Woolworths Limited has just announced its first store location for the new hardware joint venture with Lowe’s. The company is expecting to create up to 15,000 direct and indirect jobs throughout Victoria.
According to Woolworths the first store location will be in Coolaroo, Victoria and will open in late 2011. A further 30 stores are also planned for Victoria within the next five years.
Premier of Victoria, John Brumby, commented on how the new venture is set to create 15,000 jobs in Victoria.
“Woolworths’ $400 million investment is expected to generate 4,000 direct retail jobs over the next five years and during construction of the planned 30 stores state-wide is expected to create 11,000 Victorian jobs,” he said.
“Victorians are concerned about the global economy, that’s why we are taking action to attract new business and create new jobs here.”
Michael Luscombe, Woolworths CEO, commented on the importance of the Victorian market and its growth potential.
“Victorians are passionate about their homes and their hardware, which is why Victoria is such a natural choice for our first store location. We look forward to unveiling the very first store in Coolaroo in two years time and giving consumers a totally different home improvement experience,” he said.
“Our commitment to invest a further $400 million in Victoria over the next few years truly underscores our confidence in the state’s economic outlook. We are very excited about this opportunity not only to deliver real benefit to consumers, but also to contribute to the longer term prosperity of Victorian families.”
Construction is expected to begin on the Coolaroo store in the next few months and should take approximately 18 months to complete.