Sainsbury's has devised a new store format that will be the blueprint for all outlets bigger than 50,000 sq ft (4,645 sq m).
The grocer opened a prototype store type in Sprucefield out-of-town centre near Lisburn, Northern Ireland, today.
The store incorporates elements from the innovative Hazel Grove store in Manchester and the Main Plus stores on Purley Way in Croydon and Monks Cross. Sprucefield will be the model for all new and refurbished stores of a similar size.
The 52,000 sq ft (4,830 sq m) shop includes plasma screens to highlight in-store offers and broadcast news. Layout innovations include the Hazel Grove Easy Shop food hall, ensuring customers who want to do a quick shop do not have to walk the entire store.
Sprucefield takes customer service lessons from Sainsbury's Market stores and offers supplier-led training for food counter staff.
There is also a value aisle through the centre of the store, and an Internet cafe. Non-food lines have been allocated 6,000 sq ft (555 sq m) of space.
Programme manager Ailsa Pollard said: 'We have some fantastic learnings from the format trials and have pushed back the boundaries. We want to consolidate this into our larger store formats, which is what Sprucefield is all about.'
Sainsbury's has struggled with its larger stores. The grocer relaunched Savacentre in May last year and planned to convert 90 outlets to the format, but has halted the roll-out at 21 stores.
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