Australia's Woolworths to shut 30 BIG W stores, shares climb

[BENGALURU] Australia's biggest supermarket chain, Woolworths Group, said on Monday it would close 30 stores of its loss-making discount department store chain BIG W over the next three years, along with two distribution centers.

The company pegged the cost of exiting these sites at about A$270 million (S$260 million). Big W has 183 stores across Australia.

Woolworths said it expected to record an impairment of A$100 million as competition from online shopping and the poor retail environment hurt margins at BIG W.

Together, a one-off pre-tax charge of about A$370 million was likely to be recorded as a significant item in its annual results.

Woolworths shares rose 2.2 per cent to an almost nine-month high after the announcement, while the broader market was 0.7 per cent firmer.

REUTERS