After many years of longing, Woolworths Food is coming to Grahamstown. This was officially confirmed this week by the owner of Woolworths Grahamstown, Gary Poovan.
After many years of longing, Woolworths Food is coming to Grahamstown. This was officially confirmed this week by the owner of Woolworths Grahamstown, Gary Poovan.
Since Woolworths opened its doors to Grahamstonians in May 2000 there has been a constant stream of questions about when the Food outlet would make an appearance. Poovan said that although the plans have changed a few times since he took over as owner, he said Woolworths will be extended to include a food section by April next year.
The shop will be extended at the back of the store by 400m² of which Poovan says 200m² will be for the food range and the other 200m² will see the clothing, shoes and accesoroes being extended. Poovan says the extra textiles space will provide more comfort as well as a wider range. There will also be a selected range of homeware and kitchenware which will be incorporated into one expansion.
The current size of the store is 650m², so after renovations are complete the total shop floor space will be 1050m². Poovan says building will commence once head office has given the go ahead, which he hopes will be at the beginning of January 2010.
Construction will take about three months. It will then take six weeks for the Woolworths crew to set up the new area before the food section will be open, which Poovan predicts will be around 12 April. During the renovations, Woolworths will trade as usual, as Poovan says all the work will be done at the back.
A parking area will be constructed under the new extension section, currently where the Woolworths store room and staff parking is situated. Poovan says trading hours will depend on the market, but he plans for the store to also be open on a Sunday once the food section is up and running.
Poovan is excited about the new development which he says is a huge opportunity that could develop the Church Square and CBD of Grahamstown by having the right products on offer.
Developer Rob Beer of Beer Property Management will have his team build the extension to Woolworths. Beer said the parking behind Woolworths will be undercover and controlled and an entrance for customers is also part of the proposed plan.
Beer, who owns some sections of the parking area at the back of Woolworths/Clicks, said he is hoping to exchange land with the municipality so he can extend the parking area behind Woolworths.
Poovan owns four Woolworths branches: two in East London, one in Port Alfred and the Grahamstown branch. He has won a number of awards in his 29 years with Woolworths, which include brand ambassador in 2008 and Top Franchisee of the Year in 2006.
He is confident the food range will do well in Grahamstown, but added that the range will depend on the market and the support they receive. “If there is a need for a certain product, we will stock the whole range,” said Poovan. He says the food prices are highly competitive on a national price structure.
