Investment - Neighbourhood Retailer

Sainsbury’s to invest £65m into prices next month to offset inflation pressure

Linda Stewart — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 09:45:06 +0000

Sainsbury’s has said it will pump £65 million into its pricing next month amid rising pressure on customers’ budgets.

Simon Roberts, chief executive of the supermarket chain, promised the brand will stand with its customers “to ease the financial pressure they face”.

The latest pricing pledge – which is part of wider a £500 million investment commitment – comes as fresh figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) reveal that customers witnessed 9.3% food inflation in August, compared with the same month last year.

The UK’s second largest grocery chain said £60 million of its latest cash injection will go towards food prices in September.

It said this will predominantly go towards the Price Lock campaign which freezes the price of many of its most popular products.

Around 2,000 food products and household items have had their prices fixed for at least eight weeks, including a number of own label lines.

Sainsbury’s said funding will also go towards its price match campaign against discounter rival Aldi.

Aldi and German rival Lidl have seen a jump in customer demand in recent months as cash-strapped shoppers have sought better deals for groceries as soaring energy bills continue to weigh on household spending.

Sainsbury’s said it would also use £5 million of its latest investment package to improve pricing at its Argos and Habitat homeware operations.

Mr Roberts added: “We know how tough this ‘back to school’ season is going to be for our customers.

“With families across the country facing big increases in their energy bills, the situation is serious and our most important job at Sainsbury’s is to help our customers in every way we can.

“We have made huge strides to lower prices since we launched our new plan but we are committed to going further.

“These are difficult times and all of us at Sainsbury’s are standing with our customers to ease the financial pressure they face.”

The post Sainsbury’s to invest £65m into prices next month to offset inflation pressure first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Supervalu and Centra invest £5.6m in everyday value

Linda Stewart — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 09:40:15 +0000

Leading retailer Musgrave Group has put a £5.6m figure price tag on its commitment to providing value for money to its customers.
Through its convenience and grocery brands, SuperValu and Centra, the group will invest £5.6m in value throughout 2022, in a bid to help shoppers manage additional strains on household budgets.
Offering shoppers great value on everyday products is a key focus for the retailers. With SuperValu offering more than 400 own brand products and Centra offering more than 300 – up to 33% cheaper than the better-known brands – shoppers are also benefiting from promotions on more than 200 items at both SuperValu and Centra every week.
In addition, both SuperValu and Centra’s Fab Four deals will heavily discount four big brands every three weeks, delivering market-beating prices to shoppers.
Desi Derby, Marketing Director for SuperValu and Centra said: “Our stores are at the heart of the communities we serve, so we understand the pressures shoppers are facing with the increased cost of living. Our commitment is to offer the best value in convenience, whether that’s through weekly promotions on the big brands, an extensive own brand alternative – up to 33% cheaper than the better-known brands – or market-beating prices on our Fab Four.
“This latest announcement on value brings our total investment this year in our store network and value to £16.8m. Alongside an annual spend of £160m on local food and drink, this demonstrates a substantial commitment to our stores, communities and shoppers, because local really matters to us.”
Inflation is currently at its highest level in almost 30 years while energy costs are predicted to increase by over 20% this year. Data and insights specialists Kantar have also reported that grocery prices rose 3.8% in the first four weeks of 2022.
The current special offers and Fab Four deals will be in place until 19 March when a new set of deals will launch and run until 9 April.
Photo caption: Patricia McIlroy, SuperValu Brand Manager and Jennifer Morton, Centra Brand Manager.

The post Supervalu and Centra invest £5.6m in everyday value first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

What Will Asda Do Next?

Emma Dickson — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 10:57:12 +0000

With combined sales of £40bn, it will be the UK’s second-biggest retailer (by sales).

Asda has told suppliers it plans to take the fight to Aldi and Lidl.

Asda launched a new convenience format called Asda on the Move on 18 September 2020. The trial will start at three EG Group petrol station forecourts in the Midlands of England.

Current owner Walmart will keep a minority share in Asda, which will retain its current management under CEO Roger Burnley.

Convenience & Forecourt Retailing

With the brothers’ extensive experience in the forecourt and convenience sector, it would be prudent to surmise that the company will be making significant inroads into the convenience sector in the coming years. NR asked for an interview to find out what the plans for Northern Ireland are, but the request was turned down for now. However the statement from the EG Group explained that under its new owners, the business will support the current management team, maintain competitive pay levels for Asda colleagues, and continue to provide employment opportunities.

Billion Pound Investment

They plan to invest over £1 billion in the next three years in Asda to further strengthen the business and its supply chain, continue to offer low prices across its stores and product categories to ‘ensure Asda remains a price leader in the supermarket fuel sector.’

Their plan is to increase the proportion of UK-based suppliers, increase the volume of products – such as chicken, dairy, wheat and potatoes – purchased from UK suppliers each year, as well as a commitment to source 100% British beef and retain Asda’s industry-leading payment terms for suppliers.

However, with the continued support and involvement of Walmart as an investor and partner, Asda has access to global innovation and buying power. The new owners also pledge to maintain the commitment to its Create Change for Better programme, which helps people living below the poverty line in the UK and supports local communities, among other good causes.

Growth Strategy

Gary Lindsay at investors TDR Capital said: “Asda is a strong and well-managed business with one of the leading brands in UK retail. We are proud to be investing alongside Mohsin and Zuber, who have built EG Group into a global convenience retailer and will now bring that experience to bear at Asda. We look forward to supporting them, and Roger Burnley and the management team at Asda, to build on the business’s inherent strengths and drive long term sustainable growth.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to complete in H1 2021.

The post What Will Asda Do Next? first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

BWG launch “game-changing” new strategy

Beth Mason — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 09:46:07 +0000

Leading retail brands SPAR and EUROSPAR have today announced plans to add 45 new stores to their combined network by 2020, leading to the creation of up to 1,000 new full and part-time jobs over the next two years.

The announcement was made at the SPAR and EUROSPAR Retailer Convention in Killarney which was attended by more than 400 retailers from around the country.

BWG Group, along with retailers across the SPAR and EUROSPAR networks, are to invest up to €25 million in store development, including high-spec refurbishments, across their combined store network, over the next two years, with this figure to increase further over the following 2020.

The announcement comes as BWG Group launch a major new strategy and new store design which is aimed at growing the SPAR and EUROSPAR footprint and market share across Ireland.

Through the implementation of the new strategy, the retail brands will look to radically transform the customer experience through new pioneering retail practice innovations.

Tailoring store offerings in real-time to different periods of the day, delivering consumer facing technology solutions to cater for customers’ fast paced on-the-go needs, and providing a heightened focus in foodservice in line with growth within this market segment.

Examples of consumer facing technologies being rolled out as part of the strategy include electronic shelf-edge labels, digital-only signage throughout stores, digital menu boards and high-speed wifi connectivity.

In expanding the SPAR and EUROSPAR store network, BWG Group has already identified a number of sites for development in high transit locations such as town centres and transport hubs which attract a higher volume of convenience customers, and will open its newest addition to the SPAR network at a greenfield site in Tralee next week.

A second greenfield site in Tullamore is nearing completion while further existing SPAR stores in Listowel, Carpenterstown, Merrion Row and Santry are currently undergoing significant redevelopment works.

The new store design, which has been launched to retailers today, is being pioneered at SPAR’s Millennium Walkway store in Dublin City Centre, adjacent to Jervis Shopping Centre. Complementing the wide variety of in-store departments, the newly expanded and redeveloped store utilises striking design features, impact lighting, and digital signage and projectors to create a truly novel retail experience.

The new SPAR store design was created in conjunction with SPAR International who will now showcase the concept internationally with a view to rolling it out across its global network of over 12,000 stores in countries such as The Netherlands, Austria, Germany, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and China.

What does this mean in the long run?

Addressing retailers, BWG Group CEO, Leo Crawford said, “Over the past 12 months we have been focussed on developing a strategy that will strongly differentiate our SPAR and EUROSPAR brands here in Ireland and internationally.

We believe this strategy is a game-changer that will transform our sector and will be the underpinning factor that supports our ambitious growth plans over the coming years, both in terms of an expanded brand network and increased store revenues.

Our growth projections follow rigorous research which shows that consumers increasingly value and expect convenient retail solutions that our retailers are now pioneering.”

The biennial SPAR and EUROSPAR Convention included business strategy briefings from the group’s management, an update from SPAR International’s Managing Director Tobias Wasmuht, as well as high profile speakers, Dublin’s Jim Gavin and Professor Jamie Anderson.

SPAR Ireland, part of BWG Foods, operates approximately 450 SPAR stores across its SPAR, SPAR Express and EUROSPAR retail formats.

SPAR provides employment to over 12,000 people locally and supports many local Irish food and beverage suppliers around the country.

SPAR and its retailers have been recognised through international and local awards programmes for innovation and world class standards in retailing.

SPAR Ireland is part of BWG Foods, the market leader in the convenience sector whose brands have been at the forefront of grocery retailing in Ireland for over 50 years.

The post BWG launch “game-changing” new strategy first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.