Credit cards 'at heart of Woolies expansion plans'

Date Published : Thursday, April 10, 2008

The new range of credit cards soon to be launched by Australia's largest retailer could be used to help the company grow in overseas markets, according to reports.

Later this year, Woolworths will unveil its range of Woolworths credit card offers after announcing a deal with global bank HSBC to enter the credit card market.

As a result, Woolies could be about to enter the competitive US market, if take up of credit cards is as high as industry experts predict, the Age reports.

The newspaper claims that company bosses at Woolies are preparing to take advantage of a strong Australian dollar - combined with a weakening US dollar - to enter the American market, which would put them in direct competition with Wal-Mart.

Also being eyed up is the emerging Indian market.

Commonwealth Securities analyst Grant Saligari said: ""It would be quite logical for Woolworths to move into one of the major Asian markets such as India, Thailand or Malaysia to establish a broader geographic footprint.

"They would be likely to acquire someone in the market or partner with an existing retailer and apply their skills."

Woolworths employs over 175,000 people across Australia and New Zealand and is the largest Australian-owned retailer. It was recently named by the Financial Times as the 25th largest retailing group in the world.

It runs a number of major brands, including Safeway, BWS, Dan Murphy's, Big W, Tandy and Dick Smith Electronics.

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