CWS is investing £200m to revamp every one of its 400 market town stores by the end of 2002. And next week the society will announce the sale of three more of its superstores. CWS retail director Malcolm Hepworth also revealed the society was close to completing the conversion of all its convenience stores to the Welcome format. He added: "Developing the market town concept has taken far longer than Welcome because it has been far more complex. "Market town stores can be anything from 2,000 sq ft to 20,000 sq ft ­ the differentiator is location not size." The stores are intended to satisfy all a customer's shopping requirements so they have a comprehensive range with an emphasis on fresh foods. The first pilot store was fitted out at Aberlour in Scotland in December, and the concept has been refined in trials at three more stores in Scotland and eight in the Nottingham area. Hepworth claimed sales have exceeded expectations by at least 20% in the refitted stores. He said the investment in the project would not affect acquisition plans. He has set targets to acquire 50 new c-stores per year for the next three years, and to acquire or build at least 10 market town stores every year in the same period. The acquisitions programme is being funded by the sell off of the majority of the society's superstores, after it decided to concentrate on neighbourhood retailing. Sixteen superstores have been put up for sale and Tesco snapped up two last month. The sale of a further three is expected to be announced next week, but Hepworth would not disclose the identity of the purchaser. {{NEWS }}