Big W
Type	Discount store/Public (ASX: WOW)
Founded	1970s
Headquarters	Sydney, Australia
Key people	Greg Foran, General Manager
Industry	Retail
Products	Leisure Apparel Consumables Homewares
Employees	25 000
Website	Big W

Big W is the second largest discount department store in Australia, with over 120 stores located nationwide. It is a division of Woolworths Limited, the largest retailer in Australia. Its main competitors are Kmart and Target. Image File history File links BIG_W_Logo. ... A discount store is a retail store offering a wide range of products, many branded, at discounted prices. ... A public company usually refers to a company which is permitted to offer its securities (stock, bonds, etc. ... The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is the primary stock exchange in Australia. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of over 4,200,000 people, and 151,920 within the city centre. ... For the album by the Kaiser Chiefs see Employment (album) Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ... A Web site (or colloquially, Website) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos and other digital assets that is hosted on a Web server, usually accessible via the Internet or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML, that is almost always accessible via HTTP... Woolworths Limited is a major Australian company with extensive retail interest throughout Australia and New Zealand. ... Kmart store at Kurralta Park in Adelaides western suburbs. ... Target is an Australian department store with over 150 stores. ...

History

Big W stands for Big Woolworths. Woolworths Limited's original Woolworths variety stores carried a range of general merchandise. Later, the scope of these stores grew to include groceries, which then became their focus.

In the 1970's the company created two chains to separate out these lines - "Woolworths" and "Big W". This process was largely completed in 1989, however a few "Woolworths Variety" stores existed into the 1990's (such as the one in Rundle Mall, Adelaide). Rundle Mall is the main Shopping centre in Adelaide, South Australia. ... Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia, with a population of over 1. ...

Now Big W has over 120 stores, 25,000 employees, and is growing rapidly. Their future plans are to revamp more than half their stores and build/develop new stores. In 2006 Big W installed new LCD POS systems.

Woolworths Limited is an extremely fast-growing company which opens several Big W stores each year. They have recently opened these stores across Australia: in Melbourne- Southland, VictoriaTaylor's Lakes and Mulgrave; in New South Wales- Liverpool and Centro Bankstown; in Queensland- Chermside, Noosaville, Atherton, Dalby, Gympie, Ipswich and Springfield Lakes; in South Australia- Seaford; in ACT- Canberra; in Western Australia- Midland Gate; and in Tasmania- Kingston. Forthcoming stores include Geelong, Victoria, Epping Plaza, Victoria (opening May 2007) and Doncaster (opening Late 2008). Melbournes CBD has grown to straddle the Yarra River in three major precincts. ... Mulgrave is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... Capital Sydney Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Professor Marie Bashir Premier Morris Iemma (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 50  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $305,437 (1st)  - Product per capita  $45,153/person (4th) Population (End of March 2006)  - Population  6,817,100 (1st)  - Density  8. ... Liverpool is a suburb in the City of Liverpool in south western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. ... Construction of the Centro Bankstown extension Centro Bankstown, formerly Bankstown Square is a major regional shopping centre situated in the central business district of the City of Bankstown. ... Capital Brisbane Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Quentin Bryce Premier Peter Beattie (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 28  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $158,506 (3rd)  - Product per capita  $40,170/person (6th) Population (End of September 2006)  - Population  4,070,400 (3rd)  - Density  2. ... Chermside is a suburb on the north side of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. ... Category: ... Atherton is the hub of the Atherton Tableland region in Queensland, Australia, located at , 752 m above sea level. ... Dalby is a town in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, and is located approximately 210 kilometres west of the state capital, Brisbane at the junction of the Warrego, Moonie and Bunya Highways. ... Location of Gympie in Queensland (red) The town of Gympie is located in south eastern Queensland, Australia, and is approximately 160 kilometres north of the state capital, Brisbane. ... Ipswich is a city and Local Government Area situated on the Bremer River in South East Queensland, Australia. ... Capital Adelaide Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Marjorie Jackson-Nelson Premier Mike Rann (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 11  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $59,819 (5th)  - Product per capita  $38,838/person (7th) Population (End of September 2006)  - Population  1,558,200 (5th)  - Density  1. ... Look up Act on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Act may refer to: in law, a written document that attests the legality of the transaction. ... For other uses, see Canberra (disambiguation). ... Capital Perth Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Ken Michael Premier Alan Carpenter (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 15  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $100,900 (4th)  - Product per capita  $50,355/person (3rd) Population (December 2006)  - Population  2,050,900 (4th)  - Density  0. ... Kingston is a suburb and region on the outskirts of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. ... Moorabool St, Geelongs main street, during Christmas. ... Epping Plaza is a shopping Center in Melbournes Northen Suburbs in Epping. ... Capital Melbourne Government Constitutional monarchy Governor David de Kretser Premier Steve Bracks (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 37  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $222,022 (2nd)  - Product per capita  $44,443/person (5th) Population (End of September 2006)  - Population  5,110,500 (2nd)  - Density  22. ... Doncaster is a town in the English county of South Yorkshire, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in South Yorkshire. ...

Business

Being a discount department store, Big W sells a wide range of merchandise at low prices. Big W's main competitor is Kmart, owned by rival retailer Coles Group. Kmart store at Kurralta Park in Adelaides western suburbs. ... Coles Group Limited (formerly Coles Myer Limited) is an Australian public company which operates numerous retail chains. ...

One of its key strategies is that of 'Everyday Low Prices'. The aim of this is to create a feeling amongst the public that they may walk into a Big W store and buy a product at a low price anytime, without having to wait for a special offer. Thus, Big W never has storewide 15% off days as Kmart does. Nevertheless, Big W still has a weekly catalogue with specials, which generally runs from Thursday to Wednesday (coinciding with the period of Kmart's weekly catalogue).

Many of the techniques used by Big W in promotions are nearly identical to the US chain Wal-Mart, such as the in store "smiley face" and the "price rollback". Indeed, former Woolworths CEO and one-time BIG W Managing Director Roger Corbett has a mentor relationship with a former President of Wal-Mart and has been appointed to the board of the American retailer. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ...

Stores

Today, Big W has stores throughout Australia, in every state and territory. Traditionally, Big W stores have been located in suburban and regional locations. However, in recent years three stores have been opened in central business districts, at Macarthur Central (Brisbane) QV (Melbourne) and the Canberra Centre in Civic (Canberra). Brisbane (pronounced ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, as well as the third largest city in Australia, with a greater metropolitan population of 1. ... Queen Victoria Village, generally known as QV Village or just QV, is a precinct in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... Melbournes CBD has grown to straddle the Yarra River in three major precincts. ... The new front of the Canberra Centre on Ainslie Avenue Inside the Canberra Centre Canberra Centre, shopping mall located in Civic, Canberra, Australia. ... City Walk, a pedestrian mall in Civic is a focus of retail activity and outdoor dining. ... For other uses, see Canberra (disambiguation). ...

Each store is divided into four departments, which consist of the following:

• Leisure
  • Books
  • Toys
  • Camping and Fishing
  • Sporting Goods
  • Leisure Furniture
  • Home Entertainment
  • Photo Lab
  • Travel Goods
• Apparel
  • Men's Apparel
  • Women's Apparel
  • Intimate Apparel
  • Children's Apparel
  • Footwear
  • Cosmetics
• Consumables
  • Confectionery
  • Stationery
  • Health and Beauty
  • Household Cleaning
  • Home Office
  • Special Occasions
  • Nursery
  • Pets
• Home
  • Small Appliances
  • Kitchenware
  • Manchester
  • Haberdashery
  • Home wares
  • Light and Power
  • Motoring
  • Hardware
  • Gardening

Services available at each store include:

• Lay-by ($2 Service Fee + 10% Deposit)
• Parcel pick-up
• Home delivery (fee applies)
• Paint Tinting
• Woolworth's Ezy-Banking Services

Employees

Big W employees are known as 'associates'. Associates work in a wide variety of roles, including:

• Checkout Operators
• Service Associates
• Lay-by Attendant
• Self Serve Checkout (RAP) Attendant
• Courtesy Desk Attendants
• Service supervisors
• Nightfillers
• Recovery (must wear one white glove during shifts)
• Mini Lab Operators
• Red Cap Associates
• Cosmetics assistants

External links

• Big W - Official Site
• BIG W - Refund policy