Woolworths Holdings Limited is a South Africa-based investment holding company focused on retail and financial services. The company operates primarily through its Woolworths South Africa division, which offers fashion, beauty and home products including wardrobe essentials, edited fashion, beauty items, homeware and third-party brands; food products encompassing private-label groceries, baked goods, beverages and customer-preferred brands across formats such as Food Emporium, Food Market and full-line stores; Woolworths Financial Services providing store cards, credit cards, personal loans and related products; and logistics services. Its Country Road Group division in Australia delivers apparel, accessories, footwear and homeware through approximately 607 stores under brands like Country Road, Trenery and Witchery. Woolworths Holdings, founded in 1931 and headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa, conducts operations mainly in South Africa and Australia with around 37,500 employees.
Recent developments include the April 2024 acquisition of 93.45% of Absolute Pets, a leading pet retailer, to expand into pet care products and services, positioning the group as South Africa's end-to-end pet destination; the March 2023 divestiture of its David Jones subsidiary to Anchorage Capital Partners, which strengthened the balance sheet by removing approximately R22 billion in liabilities and refocused capital on core operations; the June 2025 launch of the Inclusive Justice Institute to support micro, small and medium enterprises and community programmes with R300 million committed; and a new partnership with Pargo for click-and-collect services enhancing online delivery for fashion, beauty and homeware.