Kiwis have reacted after supermarket giant Countdown today announced a branding U-turn and said they would be returning to the Woolworths name, 12 years after the brand left the New Zealand market.

They said they will be spending $400 million on a transformation plan, including rebranding back to Woolworths from early 2024.

The stores’ signage will start changing in the next couple of months, but the complete rebranding will take some time. The entire network of 194 Countdown stores will take a couple of years to switch.

Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci said today that Woolworths had a long history in New Zealand, opening its first New Zealand store in Wellington in 1929.

Banducci said the change of name was just one part of the supermarket’s planned transformation.

“I’m excited by today’s announcement and what it means for our continued commitment to New Zealand and its ongoing importance to Woolworths Group,” he said.

New Zealanders reacting online to the announcement today appeared to be less enthused.

Many queried the decision by the company to spend millions rebranding during a cost of living crisis - a cost that Countdown told the Herald won’t be passed on to consumers.

Many mockingly suggested the brand should instead bill itself as “Count Up”.

“That’s how they do their calculations anyway,” one person joked.

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Another suggested a variation: “Change it to LetDown because they’re letting us down with their hiked prices.”

Woolworths Kensington in Whangārei in 2010. Photo / NZME

The shift away and then back to Woolworths was described by many as a “waste of money”.

“How many families could this support in actual food and necessities?” one person asked.

Others asked whether Countdown would be “dropping the O”, a reference to an unfortunate malfunction on the Countdown signage which has sometimes led to a vile obscenity appearing writ large in neon.

Responding to the criticism, a Countdown spokesperson said no prices will rise as a result of the change.

“We have listened closely to our customers and we know they are looking for greater value,” the spokesperson said, citing plans to launch an “Everyday Rewards” programme early next year as one method to deliver savings.

“The $NZ400m announced today is not the cost to change the name but the planned investment over the next three years to create better experiences for our customers across our store network, with a focus on older stores across Aotearoa,” they added.

They said the chain would take a “practical approach” to physical rebranding, noting that customers won’t necessarily see their local store change until it comes time for renovations.

The history of Woolworths in New Zealand

• 1929: First Woolworths store opens in Wellington’s Cuba St, trading as a general merchandise store.
• 1958: First Foodtown owned by Progressive Enterprises store opens in Ōtāhuhu, Auckland.
• 1981: Rattrays Wholesale Group establishes Countdown Supermarkets and opens its first store in Northlands, Christchurch.
• 1993: the Countdown and Foodtown businesses come under Woolworths New Zealand ownership.
• 2005: Australian Woolworths Ltd acquires FAL and its Progressive Enterprises stores, including the Woolworths New Zealand chain.
• 2009-2011: All Woolworths and Foodtown stores rebrand to Countdown.
• 2018: Progressive Enterprises changes its name to Woolworths New Zealand.
• 2023: Countdown announces rebrand to Woolworths Supermarkets New Zealand.