Sainsbury’s plans to convert another former Homebase site, as it continues with its store expansion plan.
The supermarket is currently consulting with local residents and the council to convert a former Homebase store in Bredbury, near Stockport.
It would be the 13th former Homebase site acquired by Sainsbury’s since August 2024, as part of what the supermarket has said is its biggest store investment plan “for a decade”.
The opening at Bredbury, which is still subject to planning approval, follows the opening of Sainsbury’s first Homebase conversion, in Lowestoft, Suffolk, earlier this month.
Sainsbury’s has also extended and opened two former East of England Co-op stores in Felixstowe and Brightlingsea earlier this year.
“We have a fantastic portfolio plan,” Sainsbury’s chief property and procurement director Patrick Dunne told The Grocer. Sainsbury’s still had “prime locations” where it was potentially looking to open new stores in the future, he added.
Sainsbury’s plans to open 15 new supermarkets this year, as well as 25 c-stores.
Acquiring and expanding existing sites from East of England Co-op and Homebase meant Sainsbury’s was able to roll out its estate quicker than through organic growth alone. “We’ve got exactly the shops we wanted in exactly the towns we wanted,” Dunne said.
The new 22,000 ft store in Lowestoft, which previously didn’t have a Sainsbury’s store, was now “the most easterly supermarket that will ever exist in the Sainsbury’s estate”, noted Dunne, taking the title from Sainsbury’s store in Great Yarmouth.
Sainsbury’s had also ramped up its pipeline of organic growth.
“From Scotland to Northern Ireland, this isn’t just about the south of England, it’s about going to the locations where Sainsbury’s don’t exist,” he said.
However, Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts has previously publicly warned Chancellor Rachel Reeves that the reclassification of business rates on larger properties could impact its store investment.
Sainsbury’s wants to bring more stores to more customers
Collectively, the new stores would add 400,000 sq ft to Sainsbury’s estate over the next two years, which is expected to create 2,000 jobs.
Alongside the expansion plan, Sainsbury’s is also midway through a major plan to modernise its existing stores, as part of its “more for more” strategy. It would invest in upgrading around 40 of its existing stores.
Sainsbury’s had refurbished around 20 of its existing supermarkets already and rolled its new “mission-based format” into 10 of its convenience stores.
No comments yet