Grocer’s five-year plan also includes up to four new big supermarkets as well as shop refurbishments. Waitrose is planning to open 100 convenience stores over the next five years as part of a £1bn-plus investment in new outlets and shop refurbishments. The upmarket grocery chain is planning to unveil a revamped outlet in Finchley Road, north London, on Wednesday. This will kick off a new phase of expansion with its first new store in six years in Hampton Hill, west London, by the end of this year. James Bailey, executive director of Waitrose, said the group planned over five years to open up to four large supermarkets as well as the Little Waitrose shops, some of which may include relocations from existing sites. He said older stores were also being refurbished to feature “more of what people expect from us and love such as counters, unequalled service and a lot…

Standardized barcodes that stores use to scan items at checkout made their debut in 1974. Now, the industry wants to replace them with QR codes. Scanning barcodes at checkout could be a thing of the past as early as 2027, brands and retailers say, as they work to replace the decades-old technology with newer, more capable QR codes, a move that could boost sales and customer engagement. Companies such as Coca-Cola, L’Oréal and Procter & Gamble are working toward this goal, as are many retailers who carry their products. The transition won’t be easy, requiring cross-industry global collaboration, software and hardware updates for retailers, manufacturing changes for brands, and educating shoppers who use self checkout. It also won’t be cheap. Companies declined to disclose specific figures, although P&G said it would aim to keep transition costs low by making changes at the same time as planned artwork revisions or as new products are launched. But…

Convenience chain 7-Eleven is embarking on a bold strategy to double its footprint in 10 years as it drives growth in new markets. Fiona Hayes, CEO, 7-Eleven, revealed the plan to the delegates at the Australian Franchise Summit in Melbourne today. “7-Eleven has been a leader here, particularly in convenience where we have about 33 per cent of the market, and 11 per cent of the fuel market. We are embarking on much broader journey, firstly in neighbourhoods, so we are planning to double our store growth over the next 10 years,” Hayes said. “We want customers all around Australia to view 7-Eleven as ‘my convenient neighbourhood store’. From the time they wake up in the morning to night time, every avenue for convenience in your life,” she said. Broadening merchandise offer Hayes said the brand is broadening its merchandise offer and will lean on the expertise of 7-Eleven International in the…

Viva Energy CEO Scott Wyatt says the fuel retailer’s cautious approach to rolling out electric vehicle charging across the group’s petrol and convenience store sites is validated by the faltering growth in EV uptake. Mr Wyatt said Viva would grow its EV fast-charging sites in tandem with upgrades to its convenience stores, as it rolls out the On the Run retail formatnationally on sites currently trading as Coles Express, as well as new ones. Viva paid $1.2 billion for the South Australian-based OTR Group this year. Viva CEO Scott Wyatt at an On the Run petrol station convenience store in Moonee Ponds, Melbourne.  Louis Trerise It is initially focusing on NSW – where the state government has provided a grant to encourage the expansion of charging infrastructure, spanning about 30 sites over the next 18 months to road test the format – and nationally after that. Larger petrol retailing rival Ampol had…

Responsible retailers have warned Australia’s illicit tobacco wars will explode, with the Federal Government set to hike tobacco tax by 6.8 per cent on September 1 – effectively gifting the booming black-market thousands more customers. Australian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) CEO Theo Foukkare said since 2012, tobacco excise has skyrocketed by 384 per cent far exceeding the point where it deters new smokers and now only benefits organised crime groups because smokers will continue to buy cheaper, illegal alternatives. “Legal tobacco sales plummeted by 14 per cent over the first six months of this year in AACS member stores – but record nicotine levels in regional areas and growing use in capital cities have been recorded in waste water analysis, as shown in the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission’s report, which clearly shows people aren’t quitting smoking – they’re just buying and using illegal tobacco, “Mr Foukkare said. “AACS will…

Shell Coles Express and Reddy Express are bringing new bakery products to Victorian fuel and convenience stores. In collaboration with Morgan Hipworth, the Shell retailers are bringing a range of fresh doughnuts, cookies, cinnamon scrolls and muffins to shelves. Made with Australian flour and fresh local ingredients, the range offers ready to go baked goods for on the move consumers. Viva Energy fresh food category manager, Anna McDonald, said that the collaboration marks a point of difference for Coles Express and Reddy Express customers in the Food To Go space. “Whether you’re looking for a sweet treat for yourself, your friends or family, or a snack to enjoy with coffee, there’s something for everyone in our Bistro Morgan range,” said McDonald. “From muffins to scrolls, cookies and the hard-to-resist doughnuts, we know this will be a winner with our Victorian customers.” Hipworth owns popular Melbourne bakehouse, Bistro Morgan, which has…