Surge In Nisa Store Recruitment – New Nisa Express format helped growth
Nisa has revealed that it recruited more than 620 stores in the last 12 months, a significant uplift on the previous year.
The convenience group stated that the key drivers for the growth included its ability to serve a broad spectrum of retail and wholesale operators, strong availability levels throughout the pandemic, and access to more than 2,000 Co-op own brand products.
The launch of the new Nisa Express format in October was also said to have provided a further opportunity for growth, with a dedicated fascia option and store format for smaller convenience and forecourt sites. Nisa’s forecourt numbers grew by more than 60 new sites in 2020 with the group hoping to accelerate recruitment this year using the new Express model.
Despite the disruption caused by the pandemic, 2020 also saw 131 Nisa stores converted to its latest Evolution format as retailers continued to invest in their stores.
In addition, Nisa recruited several large multi-site key accounts, including Ascona Group, Touts and the Highland Group.
The group highlighted that another key development in recent months has been the launch of its new website – nisalocally.co.uk – which consolidated a number of existing sites to create one comprehensive platform that demonstrates the Nisa offering. This is said to have resulted in a “significant increase” in the number of enquiries it has received from prospective partners.
Steve Leach, Sales Director at Nisa, said: “2020 was a record year for store recruitment at Nisa, which is testament to the strength of Nisa’s offer and that of the recruitment team, who have adapted brilliantly to embrace a primarily virtual recruitment method under such difficult circumstances this year.
“This flexibility, combined with our ability to serve a broad spectrum of retail and wholesale operators has enabled us to not only recruit a significant number of new stores but also unlock key growth in existing partner estates by providing an environment in which independent retailers can flourish.
“As part of our focused approach towards driving partner recruitment, a number of structural changes were also recently implemented to our teams which will enable us to build on the momentum of last year in 2021.”
