Select & Save is to stage a fightback against the multiples’ continuing drive into the c-store sector by launching a Commuter format for city centres.
The symbol group, which has 87 stores operating under its standard fascia, plans to open its first store under the new format next to Birmingham New Street train station at the end of next month or early May.
The 2,500 sq ft store, an investment of £150,000, will have 40m of refrigeration space but no frozen offering.
If successful, the company hopes to make the format available to other retailers.
S&S director Kam Sanghera said the store would need to turn over at least £25,000 a week to be viable but the company hoped it would become at least a £70-80,000-a-week proposition within 18 months. “We feel that this is the way the market is going and we need to be there,” said Sanghera. “It’s as simple as that.
“If the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury are trying to take over our market, we need to be looking at taking over theirs. We can bring these stores on track at a lower cost than Tesco and co because there are fewer people in the set-up chain.”
Sanghera insisted not having a frozen offer would not be an issue. “City living is not about frozen food. It is about eating within minutes of buying.”
Meanwhile, the company is hoping to raise its profile in its Midlands heartland with a year-long ad campaign in the Birmingham Post and Evening Mail. It is also trialling a forecourt in Mansfield.
The symbol group, which has 87 stores operating under its standard fascia, plans to open its first store under the new format next to Birmingham New Street train station at the end of next month or early May.
The 2,500 sq ft store, an investment of £150,000, will have 40m of refrigeration space but no frozen offering.
If successful, the company hopes to make the format available to other retailers.
S&S director Kam Sanghera said the store would need to turn over at least £25,000 a week to be viable but the company hoped it would become at least a £70-80,000-a-week proposition within 18 months. “We feel that this is the way the market is going and we need to be there,” said Sanghera. “It’s as simple as that.
“If the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury are trying to take over our market, we need to be looking at taking over theirs. We can bring these stores on track at a lower cost than Tesco and co because there are fewer people in the set-up chain.”
Sanghera insisted not having a frozen offer would not be an issue. “City living is not about frozen food. It is about eating within minutes of buying.”
Meanwhile, the company is hoping to raise its profile in its Midlands heartland with a year-long ad campaign in the Birmingham Post and Evening Mail. It is also trialling a forecourt in Mansfield.
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