26November2015
AGM2015-Shareholderquestions
Inowproposetoaddressanumberofthemostfrequentlyaskedquestionsthatwe’vealready
receivedfromshareholdersinadvanceoftoday’smeeting.
Question1
Thefirstis:WhathappenedinFY15?
AsIhavealreadysaidthismorning,Woolworths’resultsfor2015wereunacceptableandthishas
beenacknowledgedbytheteamandtheCompany’smostseniorleaders.Wehaveacknowledged
ourmistakesandnowaregoingaboutfixingthem.
TheteamcalledoutproblemsinAustralianSupermarketsinFebruaryandannouncednew
leadershipunderBradBanducci.
InMay,attheCompany’sInvestorDay,thebusinessstrategieswereexplainedindetail.Thetop
prioritywastosetaboutfixingAustralianSupermarketsandtherewasacommitmentto
significantlyinvestinloweringpricesandimprovingserviceandthecustomerexperience.
InH2’15,whiletheprofitandsalesresultsweredisappointing,therewasclearprogresson
deliveringthetransformationprogram.
Moreprogresshasbeenmadethisyearwithanewmarketingcampaignlaunchedcalled‘Low
Price,ALWAYS’.Thiswillensurethatourpricecompetitivenessisbeingproperlycommunicated.
Wehavealsorelaunched‘WoolworthsRewards’togivemorebacktoourloyalshoppers.
Andsignificantimprovementshavebeenmadeincustomerservice,whetheritbebetterservicein
store,higherlevelsofstockavailabilityorshortercheckouttimes.
Importantly,customersarenoticingthechanges.Ourcustomermetricshaveimproved.And,as
Grantsaid,itisourfirmbeliefthatthisistheleadindicatorforsalesgrowth.
AsIsaidattheQ1SalesResult,theBoardisfocusedonmakingthebestlong-termdecisionsacross
allourbusinessesandtherewillbeshort-termconsequences.
However,IcanassureyouthatyouhavemycommitmentandthatofyourBoard’sthatwewilldo
everythinginourpowertoreturnWoolworthstoitsrightfulpositionasagreatcompany.
Question2
AsignificantnumberofshareholdersalsoaskedabouttheManagementandBoardchangesmade
duringtheyear,andparticularlyaskedabouttheCEOrecruitmentprocess.
Announcement
Morethan$300millionhasbeeninvestedtodateondeliveringonourpricepromiseto
customers.Andbothinternalandexternalpriceindicesshowthatwearenowcompetitiveon
price.
InterviewsforthenewCEOareunderway,andthisprocessmaytakesometime,aswearebeing
particularlythoughtfulandcareful.
WhenGrantannouncedhisintentiontoretire,theBoardputinplacearrangementstoensurethat
hecouldcontinueintherolewhileaninternationalsearchwasundertaken.AsIsaidearlier,Grant
isineverysensetheCEOandheisactive,focussedandfullycommittedtoWoolworthsashehas
alwaysbeen.
BoardrenewalisalsounderwayasIexplainedearlier.Ican’tsayanymoreaboutthattodaybut
wearedelightedtohaveappointedHollyKramerandwearetalkingtoanumberoffirstrate
directorcandidates.
Iamconfident,giventhechallengeswefaceoverthenextfewyears,thatwewillhaveaBoardto
providetheappropriateoversightofmanagement,andholdthemtoaccount.
Question3
ThefinalquestionI’lladdressherewasalsofrequentlycanvassed,andthatis:areyougoingtosell
MastersandBIGW?
TheBoardwilltakeafact-based,datadrivenapproachtoportfoliomanagementandyoucanbe
assuredwewillactinthebestinterestsofshareholderstomaximisethevalueoftheCompany.
OnMasters,yourBoardneedstoweighcarefullyourabilitytocompeteforourshareofthe
attractiveandgrowinghomeimprovementmarketagainstthecostandriskofdoingso.We
acknowledgethatwecannotkeepincurringsubstantiallosses.TheBoardhasanopenmindon
Masters,andwewillbeinformedbythenumbersfromthefiveyearplanandwhatweconsideras
aBoard,andwithourjointpartnerLowes,tobethebestwaytomaximiseshareholdervalue.
InrelationtoBIGW,asIsaidearliertoday,itismakinghalftheprofititwasfiveyearsago.Weare
focusedonimprovingreturnstoensurewehaveoptionsopentousinthefuture.
TheBoardwilltakearationalviewoftheWoolworthsLimitedportfolio-asitalwayshas-to
ensuretheCompanyisbestplacedtorealiselongtermgrowth.
Question4
Wehadaquestionfromashareholderabouttheprocessthatwasundertakenin2012tosellDick
SmithElectronics.Iwasabletoreassuretheshareholderthatweheldanopenandcompetitive
saleprocess,thattherewereanumberofinterestedparties,andultimatelywesoldtothehighest
bidder.
Iturnnowtotheformalmeetingbusiness.
ENDS
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