emanating from a committee meeting. I’m sure there was mighty backslapping going on afterwards, not to mention boot licking of the new CEO and his blinding flash of marketing genius.
Much in the same way that Wesfarmers made a snap decision ten years ago to immediately convert their budget level BILO stores to Coles stores, then eventually to attach the Coles name to Target and Kmart stores. What a good idea, how could they have been so blind up to now. What is this Aldi you speak of? hah they’ll never amount to much.
That was a disaster that they’ve only just recovered from in the last few years. Sales at the new re-branded former BILO stores plummeted and half way through the exercise they had to abruptly stop the changeover to stop the bleeding. When I lived in Old Bar NSW the BILO store only just got converted last year.
What’s the betting that after an abysmal drop in their house brand sales, Woolies will have to backtrack and halt their current spur-of-the-moment exercise.