Woolworths Big W to grow five-fold

Woolworths plans to increase its Big W chain five-fold to 100 stores in the long term and sees the category-killing format as a vital part of the business.

In the run-up to the Woolworths demerger from Kingfisher, Big W's expansion plans were scaled down, but new chief executive Trevor Bish-Jones, who joined in March, sees huge potential for the chain now called Woolworths Big W.

He said: 'We need to get the level of profitability up, but I am confident that we can do that.'

There are 14 Woolworths Big W stores with a further four to open before Christmas.