Woolworths to set up new digs for its digital businesses

Woolworths is refitting 3789 square metres of space in the Seidler Surry Hills building in inner Sydney as the new home of WooliesX, along with Big W X and Cartology.

The retailer said the new space at 372 Elizabeth Street would act as an “innovation hub” for the company.

WooliesX is currently housed in the building opposite at 407 Elizabeth Street. The interior of that building would be well-known to many tech workers as it was often used to host meetups pre-Covid, and iTnews understands Woolworths will maintain it.

Big W X is the relatively new ‘X’ digital business created for the Woolworths-owned variety store, while Cartology is a data-driven marketing business “powered by WooliesX”.

Woolworths said in a statement that the office move “signals a digital-first creative approach for the company and will ensure teams leading brand and creative for the group will be better connected to those delivering industry leading innovation in online retailing.”

“As we enter into our next phase of growth and continue to evolve our customer ecosystem, we require a different way of thinking and working,” Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci said.

“Our aspiration is to create a centre of excellence for digital delivery and creative brand development under one roof and the establishment of an innovation hub at the Seidler Surry Hills will help us deliver on it. 

The much larger floor space footprint also ensures it is “fit for purpose in a Covid-19 world, allowing a creation of spaces to ensure physical distancing and a flexible open plan layout,” the retailer said.

Woolworths Group will continue to be headquartered out of Bella Vista in Sydney’s north-west.