A long-established supermarket in a popular suburb is rebranding, in a move that has irked some members of the community.
Woolworths at Buderim is being turned into a Metro store, which the supermarket giant says will focus on a strong local and fresh food offering, particularly Australian fruit and vegetables, entertaining and easy dinner ranges.
“We’ve kicked off the conversion of our Buderim supermarket to a new neighbourhood Metro store,” Woolworths Metro director Justin Nolan said.
“First up, we’d really like to thank our customers for their patience during the past couple of weeks as we’ve swapped in some new products and removed ones that weren’t popular.
“We had our team on hand to help customers find their way around the changes, along with updated guidance and signage, and we’re really excited to share more detail in the coming months about improvements we’ve been making.
“Some customers might be familiar with our smaller Metro stores that can be found in the inner city but we want to reassure customers that our new neighbourhood food store will still have everything they need for a full shop.
“Our goal is that there will be an even better range to meet the needs of the Buderim community and I’m pleased to say the store has received multiple deliveries in recent days so stock levels are back to normal.”
Woolworths said the fresh food, entertaining and easy dinner options were backed by a range of everyday essentials for a grocery shop tailored to meet the needs of the local community.
“We know this will be a bit of a change for customers but the same friendly team members and great Woolworths value remain through our specials and our Everyday Rewards, Low Price and Prices Dropped programs,” Mr Nolan said.
A post about the rebrand on the Buderim Community Board on Facebook last week attracted more than 100 comments, many of them critical of the move.
“I realise they are in transition mode, but I still find it hard to believe with the population of Buderim, Woolworths feels a Metro store will suffice,” part of the original post said.
“It only forces Buderim locals to go elsewhere to shop, it’s a loss for the community,” another commenter said.
“Very disappointed with this move. Probably will shop elsewhere now given the number of other options nearby. Just not enough of the stock to make it our weekly go to anymore,” said another.
But others weren’t so opposed to the move.
“I spoke with a staff member today who said that they are actually increasing their food lines by over 1000. They are reducing other areas though such as personal care and pet food etc. Will have to wait and see if what he said is in fact the case,” one comment said.
“More than adequate for anyone’s needs. Very rarely do I need to drive ‘down the hill’ to find what I need. Usually, only for something a bit more exotic for that killer recipe!” said another.
According to the Buderim Historical Society, Buderim Marketplace – which includes Woolworths – was built in 2001.
It was formerly the site of Buderim Ginger, which relocated to Yandina.
A community information session about the changes to Buderim Woolworths is planned for Thursday, September 7. More information is available in-store.
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