News

Delay halts Woolies’ opening

By Gregor Mactaggart

Dec 4, 2022

Delay: The new Echuca West Woolworths did not open as scheduled on Saturday. Photo by Steve Huntley

Woolworths says it will share a new opening day of its Echuca West store “as soon as we can”.

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The supermarket giant had to pull the plug on its planned grand opening on Saturday at literally the 11th hour.

The news emerged about 10pm on Friday, with the company issuing a statement shortly after.

"We apologise for being unable to open our Echuca West store on Saturday, December 3,“ a Woolworths spokesperson said.

"We did not receive the required certification from our landlord/developer, so have kept the store closed for the safety of our customers and team members.

"We thank the Echuca community for their understanding and will share a new opening day as soon as we can.”

Woolworths had planned a gala first day of the new store with a Welcome to Country ceremony and official ribbon-cutting scheduled for Saturday morning.

Also organised was a barbecue run by local CFA members with 1000 sausages and 1000 pieces of bread donated by Woolworths.

The new Echuca West Woolworths will employ 120 people, with more than 100 of those positions filled by locals.

The new store features a spacious layout and modern look, featuring 12 aisles, 10 assisted checkouts, seven registers and an electronic price ticketing system.