Somerfield is ditching the Kwik Save brand in Scotland with the closure of 22 unprofitable stores and the £20-30m conversion of the remaining 29 to the Somerfield fascia.
Somerfield executive chairman John von Spreckelsen said the 22 stores earmarked for closure were in poor locations that did not justify the expense of refits or conversions.
While the remaining stores were performing
well, operating 29 Kwik Save stores in Scotland was not justifiable from a logistics point of view, he explained.
The East Kilbride depot, which currently services Kwik Save in Scotland, will be phased out, while the remaining 29 stores will be serviced through the Pitreavie depot, which is geared towards Somerfield ranges.
Servicing a handful of thinly spread stores with exclusive Kwik Save ranges from Pitreavie didn’t make economic sense, he said.
More conversions elsewhere in the UK were also possible, he said. “We have already done some switching between fascias in England, for example converting Kwik Save stores in Kent and Dover to Somerfield.”
The 22 stores earmarked for closure were unlikely to attract much interest from food retailers, he predicted. However, non-food retailers such as Argos might be interested.
Somerfield said it aimed to relocate staff but there would be about 400 redundancies.
Somerfield executive chairman John von Spreckelsen said the 22 stores earmarked for closure were in poor locations that did not justify the expense of refits or conversions.
While the remaining stores were performing
well, operating 29 Kwik Save stores in Scotland was not justifiable from a logistics point of view, he explained.
The East Kilbride depot, which currently services Kwik Save in Scotland, will be phased out, while the remaining 29 stores will be serviced through the Pitreavie depot, which is geared towards Somerfield ranges.
Servicing a handful of thinly spread stores with exclusive Kwik Save ranges from Pitreavie didn’t make economic sense, he said.
More conversions elsewhere in the UK were also possible, he said. “We have already done some switching between fascias in England, for example converting Kwik Save stores in Kent and Dover to Somerfield.”
The 22 stores earmarked for closure were unlikely to attract much interest from food retailers, he predicted. However, non-food retailers such as Argos might be interested.
Somerfield said it aimed to relocate staff but there would be about 400 redundancies.
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