Woolworths's Australian Food Sales Rise 6.9% in 1Q

By David Winning

SYDNEY--Woolworths said Australian food sales rose by 6.9% in its fiscal first quarter with momentum continuing through October, although cost-of-living pressures are affecting the performance of some of the other businesses that it owns.

Woolworths said that sales growth at its Australian supermarkets stayed strong even after its popular promotional campaign featuring Disney characters ended. This contributed to group sales rising by 4.7% to 19.4 billion Australian dollars (US$13.6 billion) in the 14 weeks through October 4, or by 5.7% when currency swings are stripped out.

The company has acted to counter the impact on household budgets of higher fuel costs and elevated interest rates by lowering prices of several products in its stores.

"This has contributed to average prices declining on the prior year again this quarter," said Chief Executive Amanda Bardwell.

Woolworths's food sales in New Zealand rose by 2.9% in the first quarter, although growth eased after the Ooshies campaign ended. The recent slowdown reflects a weakening macro environment and a highly competitive market, Bardwell said.

Business-to-business sales rose by 4.4%, with its PFD unit benefiting from demand from customers in the fast food sector.

"However, Food Service sales are seeing some impact from increased cost-of-living pressure," Bardwell said. "In W Living, BIG W sales declined 0.9% in a deteriorating discretionary retail environment."

Woolworths said sales growth in Australian food this month so far is broadly in line with its performance in the first quarter after the Ooshies campaign ended.

Write to David Winning at david.winning@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 27, 2026 18:00 ET (22:00 GMT)