Supermarket giant Woolworths will expanded its Thomas Dux premium grocery chain by acquiring Melbourne organic grocery chain Macro Wholefoods.
Woolies launched the Thomas Dux chain last year and has two stores in the upmarket Sydney suburbs of Lane Cove and Paddington. Macro has eight stores and a development site in the Melbourne suburb of Port Melbourne.
Macro is owned by former advertising entrepreneur Pierce Cody, retail veteran Brett Blundy (owner of the Sanity and Diva chains), the Smorgon family, and the Ellerine family from South Africa.
A price for the deal has not been disclosed - one estimate puts the sale at around $16 million, while it has been reported the deal could have cost Woolworths as much as $30 million.
Pierce Cody said he only agreed to sell after Woolworths promised it would retain Macro's 350 workers.
He told The Australian that "the best thing we did is prove that you could take organic to a large-format, mainstream model rather than little folksy corner stores".
But he also says Wooloworths will need to work hard to retain Macro's loyal customer base.
Related stories:
- Metcash profit soars as CEO slams lack of grocery competition
- ACCC forces grocery giant Metcash to amend supplier agreements
