Pick n Pay in Eerste River, Cape Town, yesterday formally launched its new supermarket brand QualiSave, a chain of stores significantly different from that of its mother-brand, which will cater to emerging middle-class consumers.
The difference from the traditional old style Pick n Pay stores, is very apparent in the new store. For instance, there is a large aisle dedicated to commodity foods often sold in bulk for price competitiveness, such as oil, flour, maize and beans.
Another example is the fresh meat section which allows for the purchase of smaller portions, such as single sausages, to cater for lunch time trade. There is also a large frozen food section. All products and prices are particularly well postered to make shopping easier.
Each QualiSave store is unique to its region in terms of some of its products, with for instance, the Eerste River branch selling the yellow raisin bread that is particularly popular with the surrounding community, and chicken feet, which might not be available at a Constantia Pick n Pay store.
“You can’t cut and paste a QualiSave branch from the Cape and put up the same store in Limpopo. Products at each store cater for their specific communities, and can also change with changes in shopping patterns,” retail executive Gustave Möller at the launch yesterday.
The 55 year-old retail group announced in May that following extensive conversations with customers that entailed for instance interviews with more than 7 000 people in October and November, as well as large scale data accumulation and interpretation of product sales and trends, the group intended to re-organise into two brands, Pick n Pay serving more affluent customers, and the new brand which was launched yesterday.
The 1300 square metre store in Eerste River has been open for two months already for assessment purposes before launching the brand. Its average basket size so far is R140, the size of the supermarket is 1300 square metres and it currently attracts some 2000 customers per day,
Möller said the aim was to focus on customers in the growing middle market by providing lower prices alongside great quality and excellent customer service. Customers would be better served with a differentiated offering, versus the old traditional model of Pick n Pay which had tried to serve all kinds of customers.
Pick n Pay chairman Gareth Ackerman said the new brand was part of a process that started some 10 years ago, to “totally rebuild the company.”
He said 160 of Pick n Pay’s current “Red stores” will become QualiSave stores, which is 40 percent of the group’s entire retail store chains, although franchisees have also expressed interest in the stores.
The new store offers customers a range of about 8,000 products, much less than a traditional Pick n Pay store of about 18 000 products, and the emphasis of the new stores is on “unbeatable meat, fresh produce and bakery, as well as a keen focus on essential commodities.”
Pick n Pay Group CEO Pieter Boone said Pick n Pay QualiSave, “perfectly describes exactly what these stores will offer – exceptional prices for quality goods alongside a high-quality shopping experience.”
“We have done an enormous amount of research to understand exactly what customers want and need. We concluded that we could not successfully meet the needs of all our customers with just one Pick n Pay brand. Freshness, value for money and customer service were non-negotiable demands across all customers, but they wanted their favourite store to be better tailored to their specific needs.
He said the new brand would place the group in a stronger position to serve shoppers’ better across its now three banners – Boxer for aspirational customers with tight budgets, Pick n Pay QualiSave for the growing middle market, and Pick n Pay at the higher end, with its renewed emphasis on the best products and services.
Stores to be rebranded Pick n Pay QualiSave around the country have been identified through careful consumer modelling. From September 2022, Pick n Pay QualiSave stores will have the new brand name, and would over time be revamped to make them easily distinguishable from Pick n Pay stores. The approach includes a new store layout, distinctive in-store signage, and product selection specifically aimed at the growing middle market shopper base.
Six Pick n Pay QualiSave stores and four Pick n Pay stores have already been revamped over the last three months, and have yielded positive trading results, Boone said.
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