With competition hotter than ever, grocery retailers are creating ‘warmer’ store environments and testing new in-store strategies as they bid to ensure they remain in demand. John Ryan reports
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ompetition has rarely been fiercer for the hearts, minds and wallets of supermarket shoppers. The consoli- dation that has seen retailers such as Somerfield and Kwik Save disappear from high streets has only served to
reinforce the UK’s grocery super league. And although the pace of new space opening has
slowed generally, the major players continue to hone their estates, updating existing formats and examining new ways in which shoppers can be attracted through their doors. At the heart of this has been a move towards
making store environments more experiential. There has been a sense that the interiors of many supermarkets have become little more than processing plants in which goods enter a store at one end and
shoppers emerge at the other clutching merchandise- filled bags. This would be fine if there were only a couple of operators in the market, but UK consumers have real choice. The outcome of recent moves has been the evolu- tion of what is generally referred to as ‘warmer’ in-store landscapes, with Tesco performing a volte-face on its previously hyper-efficient, but almost factory-like interiors. Hand-in-hand with this trend has gone the continuing headlong rush into convenience and, in a number of locations in the UK and abroad, spin-off fascias that take elements of a supermarket’s offer and turn them into standalones. Better interiors, sharper pricing and a renewed concen-
tration on the shopper experience all stand as evidence of the scramble to retain market share. For consumers, the outlook seems positive. l
GEORGE OPTS FOR SHOP-IN-SHOP
Asda clothing brand George has been established since 1990 and in that time it has tried standalone shops, which were unsuccessful, and in-store spaces, which have tended to use standard supermarket presentation. Now things are changing and in Bolton earlier this year, the grocer revealed a revamped shop-in-shop George that moves the collection, effectively, out of the supermarket and into the realms of the high street fashion consumer. Whether it’s light boxes and video screens, wood vinyl floors or a cash desk
that features modish pendant lighting and a white, stippled back wall, this is a world away from the normal modus operandi employed by those selling clothing in supermarkets. The new look has also been trialled at the retailer’s Fosse Park store in Leicester and both stores are showing increases against branches with similarly- sized George departments.
SAINSBURY’S STAYS RELEVANT
One of the holy grails of supermarket retailing is making stores, of whatever size, appropriate to their locality. This process is evident in Sainsbury’s stores in Earls- field in southwest London, Hertford and Pontypridd in South Wales. Each store takes elements of the town it is situated in. Sainsbury’s head of store design Damien Culkin says: “What we’ve probably done [in the three stores] is told a better context story. In Hertford, for example, we commissioned some illustrations that tell the story of what went before, as much as being site specific.” The Hertford store, located in the former McMullens brewery, references
the building’s history and shoppers can visit the heritage centre that links with it. The Pontypridd store has created graphics and in-store features to demonstrate the building’s history as a former manufacturer of industrial chains. In contrast, Earlsfield is a convenience store and has large white tiled areas as
the display backdrop for fresh foods, while wicker baskets, fruit box-style crates and wooden perimeter cladding, which all create a more homely ambience.
autumn 2012
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