The new flagship Spar store that underwent a £400,000 redevelopment scheme has reported a 30% increase in sales since it opened earlier this month.
Spar Carnon Downs near Truro in Cornwall is the first to use the new Spar UK store design standard and is being billed as a “next generation store for the local community”.
The development is a joint project involving Appleby Westward and Spar UK.
Appleby Westward’s company-owned stores director Dean Mason said: “We are immensely proud of this redevelopment. It is the biggest redevelopment scheme we have undertaken and has involved a major logistical process to take it from concept to completion.
“Carnon Downs was one of our most successful stores but needed improvement and it made the perfect site for this investment and for the introduction of Spar’s new store design model.”
The 2,600 sq.ft. store has a strong focus on provenance, with a wide range of local Cornish products across many categories, along with an up-front butchery counter branded in the Cornish ‘Goon Karnen Kigti’. There is a clear emphasis throughout on the store’s reputation for fresh and chilled produce.
Among new in-store features are a refill station section where customers can bring their own containers and buy loose products such as nuts, cereals, pulses, rice and flour. Local wines, craft beers and an artisan bakery will also feature, and the layout allows for the requirements of the High Fat Sugar Salt (HFSS) legislation due to come into force next year.
Butchery, fresh fruit and vegetables and other chilled produce are at the front of the store as customers walk in. A décor of dark grey fixtures and wood effect tiles feature strongly among the warm colours, materials and finishes throughout the store, along with messages conveying support for local suppliers and producers, with products identified by Cornish flag stickers.
Spar UK retail director Ian Taylor explained the new look. “When we design stores, we adapt the format in line with customer demands. Customers of the Carnon Downs store are passionate about local products and sustainability and as a result we are providing them with a store design and offer that reflects all these needs. We have created a new fresh store format that is focused on the split of shopping missions, ensuring the space and range is tailored to meet the needs of local customers.”
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