Somerfield may retain some form of franchise' Simons u-turn on concessions Somerfield has done a U-turn on its plans to get rid of all the concessionaires in its Kwik Save stores. Chief executive David Simons said: "Over the past couple of months since the merger I have changed my mind over the role of concessionaires. "Originally, I believed that we could simply drop the Somerfield formula into Kwik Save for the running of the fresh offer on produce, meat and delicatessen. "But over the past weeks I have been travelling round many Kwik Save stores and been impressed by the very high quality of meat and delicatessen counters. And he added: "It is possible that we could take the best of both worlds with Somerfield's bulk buying power and Kwik Save's flair by some form of franchise system." Somerfield has set up a team ­ which is being led by director of property Terry Atkinson ­ to look at the pricing structures and performance of the deli counters. Simons explained: "I believe we will retain some of the meat and deli concessionaires and some of the others will have to go. "However, we will offer those staff jobs and training with Somerfield." As reported in The Grocer (May 2, p5) Kwik Save concessionaires have feared the worst ever since the merger was announced. One said at the time: "The official line is business as usual, but veiled threats come from all quarters about how long we will remain. "Bearing in mind Somerfield's strength in fresh foods, our future looks very doubtful." {{NEWS }}

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