This week's retail news 'you may have missed'......
At mdj2, we’re passionate about retail and always looking to share our news, views, and insights. With so much information out there, we wanted to share just a small selection of retail news headlines from last week that we found interesting…
Aldi invests ￡90m in store upgrade programme.
Aldi is investing more than ￡90m on store improvements this year as it looks to ensure the “shopping experience is on a par with the high-quality products”.
Over 30 of the discounter’s stores will undergo refurbishments this summer, while more than 100 are set to receive upgrades later this year.
Aldi said the changes will vary at store level but include providing more space to shop and introducing energy efficient features, such as installing doors on fridges and using natural refrigerants to reduce carbon emissions.
Further improvements include updating signage and redesigning store layouts.
The supermarket chain said most work will take place between now and August, with its branches in Leek in the West Midlands, Newport in Shropshire and Brierly Hill in Dudley set to undergo the biggest changes.
Aldi UK managing director of national real estate Jonathan Neale said: “Aldi attracted more new customers than any other grocery retailer in the last 12 months, and we want to continue to offer the best possible in-store experience for our shoppers.
“We’re committed to making sure that the shopping experience is on a par with the high-quality products and service we offer. Finding ways to reduce any environmental impact as we continue to grow our store estate across the country is also a vital part of these changes.”
Quiz unveils new flagship store at Trafford Centre.
Fashion brand Quiz has opened a new flagship store in the north west at Manchester’s Trafford Centre.
The 2,500 square foot shop at 126 Regent Crescent has replaced Quiz’s former site at the scheme.
The store has been designed in line with the brand’s latest look and feel, with porcelain flooring, gold features and multiple LED display screens. The boutique style has been extended to the shop’s fitting rooms which have been fitted with LED mirrors and crystal chandeliers.
The shop sells Quiz’s full range of occasion wear and casual items, including its new Dubai inspired collection, Summer Luxe.
The opening means the brand now has a total of 68 standalone stores in the UK, including its second store in Manchester at Arndale.
Lyndsey Burgess, area manager at Quiz, said: “We’re delighted to announce the opening of our new store in the Trafford Centre. Our new store will not only welcome our loyal customers but also attract new ones. The brand-new, larger store features a modern design, ensuring the exceptional in-store experience that Quiz is renowned for.”
Simon Layton, centre director at the Trafford Centre, added: “We are incredibly excited to see this new store concept come to life. Its expanded footprint is a testament to Quiz’s commitment to enhancing the customer experience by offering a wider selection and a more engaging shopping environment.”
Kingfisher announces vendor decarbonisation targets as it works to drive down Scope 3 emissions.
Kingfisher, the international home improvement company, has today announced that it is setting ambitious common targets with its vendors towards decarbonisation, as part of its ongoing focus on reducing its Scope 3 emissions.
Kingfisher and its vendors will work towards one of three levels of common target, depending on the scale of their impact on Kingfisher’s Scope 3 emissions. The targets are:
? For Kingfisher’s 100 biggest vendors by Scope 3 emissions, to create a Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) aligned roadmap and decarbonisation target by 2028;
? For the next 450 vendors, to create an SBTi-aligned roadmap and decarbonisation target by 2030; and
? For the remaining vendors, to set a climate reduction plan by 2030.
Kingfisher will collaborate with its vendors to support their progress towards the targets, including sharing training and expertise.
Manufacture 2030, a cloud-based emissions data platform used by companies worldwide, will support vendors in understanding their emissions and building the necessary roadmaps to achieve their targets.
Over 90% of Kingfisher’s Scope 3 emissions are associated with its products, including upstream (how they are produced) and downstream (use in customers’ homes).
Vendor manufacturing represents around a fifth of scope 3 emissions within Kingfisher’s sphere of influence, meaning it is an important area to address as part of Kingfisher’s efforts to reduce its emissions. Around 45% of Kingfisher’s Group sales come from its Own Exclusive Brands, meaning it is particularly well placed to drive progress in tackling the Scope 3 challenge.
Thierry Garnier, Kingfisher CEO, said: “Like most retailers, Scope 3 makes up the vast majority of our emissions, and to drive these down effectively we need the collaboration of our entire supply chain.
“The response from our vendor partners has been very positive and we are grateful for their support as we work towards our shared goal to help tackle climate change. By coming together as an industry to take on this critical challenge, we can forge a path towards a future that is low-emissions, positive for our businesses and our planet.”
Thierry Garnier announced the new common targets at the 10th Global DIY Summit in Rome, powered by the European DIY Retail Association (EDRA) / the Global Home Improvement Network (GHIN) and the Home Improvement Manufacturers’ Association (HIMA).
Thierry, currently serving as EDRA/GHIN President, updated the Summit on the progress of its Global Retail Scope 3 Taskforce founded last year to drive collaboration and innovation across the industry in reducing Scope 3 emissions. This includes the creation of a collective EDRA/GHIN Scope 3 strategy and roadmap and the launch of a new guide supporting a consistent approach for greenhouse gas accounting across the sector.
He also welcomed the creation of a new Global Home Improvement Suppliers’ Scope 3 Taskforce, featuring 11 initial members, including global brands such as Bosch, 3M and Positec.
Kingfisher has already exceeded its Scope 3 emissions target of a 40% reduction per ￡m of turnover by 2025 against a 2017/18 baseline, achieving a 41.6% reduction in 2023/24. It is currently finalising a Scope 3 net zero target and supporting KPIs.
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Greggs may have just opened its 2,500th store but is it stopping there? No chance.
As Greggs hits a milestone in its ramped-up UK bricks-and-mortar expansion strategy, property director Tony Rowson talks to Retail Week about its property progress, the importance of value and its ongoing opportunities.
With its sights set on “significantly more than 3,000 shops” in the UK, Greggs property director Tony Rowson is as busy as ever eyeing new property opportunities for the business.
Greggs opened the doors to its 2,500th store in the petrol forecourt of Sainsbury’s Bridgeway, Cobham, last week, marking a milestone in its store expansion journey and creating 12 new jobs.
The Greggs narrative has been a great success story so far, bringing new openings, partnerships, pay rises for staff and ongoing growth.
With that in mind and a full pipeline ahead, Rowson is keen to take a moment to pause and reflect on the most recent milestone for Greggs.
“We’re very excited to hit this number of 2,500; it shows that we’ve grown significantly over the last few years,” he says. “We’ve also been on quite a transition. If you dial back 10 years ago, we were a very different high street bakers to where we are now.
“We have a strong food-to-go brand now. What’s also exciting is that we’re nowhere near capacity, there’s a lot of growth yet to come right across the UK.”
Rowson says last year was a record year for Greggs when it opened 145 net new stores. With even bolder ambitions of between 140 and 160 openings this year, as well as several resizes, Greggs is dead set on reaching as many customers as possible.
Supermarket success.
The Cobham shop was Greggs eighth in partnership with Sainsbury’s, bringing the total number of branches with supermarket partners, including Tesco and Asda, to 50.
“Supermarkets is one of those location types where we’ve seen significant growth,” says Rowson.
“Having a balanced and diversified store estate means that where one part of the business might struggle on particular days of the week, another part will counteract that and keep that balance. I think that’s one of the beauties of supermarkets – it’s a great, safe location to be in.
“People always need new supermarkets and whatever gets thrown at us in future years in terms of challenges, if we have a significant number of supermarkets as part of that estate, it helps us keep that balance and diversification.”
And while Greggs may be expanding, it is managing to avoid over-saturation.
“It’s not about having a Greggs on every corner, rather that you can go to a significantly large town and find one in the supermarket, one at the train station, a drive-thru and one in a retail park.”
With an eye to some of its other partnerships, Rowson notes the success of its relationship with Primark. While it may have been an unlikely arrangement at a first glance, he says the retailer has really enjoyed working with the fashion giant and that there a lot of synergies when it comes to culture.
While Rowson refuses to spill the beans on future collaborations, he hints that there are potentially more in the works off the back of these successful partnerships so far.
Value advantage.
Rowson is keen to point out that Greggs is recognised for value, rather than simply for being cheap. He says perceptions have changed as the business has grown and that has benefited the brand when it comes to negotiating new leases.
“I think when it comes to getting into a number of these locations, we’re a very different business now to where we were some years ago and most people have noticed and realised that” he says.
“The value credentials have really started to punch through. There’s a connotation that cheap is not good quality, whereas our bacon is cooked fresh in the ovens right there in front of you, our coffee is great, and our sandwiches are freshly made in shop every day.
“Because we’ve got the purchasing power of 2,500 shops and we’re vertically integrated, we can maintain those value credentials and maintain the quality over the other brands out there.”
Proud of Greggs’ value offer, Rowson emphasises the recent news that it knocked McDonald’s off the top spot of food-to-go breakfasts in the UK last year. The demand for its ￡2.85 breakfast roll meal deal is certainly higher than ever.
“What we’re seeing now with landlords is there is more of an open door, where there isn’t the prejudice that was there before. Actually, consumer demand shows that people want this value offering.”
Ongoing opportunity.
While breaking into central London had been a massive challenge for Greggs in the past, it has become a bigger opportunity.
Rowson says the retailer is still active in London, despite quieter days as a result of hybrid working and ongoing train strikes. He says that the biggest opportunity lies in building evening market share.
Greggs currently has a live trial in Newcastle with 10 shops offering chicken burgers and wraps in the evening as it experiments and broadens its product range.
“We watch the market very closely. We’re building our evening market share, and we have more shops now trading through to 7pm and 8pm in the evening.
“We’ve had a late-night license approved at London Bridge and Liverpool Street is going through the process. We’re going to keep working a lot at our late-night trade as the demand is absolutely there.”
Whether it’s morning, noon, or night, Rowson expects Greggs to cater for ever more mealtimes – and open still more stores.
https://www.retail-week.com/greggs-2500th-store (subscription required)