Woolworths Group is to rebrand its chain of 194 Countdown stores in New Zealand under the Woolworths name.
The rebranding is part of a $370M, three-year transformation plan for the company which will see older stores revamped and an upgraded customer loyalty program.
In a statement, the company said the rebranding was to create “a name well known locally given the brand’s long history in the country”. Signage on individual stores will begin to change “in the coming months” with the business name changing early next year and the entire network transformed over the next two years.
Spencer Sonn, MD of Countdown and Woolworths Group New Zealand, said he believed the time was right for the company to “accelerate the change” of making the company “a better business”, do more to meet customers’ needs and expectations, and bring more of its Australian operational approach to New Zealand.
“In the coming months and years, you’re going to see us bringing the best of the Woolworths brand across the Tasman and equally sharing the best of what we have here with the broader Woolworths Group. We’re changing for the better and a name change for our stores is just one part of that.”
