Thomas Dux Grocer

Thomas Dux was an Australian chain of gourmet grocery stores operated by Woolworths from 2008 to 2017.[1] It sold a range of local and imported fresh foods and grocery items. Products included fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy products, artisan-style baked breads, oils and vinegars, pasta and sauces, condiments, prepared meals, chocolate products, fresh meat and fresh flowers. Thomas Dux specialised in organic, gluten-free, preservative-free and free-range foods. Local boutique suppliers included Saskia Beer, Maggie Beer, Simmone Logue, Herbies, Ornella, Phillippa's, Rowie's, Brasserie Bread, Phillippa's and Geoff Jansz. Fruit and vegetables were sourced directly from the wholesale markets in Sydney and Melbourne on a daily basis.

History

Woolworths launched Thomas Dux, an upmarket grocery store, in April 2008 and operated two stores in the Sydney suburbs of Paddington and Lane Cove.

In May 2009, Woolworths announced the acquisition of up to nine boutique grocery store leases from Macro Wholefoods, with the intention to rebadge the stores under the Thomas Dux brand.[2] The first of the rebadged stores opened in August 2009.

From 2014, Woolworths started closing some stores, with speculation that the entire chain would be sold or closed.[3][4]

In September 2014, Woolworths closed the Thomas Dux store in Surry Hills, NSW. They sold the lease on the store to About Life Pty Ltd, a Sydney-based gourmet grocer. The Surry Hills store was the first of 4 leases Woolworths would ultimately sell to About Life by 2016.[5]

In May 2015 Thomas Dux's Richmond store was sold to Little Group Projects, which then demolished it and built a 13-story apartment building on the land dubbed "Dux Richmond Hill".[6]

In January 2016 the chains Glen Waverley store was closed, and throughout the remainder of 2016 Thomas Dux's Hornsby store in NSW was closed, while its Lane Cove, Crows Nest (NSW) and Port Melbourne (VIC) outlets were taken over by About Life.[7]

In 2017 the 4 remaining Thomas Dux stores were closed. The 2 remaining Melbourne locations, Black Rock [8] and Armadale,[9] as well as the Paddington store in NSW [10] were rebranded as Woolworths Metro stores. The Mona Vale store in NSW was taken over by Flannerys.[11]

As of December 2017, Thomas Dux has ceased trading altogether.[12]

Former stores
Suburb Street location Original usage Current usage Date opened Date closed
Surry Hills, NSW 285A Crown Street Small Woolworths Supermarket About Life Wholefoods Store, Office space 19 April 2008 September 2014
Lane Cove, NSW 62 Burns Bay Road Food For Less supermarket, Franklins No Frills supermarket About Life Wholefoods Store, Flannerys Organic Grocer 19 April 2008 29 February 2016
Glen Waverley, Vic Shop 2.200 The Glen Macro Wholefoods store Unknown 29 August 2009[13] 31 January 2016
Crows Nest, NSW 13-19 Willoughby Road Macro Wholefoods store About Life Wholefoods Store, Flannerys Organic Grocer, Medical centre 10 October 2009[14] 26 April 2016
Richmond, Vic 153 Bridge Road Macro Wholefoods store Residential Apartment Tower 6 November 2009 31 May 2015
Port Melbourne, Vic 120 Bay Street Development site [15] About Life Wholefoods Store, Independent supermarket 7 January 2010 29 February 2016
Hornsby NSW Shop 2009 Westfield Hornsby Macro Wholefoods Store Toys R Us, Uniqlo 26 September 2009[16] April 2016
Armadale, Vic 1068 High Street Macro Wholefoods store Woolworths Metro Supermarket 19 September 2009 4 July 2017[12]
Paddington, NSW 220 Glenmore Road Small Woolworths supermarket Woolworths Metro Supermarket 13 August 2008 October 2017[12]
Mona Vale, NSW 12-14 Park Street Macro Wholefoods store Flannerys Organic Grocer 5 September 2009[17] December 2017[12]
Black Rock, Vic 40 Bluff Road Macro Wholefoods store Woolworths Metro Supermarket 3 October 2009[18] 4 July 2017[12]

References
  1. Woolworths to launch new grocery chain > FOODweek Online > Main Features Page
  2. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=813267
  3. Heffernan, Madeleine (4 October 2015). "Two Thomas Dux store closures blunt sale talk for Woolworths' upmarket chain". Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  4. King, Mike (2 February 2016). "Is Woolworths Limited about to shut Thomas Dux?". Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  5. https://www.goodfood.com.au/eat-out/news/about-life-heading-to-surry-hills-20141017-117pxg
  6. https://www.littleprojects.com.au/project/richmond-hill/
  7. http://www.aboutlife.com.au/Stores/Store-Locator
  8. https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/storelocator/VIC-Black-Rock-3820
  9. https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/storelocator/VIC-Armadale-3819
  10. https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/storelocator/nsw-paddington-1329
  11. https://flannerys.com.au/store/flannerys-mona-vale/
  12. "Woolworths farewells Thomas Dux - Retail World Magazine". www.retailworldmagazine.com.au. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  13. Thomas Dux Glen Waverley Launch
  14. Thomas Dux Crows Nest Launch
  15. https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/icms_docs/185537_Woolworths_Limited_to_expand_Thomas_Dux_Grocer_with_acquisition_of_Macro_stores.pdf
  16. Thomas Dux Hornsby Launch
  17. Thomas Dux Mona Vale Launch
  18. Thomas Dux Black Rock Launch
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