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The Rise of Convenience
Date Posted: 12/08/2011
With over 50,000 convenience stores in the UK as apposed to just under 5,000 supermarket outlets, the convenience sector is becoming increasingly stronger; so does this mean it’s the end for large supermarket stores as we know it?
Over the past few years Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s have been steadily increasing their interest within the convenience sector and most recently Morrisons and Waitrose’s becoming the new additions to keep up with the trend. A recent statement from Dalton Philips, chief executive at Morrisons, said: “Convenience is one of the fastest- growing sectors of the market and developing our offer in this channel is a key part of our growth strategy”. Convenience tends to be done as a’ top up’ fashion with the larger supermarkets buying up chains that are in residential areas and selling their goods through these smaller outlets.
Morrisons are seemingly breaking the mould of a standard store by giving the customer a ‘fresh’ product offering via the conversion of a former office building in Wilmslow (Manchester) and the regeneration of the former Bradford College building and adult education centre within Ilkley (Leeds). On the surface of things they may seem like, unusual locations however they are trialling their first two sites within equally affluent middle class areas. Could this be down to the lack of available space, lack of funding or that these companies now have to think outside the box to attract new customers?
With the changing lifestyles there are an increasing number of single households, longer working hours and households where both parents work therefore convenience stores are going to be around for a long time to come.
So what impact does this have on the large Supermarkets?
Despite the recession and slight dip in profits for the supermarkets they are still predominantly being used for a customer’s big shop giving them a greater choice than your average Convenience store and with nearly 600 planning applications for large stores being accepted within the 2 years up to the end of 2010 there will be a lot more new stores to come.
At Foundation Recruitment we are seeing this trend and are having a large demand for Estates and Acquisition Managers from within the food retail arena therefore we are always keen to speak with any candidates with the relevant experience looking for an exciting new opportunity.