The quiet expansion of Woolies into a full-blown department store continues unremarked. This week, to the small but growing collection of global brands it offers it has added Apple products, including other tech from brands like Samsung, Huawei, Sony, Nokia, Hisense, Honor, Xiaomi, and Vivo, in an online offering very catchily called WConnect. Woolies has also opened Apple kiosks in a couple of stores – Menlyn Park and Sandton City. Leaning harder into private label this week, in the meantime, is Checkers, which has added to its housebrands and Forage and Feast premium private brand offering a new range called Foodie! (punctuation Checkers’ own), which it describes as a range of products that takes “the hassle out of cooking, combining top-quality fresh ingredients to provide a variety of options for an extraordinary at-home dining experience”. So lots of family-sized meals, exotic single-portion dinners, cook-in sauces, and even some seasoning pastes.
Comment: Two great businesses, working harder every day to keep the punters engaged.