Countdown (supermarket)

Countdown
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryRetail
Predecessor
Founded1981; 43 years ago (1981)
FounderRattrays Wholesale
Defunct2023; 1 year ago (2023)
SuccessorWoolworths New Zealand (2023)
Headquarters,
Area served
New Zealand
Key people
Spencer Sonn – Managing Director
Products
OwnerWoolworths Limited
Number of employees
18,000 +
ParentWoolworths New Zealand
Websitecountdown.co.nz

Countdown was an Australian-owned New Zealand full-service supermarket chain and subsidiary of Woolworths New Zealand, itself a subsidiary of Australia's Woolworths Group. It is one of two supermarket chains in New Zealand, the other being Foodstuffs.

Until the brand's rebranding, there were 194 Countdown stores, with 61 in Auckland.[1]

In July 2023, the company announced that all Countdown stores will be rebranded back to Woolworths, the name of the parent company and name of the supermarket used in Australia. The rebrand will come into effect from early 2024 with signage changing over the next two years.[2][3]

  1. ^ "Countdown Emerging Diversity and Inclusion" (PDF). diversityworksnz.org.nz. Diversity Works. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  2. ^ "Final Countdown: Supermarket giant rebranding back to Woolworths". NZ Herald. 18 July 2023. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Countdown supermarkets to change name in early 2024". 1 News. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.