UK convenience store chain McColl's is set to stock a number of the Co-operative's private label goods, including fresh products, frozen goods, and wine.
In a three month trial, a selection of the Co-op's own brand products will be sold in around 25 McColl's stores.
McColl's operates over a thousand retail outlets in the UK, and in 2016 it purchased around 300 of the Co-op’s convenience-size stores.
Opportunity Growth
“It was a sea change for us,” Simon Cairns, head of beer, wine and spirits at the Co-op, told TheDrinksBusiness.com.
“It’s worked well and we’ve see a lot of growth. The Old World in particular has done very well, as those have gone into stores where there is a progressive attitude towards wine. Italy and France has seen really positive growth – and that is value ahead of volume so we have driven value ahead of the category which is great.”
Cairns also told TheDrinksBusiness.com that the business took duplication out of the range, which presented a greater range of opportunities. “If it is a very limited range in store, you can’t afford the luxury of duplicating a product that fulfils the same customer need, he said.
"So there was no contraction in the range – if anything, we’re getting to a stage now where as this model of relevant products in relevant stores starts to evolve, we will increase SKU numbers. But we will be very targeted about where we put those products.”
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Peter Donnelly. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
