WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED — M&A Activity 2013

Aug 21, 2013

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**Thursday,

22
August
2013**

**WOOLWORTHS

GROWS
MULTI-­‐OPTION
BUSINESS
WITH
EZIBUY
ACQUISITION**

Woolworths
Limited
(Woolworths),
Australia
and
New
Zealand’s
largest
multi-­‐option
retailer,
has announced
that
it
will
acquire
New
Zealand-­‐based
direct
retailer
EziBuy
Holdings
Limited
(EziBuy).

EziBuy
is
a
leading
direct-­‐to-­‐customer
retailer
of
apparel
and
homewares
in
Australia
and
New
Zealand operating
primarily
via
an
online
platform,
catalogues
and
contact
centres.
The
acquisition
will
accelerate Woolworths’
growth
of
its
multi-­‐option
business
with
enhanced
capabilities,
as
EziBuy
is
scaled specifically
for
fulfilling
direct-­‐to-­‐customer
orders.

Woolworths
Chief
Executive
Officer,
Grant
O’Brien,
said:
“One
of
the
four
Strategic
Priorities
we
outlined in
2011
was
to
maintain
our
track
record
of
building
new
growth
businesses,
and
specifically
to
grow
our multi-­‐option
presence.

“This
acquisition
will
provide
us
with
a
unique
competitive
advantage
as
we
continue
to
develop
our multi-­‐option
capabilities.

We
believe
the
combination
of
our
retail
network,
EziBuy’s
direct
selling expertise
and
our
respective
loyal
customer
bases
is
a
winning
formula
for
us.

“Direct-­‐to-­‐customer
retailing
is
a
critical
part
of
the
multi-­‐option
market
and
it
is
clear
that
these channels
will
continue
to
provide
Woolworths
with
opportunities
for
growth
and
innovation. Cellarmasters
is
a
great
example
of
this
with
the
benefits
and
learnings
this
business
has
brought
to
our Liquor
division.

“We
are
keen
to
collaborate
with
the
excellent
team
at
EziBuy
to
expand
the
category
offering
and deliver
a
best
practice
online
experience
for
customers.
They
are
a
talented
team
and
we
welcome
them to
the
Woolworths
family.”

EziBuy
was
founded
in
Palmerston
North
in
New
Zealand
with
a
single
store
in
1978
and
has
built
a
loyal customer
base
across
Australia
and
New
Zealand
based
on
the
strength
of
its
catalogue
offering.

Today,
EziBuy
operates
a
sophisticated
direct-­‐to-­‐customer
business
backed
by
a
customer
contact
centre and
a
world-­‐class
distribution
centre
that
specialises
in
direct-­‐to-­‐consumer
logistics.
EziBuy
also
operates four
retail
stores
in
New
Zealand.

EziBuy
is
a
successful
business
with
a
history
of
profitable
growth.
Currently
68
per
cent
of
EziBuy’s
sales are
from
Australia
and
the
business
retails
its
own
brands
(Capture,
Urban,
Emerge,
Grace
Hill
and
Sara among
others).
It
also
has
distribution
relationships
with
major
international
apparel
retailers
Otto
and Next.

EziBuy
Chief
Executive,
Simon
West,
said:
“We
are
delighted
to
have
the
backing
of
Woolworths
as
we embark
on
the
next
phase
of
our
growth.
The
business
has
come
from
humble
beginnings
to
become
a market
leader
in
both
Australia
and
New
Zealand
by
providing
convenience,
quality
and
affordability. Further
investment
in
mobile
platforms,
customer
insights
and
distribution
will
be
priorities
for
us
now
as we
move
forward.”

The
acquisition
is
valued
at
NZ$350
million
and
is
subject
to
approval
from
New
Zealand’s
Overseas Investment
Office
(OIO).

For
more
information
please
contact
Claire
Kimball,
Head
of
Group
Communications,
Woolworths
Limited ph
0432
696
650
or
email
ckimball@woolworths.com.au