Woolworths New Zealand (WWNZ) and the National Retail Group have announced a wholesale agreement that will see Woolworths New Zealand provide groceries to the National Retail Group's KwikMart membership group. The deal will provide KwikMart members access to a broader product range and choices.
KwikMart is a new dairy and convenience-oriented retail membership group established by the National Retail Group, which unites dairy and convenience retailers with scale and range. It helps them to succeed in a competitive industry facing change. KwikMart enables its members to reorientate what they sell and assist with their operating models, customer experience offerings and broader access to goods.
Woolworths New Zealand opened its wholesale business, New Zealand Grocery Wholesalers, in 2022. Following this agreement with the National Retail Group, New Zealand Grocery Wholesalers now has fifteen wholesale customers and distributes groceries to 25 customer sites.
Steve Sexton, General Manager of New Zealand Grocery Wholesalers, said that the new deal reflects the company's growing wholesale business, helping to increase competition in the grocery sector further and creating better outcomes for shoppers around Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Sexton continued that the New Zealand Grocery Wholesalers business was built from the ground up over the past 12 months, and the team was thrilled by how quickly it's become established in a relatively complex market.
"We recently implemented a significant IT enhancement that improves our onboarding of new customers and sites like the National Retail Group," said Sexton.
"It's fantastic to have National Retail Group on board as part of our ongoing work to provide better options for Kiwi shoppers."
The wholesaler started making deliveries to their site and looks forward to working with the KwikMart members around Aotearoa to help ensure a great range of supplies for their customers.
Sandeep Aggarwal, Executive Director of National Retail Group, said New Zealanders and New Zealand need a thriving dairy and convenience sector that moves beyond selling what has always sold.
"KwikMart was formed when the restrictions on sales of smoked tobacco were signalled. We have to adapt to survive," stated Aggarwal.
In Woolworths New Zealand, Aggarwal said that the supermarket had an excellent proactive partner giving the franchise members truly competitive offerings and a range of groceries. These competitive offerings can be passed onto its customers so that the dairy is seen as part of their weekly shop.
This ensures a future for the dairy, with KwikMart returning to grocery and other goods to create a future.
New Zealand Grocery Wholesalers operates separately from Countdown, SuperValue and FreshChoice, with a different buying team discussing products, supply and potential wholesale volumes with suppliers.
"We have more work underway to continue improving our IT infrastructure and supply chain capabilities, and we're focused on building our capacity to satisfy the demand for better wholesale access," concluded Sexten.
