Behind the scenes of Woolworths’ Christmas seafood scale

We sat down with the team responsible for landing this iconic trade event year-on-year, Merchandise Manager Sarah Armstrong, Strategic Sourcing Manager Hamish Allen, and Category Managers Laura Galeano and Renee Holsman, giving light to the monumental effort required to put the perfect seafood platter on every Aussie table.

Curating the perfect plate

The journey starts and ends with the customer. The team’s commitment to delivering peak quality during the festive season mirrors the expectation for every partner across the Woolworths business.

Q: Hey team! What tells you that seafood is a non-negotiable Christmas staple for our Aussie customers?

A: Seafood is a deeply ingrained tradition, so much so that our Behind the Counter (BTC) sales explode. People queue at the store opening just to secure their place in line for fresh seafood. This desire to self-select for freshness and quality, alongside customer data, shows us that seafood is a key part of their decision on where to do their full Christmas shop.

Q: What’s the ‘North Star’ for the team – the special experience you aim to deliver when a customer walks away with their Christmas seafood order?

A: Our ultimate goal is to ensure they have such a fantastic experience with our quality, price, and availability that they come back and shop with us throughout the year, not just for Christmas. How good it is to know that as people serve a seafood platter to their loved ones, creating special memories, we were a part of making that happen. That makes it special for us also.

The power of partnership in peak trading

Christmas is the ultimate stress test for our collective supply chain. The scale achieved by all of those working in Seafood demonstrates what’s possible when operational ambition is met with partner capability.

Q: Can you put into perspective the sheer volume of seafood moved during the Christmas period? How much bigger is this event than a standard week?

A: Prawn sales are the biggest by far during this time of year, growing to 12 times a normal summer week. Sales explode for Christmas to around 800 Tonne!

Q: We hear that customers leave their seafood shop until the last minute. What does that do to the supply chain?

A: The insight that surprises a lot of people is that 70% of the Christmas week seafood sales come in the last two days (23rd & 24th) because customers want maximum freshness. That’s a LOT of prawns being sold! This is the peak that every Trade Partner must plan for.

Planning and collaboration

With such scale required in such a short timeframe, a successful Christmas hinges on tight communication and shared data. The seafood team’s process, which begins almost a year out, is a best-practice model for planning.

Q: When does the planning for a massive event like Christmas seafood actually begin?

A: We start to work on Christmas almost a year out, taking the learnings from the one just past and working through what we need to continue the year after and what needs to change.  The key planning for prawns commences in the middle of winter once the previous fresh prawn season ends. We work with our key suppliers on stocking the right amount of volume to be ready for harvest in time for Christmas. As we get closer, we determine the size profile and promo plan. The bigger the prawn, the better!

Q: How do you work with your partners to give them confidence in the forecast so they can invest and prepare their operations for this peak?

A: Christmas forecasting commences each year as soon as Easter is over, as that gives us and our Trade Partners additional learnings we can take forward. We collaboratively work with our partners to improve year after year.  One example is our fresh prawn farms that have been upgraded each year with new equipment and techniques to improve output in line with forecasted growth. This investment confidence only comes from robust, long-term, and joint planning.

Overcoming hurdles with dynamic supply chains

With short shelf-life and massive, concentrated demand, the logistics are immense. This is where the strength of our partnerships truly shines, showcasing a dynamic and adaptable supply chain.

The team works with multiple Trade Partners per state to deliver the perfect Seafood Christmas. To give light to the massive effort across our supply chain, hear from Daniel Robinson from Tassal Farms, who shares what it takes to get fresh prawns to our Distribution Centres.

Q: What is the most vital role our Trade Partners play in ensuring we can execute on this massive demand?

A: It’s the daily collaboration to smooth the flow of stock into stores in line with customer demand. We have daily video links to prevent issues from happening, but if they do, we work through how to solve them together. These close partnerships are fundamental to success.

Q: Can you give us an example of a tough logistical challenge you and your partners have faced and solved specifically for Christmas?

A: Stock like fresh tiger prawns are sourced from farms in far north QLD. The allocation from the DC to stores is a carefully choreographed process to ensure the right stock lands in stores at the right time. Of course, things can go wrong, usually linked to unforeseen weather events. When that happens, it’s about solution-focused partnering. In the past, we’ve explored all sorts of contingency plans, including helicopter airlifting prawns from the farms at a time of flood. Seriously!

Quality & Innovation: The strategic balance

The range must balance absolute staples with innovative options that offer customers greater convenience. This strategic range management is a lesson for all categories.

Q: When creating the range, what are the absolute non-negotiables for quality, freshness, and flavour that define a ‘Woolworths Christmas Seafood’ item?

A: Our non-negotiables are quality and freshness. We have strict size and quality specifications our suppliers adhere to. We also focus on new entertaining lines in our pre-pack ranges. This year, we have the Tasmanian Salmon Side With Orange & Honey Thyme Glaze as a seasonal line our customers will love – find it in the Seafood Chiller!

Q: Are there any specific trends or strategic focuses driving the range decisions this year?

A: We know customers want fresh products but hate queuing. Over the past few years, we have seen 1kg pre-pack cooked tiger prawn sales go from strength to strength. We have been able to unlock extra capacity and are hoping to further increase sales volume compared to last year. Because the product is packed in a clear MAP pack, it is located in self-serve fridges so the customer is still able to select without having to wait to be served. This pack helps both the customer and the store teams at such a busy time.

Q: For such high volumes, how do you balance sourcing between local Australian suppliers and international supply?

A: Australian products are crucial and make up the bulk of our sales volume. For example, the 800 Tonne of prawns are all Australian sourced. Our freezer range and smoked salmon is a mix, but what is key is having a great product and giving the customer choice—taste and quality is what is vital.

Q: And finally team, what is the one message of appreciation you want to send to Trade Partners reading this article?

A: Christmas is an incredibly challenging time for our Trade Partners. We massively appreciate the challenge of 24/7 shucking of oysters, to the 24/7 cooking of fresh tiger prawns and all the complexity and exhaustion that comes with the busiest time of the year. We absolutely could not do it without them and every single member of each of their teams. 

To conclude, Merchandise Manager Sarah Armstrong offers her thoughts on why the meticulous planning required for Christmas is the perfect blueprint for year-round success through deep partnership and shared goals.

“While the Christmas peak is the ultimate stress test, the success model is simple,” says Sarah. “It all comes down to collaborative planning between the Woolworths team and our Trade Partners.”

“This isn’t just a peak-season ritual; it has to be an everyday way of working to achieve long term, sustainable growth for all.”

Sarah continued, “When we share data, insights and learnings early it helps provide the confidence required for our partners to build for the future, be that investing in innovation and capacity, or simply having the confidence to begin stocking the ponds with the next season’s harvest.”

“Joint planning for the short and long term is key for every department in Woolworths,” she adds. “Every supplier has the opportunity to engage in this, aligning on key trading opportunities to achieve customer-driven outcomes.”

“Finally, I want to end on a huge, heart-felt thank you to our incredible Seafood Trade Partners,” says Armstrong. “It is the toughest, yet most rewarding, time of the year and we continue to be so grateful for all your support.  I look forward to winning this Christmas together!”