Woolworths realigns Oz brands

WOOLWORTHS Holdings yesterday announced a new regional structure for its Australasian businesses David Jones and Country Road Group in a bid to create a single entity.

Woolworths previously announced its intention to relocate the existing David Jones head office in Sydney and the Country Road Group head office in Melbourne to a single campus in Richmond, Melbourne.

Woolworths is creating a single regional corporate structure to manage its department store chains. It said the region would be headed by a chief executive with a team of regional executives covering the core operational functions plus the chief executive of Country Road Group, and managing directors of David Jones Food and David Jones Clothing and General Merchandise.

Chief executive Ian Moir said the creation of a single regional structure was the logical next step.

“It enables the benefits and synergies of the Australian acquisitions to be fully realised and allows the creation of a single team and culture focused on our Australian customers and driving improved share- holder returns,” he said.

John Dixon, the chief executive of David Jones, would assume the role of chief executive of Woolworths Australasia, encompassing Country Road Group and David Jones and with responsibility for the Australasian operations with effect from September 1.

Woolworths said the new structure would have no impact on the head count of the David Jones and Country Road Group businesses with about 1 300 employees at the new Australasian head office after completion. It expected its head office team to increase to about 1 500 employees. – ANA

PICTURE: REUTERS Shoppers walk into a Woolworths store in a Johannesburg shopping centre.