Woolworths New Zealand has signed an agreement to provide groceries to National Retail Group’s members including KwikMart-bannered stores.

KwikMart is a new dairy and convenience-oriented retail membership group, which enables its members to reorientate what they sell and assists with their operating models, customer experience offerings, and wider access to goods.

The National Retail Group currently has seven KwikMart stores and has received expressions of interest from another 20, which are likely to come on board by October.

Following this agreement, Woolworths New Zealand’s wholesale business – New Zealand Grocery Wholesalers – now has 15 wholesale customers and is now distributing groceries to 25 customer sites.

The deal reflects the company’s growing wholesale business, which is helping to further increase competition in the grocery sector and creating better outcomes for shoppers, said Steve Sexton, GM of New Zealand Grocery Wholesalers.

Established last year, the company operates separately from Woolworths Group’s Countdown, SuperValue and FreshChoice businesses, with a different buying team having discussions with suppliers around products, supply and potential wholesale volumes.

Woolworths has been expanding its wholesale business in response to the Grocery Industry Competition Bill, which seeks to improve competition and efficiency in the grocery industry.

As of late June, Woolworths had signed 13 agreements with wholesale clients and anticipated more to follow.