Rod Addy Safeway has confirmed it is "experimenting" with discounting in a Glasgow store. Safeway chief executive Carlos Criado-Perez explained: "We have been trialling the idea, reducing prices, ranges and focus in one store dramatically." He stressed Safeway was only exploring the idea at this point. "The process of reformating is established. There is no big plan for a discount format." But he added: "Between 10 to 15 stores could benefit from operating in a separate category." At Safeway's preliminary full-year results presentation, Criado-Perez said non food had sold well, offering "fantastic opportunity" for further development. The Eat Smart range had also clocked up impressive sales since its January launch. Criado-Perez said sales growth continued to be held back by the effects of store reformating. However, he said sales growth in reformated stores averaged 10% in the second half of the last financial year, including a 15% increase in fresh food sales. He confirmed 121 stores were reformated during the year ­ or 26% of Safeway's sales area. It plans to reformat a further 26% of its sales area, or 100 more stores, this financial year. Safeway has opened two megastores, with three more openings planned by June. Safeway group financial director Simon Laffin insisted these had been delayed "in order to properly build in the learnings from the Plymstock store". Planning permission for 15 more megastores has been granted. Criado-Perez quashed rumours that overseas retailers had approached Safeway to discuss a takeover or merger: "Safeway is fiercely independent and will remain so." In the year to March 30 Safeway saw pretax profit up 13% to £355m on group sales up 5% like-for-like in the same period to £9.4bn, driven by fresh food. However like-for-like sales collapsed to just 2% growth in the first six weeks of the new year. {{NEWS }}

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