Strong market position in the relatively concentrated supermarket and liquor retailing sector in Australia and New Zealand Earnings and margin pressure over the next 12 months due to strong and intensifying supermarket competition Execution risks related to Big W's multi-year turnaround plan Improving financial risk profile reliant on an investment in price, service, and systems that will support a stabilization of market share Substantial use of off-balance-sheet operating lease finance, tempered by modest levels of on-balance-sheet debt Likely deleveraging from the beginning of calendar year 2018 from the sale of the petrol business, subject to regulatory approval Large, ongoing capital-expenditure requirements The stable outlook on Woolworths Ltd. reflects our expectation that the group's investment in price, service, and systems will
