Not put off by the dismal fate of its Franklin’s supermarket chain in neighbouring Australia, Hong-Kong based Dairy Farm International Holdings is set to launch a new grocery venture in New Zealand.
By joining up with Australian gasoline retailer Gull Petroleum, Dairy Farm plans to establish a chain of combined 24-hour mini-supermarkets and gasoline service stations. The outlets will be branded “Woolworths at Gull” and the first will open in May and Gull revealed that eventually the chain should be 40 strong.
Woolworths, another unit of Dairy Farm in New Zealand, revealed that the stores would offer “low-cost convenience” that will complement sales at existing Woolworths supermarkets rather than replace them as an alternative shopping venue.
Dairy Farm also revealed recently that it is to proceed with the sale of Franklins through a break-up proposal to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) this month.
