AUSTRALIA: Woolworths agrees to sell AIW Queensland ops

Australian supermarket giant Woolworths signed a deal last Friday to divest the Queensland business of its Australian Independent Wholesalers (AIW) subsidiary. United Star Supermarkets will be purchasing the operations for an undisclosed sum. Woolworths revealed its intention to exit the wholesaling business in June, when it filed a statement with the Australian Stock Exchange which said: “Successful negotiations now pave the way for independent retailers to have involvement in their own distribution channel and ensures that retailers have a choice of warehouses and are able to capitalise on direct negotiations with manufacturers.”