Safeway Australia
 |
|
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1963 |
| Defunct | 2017 |
| Headquarters | Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia |
|
Key people
|
Michael Luscombe, CEO |
| Parent | Woolworths Limited |
| Website | woolworths.com.au |
Safeway was the trading name used by Woolworths Limited until 2008 for its supermarkets in Victoria, Australia. Elsewhere in Australia the trading name is Woolworths. In August 2008, Woolworths announced the discontinuation of the Safeway name, rebranding all Victorian stores as Woolworths to match their interstate counterparts.
The American company Safeway Inc. entered the Australian grocery market in 1963 with the purchase of three Pratt's supermarkets. Bill Pratt had taken over the Pratt's supermarket in Frankston, Victoria, in 1946, and he was a pioneer of self-service and supermarkets in the 1950s. Pratt caught the eye of the Safeway company. Bill Pratt took the helm of Safeway's Australian operations in 1967.
The subsidiary Safeway Australia was created, and by 1985 the chain had grown to 126 supermarkets trading under the Safeway banner across Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland. Safeway's stores in New South Wales were named "Red S" because Safeway infringed the registered trademark of another supermarket called "Saveway". The distribution centre located in Wellington Road, Mulgrave, Victoria, formerly housed Safeway's head office.
In 1985 Australia's second largest supermarket operator, Woolworths Limited, successfully acquired the Safeway, Inc., Australian interests. In the agreement, Woolworths Limited acquired all of the Safeway stores and the naming rights in exchange for a 19.99% interest in Woolworths Limited (which has since been sold).
The Safeway stores in New South Wales and Queensland were renamed as Woolworths Supermarkets. However, the Safeway stores in Victoria retained their name, and all Victorian Woolworths stores were transferred to the Safeway banner. Mr. J.W.R. Pratt, the Chairman and Managing Director of Australian Safeway Stores and Mr. P.A. Magowan, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Safeway Stores Inc (USA) were also appointed to the Woolworths Board of Directors.
In 1987, Woolworths and Safeway Supermarkets launched “The Fresh Food People” campaign, adopting a uniform company logo and marketing strategy.
From Woolworths' takeover of Australian Safeway in 1985 until 2008 Safeway remained as the brand name used by Woolworths Supermarkets in Victoria (aside from two in Mildura and one in Belgrave) as well as the border town of Albury in NSW. During the 1980s and 1990s the Mildura stores moved from Woolworths to Safeway and back again, while the Karingal Woolworths store remained so until the late 1990s. The brand also followed Woolworths Supermarkets' progression into liquor trading as Safeway Liquor, and into petrol trading as Caltex Safeway. By 2008 there were 189 Safeway-branded supermarkets in Victoria.
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