PRESS RELEASE WOOLWORTHS LAUNCHES NEW, LOWER PRICED PRIVATE LABEL RANGE IN FOODMARKETS 31 March 2010 With the launch of a new private label range called Woolworths Essentials, consumers will be able to do what they’ve always wanted: get the superior quality they expect from Woolworths at everyday prices. Woolworths Essentials includes core basic products across all food departments as well as household cleaning products and toiletries, making it easier for customers to do their full weekly shopping at Woolworths. The first products, in distinctive packaging featuring Woolworths new branding, will be available in store from mid-March; by the end of May, Woolworths expects to have nearly 200 ‘Essentials’ lines in store. Woolworths Head of Foods Julian Novak explains that the launch of Woolworths Essentials is in line with the international trend for retailers to introduce private label products. “With tighter budgets, customers are looking for products that offer excellent quality as well as a great price,” he says. “South Africans have always relied on Woolworths for excellent quality – and with the launch of our Essentials range, they’ll be able to enjoy the superior quality they expect from Woolworths at prices that are comparable – and some even lower than – competitive products in the marketplace.” He continues, “Some of the range is existing products that have been repackaged; but more than half are new additions. Customers will find Essentials throughout the Foodmarket – in produce, dairy, protein, bakery, deli, snacks, cereals, household cleaning and toiletry products. The range will include some larger pack sizes, as well as convenient multi-packs. In produce, we’re offering packs of mixed-sizes which will offer savings over our other produce packs.” Novak adds, “I think it’s important to stress that while the Essentials range is competitively priced, we certainly haven’t lowered the quality or our commitment to our Good Food Journey principles. The same Good Food principles that apply to our other ranges also apply to Essentials. For example, there’s no added MSG, all the milk is rBST free, there are no added preservatives in the yoghurts, and no animal by-products in the chicken feed. Obviously the range won’t include the luxury touches that characterize our upper-tier ranges, but we believe that Essentials offer real value for money. With Woolworths Essentials, customers will be able to get all their everyday basics, from breakfast cereal and butter to washing powder and fabric softener, from a brand they really trust.” ENDS _____________________________________________________________________FAQs Why is Woolworths launching the Essentials range? The launch of Woolworths Essentials is in line with the growing international trend for retailers to introduce private label products. With tighter budgets, customers around the world are looking for products that offer excellent quality as well as a great price. They want value for money. Customers have always relied on Woolworths for excellent quality – and with the launch of our Essentials range, they will find the superior quality they expect from Woolworths at prices that are at least equal to – and are up to 10% lower than – competitive products in the marketplace. What is the difference between Essentials and Great Value? Essentials is a range of core basic products across all departments in the foodmarket. It includes things like washing powder, bread, peanut butter, breakfast cereal, etc. that offer the superior quality customers expect from Woolworths at highly competitive prices. ‘Great Value’, on the other hand, is a campaign based on a ‘basket’ of key household necessities that Adcheck monitors on a weekly basis against Pick & Pay, Spar and Checkers. Our ‘Great Value’ means that we ensure that our prices for these items are in line with the lowest competitor price that week. This means that some products in the Essentials range could also be part of the ‘Great Value’ campaign. How are the Essentials range products different to the rest of the WW-branded products? The Essentials range is our entry price level range. It includes core basic products across produce, dairy, protein, bakery, deli, snacks, cereals, household cleaning and toiletry products, etc. Some of the range is existing products that have been repackaged; others are new additions. Essentials will include some larger pack sizes, mixed-size produce packs, etc. What is the size of the range/number of lines in the range? We will be launching 191 lines between March and May 2010; this will grow over time. What are some examples of products in the range? It’s quite a wide range of products, from long-life milk to breakfast cereals, rice to stock powders, lemons and butternuts to breads, frozen fish to sandwich meat. How is the new range going to be rolled out/phased into store? The first products will be in-stores in early March. Additional lines will come on line in May, and we are planning to launch further Essentials lines later this year. Will the Good Food Journey principles still apply to the Essentials range? Absolutely. We won’t compromise on the principles that our customers trust us to uphold.