Booker is bidding to fill the discount retail gap with the launch of new ‘value’ fascia that will operate out of smaller premises.

The format, currently being trialled under the Family Shopper concept at a store in the West Midlands, will stock just 1,100 SKUs compared to the 3,000 stocked in a Premier store of the same 2,000 sq ft size.

“Discount has been doing a great job in the last few years [but] the Aldis and Lidls don’t come in smaller formats,” Booker’s sales director for retail, Steve Fox, told The Grocer. “We saw that as an opportunity to take great learnings from them and put that into the independent sector.”

Trademark details for the new fascia were registered with the Intellectual Property office on 5 April.

Fox could not reveal how many stores would open under the new red, white and black fascia, which displays the slogan ‘Bargains Everyday’, but expected a wider rollout to happen over the next few months.

The pilot store, which opened last November, is located in a former pub. “The point of difference [between a Premier and a Family Shopper] is you only need a minimum 2,000 sq ft of space,” Fox added. “It’s about less range and less duplication.”

Of the lines sold under the new format, 500 will be non-food with a promotional price of £1.