Booker is set to relaunch its Londis symbol in the hope of emulating the success of its Premier fascia.
The wholesaler is currently in discussions with around 10 retailers who could trial the latest thinking for the symbol, The Grocer understands.
According to Booker COO Jonny McQuarrie, Londis is set for an update to its branding including a new look and feel to stores, new digital exteriors, new food to go areas and a reworking of space and range for its retailers.
Although plans are understood to still be at a concept and trial stage, speaking at the recent FWD conference in Manchester, McQuarrie suggested the refreshed stores would be “launching in the coming months”.
He indicated that the inspiration for the move had been the successful relaunch of the Premier symbol over the past few years.
“If you haven’t visited one of our new Premier concept stores then you should,” he said. “They are proper cutting-edge. Our new Premiers are remarkable shops.
“So the Premier concept is working because we refreshed it a few years back. We are now going to refresh Londis.”
McQuarrie said one of the latest Premier stores to undergo a full refresh was owned by a large customer of the wholesaler. The store in Grantham, Lincolnshire, was now seeing a 50% uplift in sales, he added.
Earlier this month, Premier won the Grocer Gold Award for Symbol Retailer of the Year for the second consecutive year. In the latest year the symbol passed the 4,000-store mark, with the addition of 385 new retailers helping to drive an 8% increase in sales.
There are currently around 2,300 stores trading under the Londis banner. Booker also operates the Budgens and Family Shopper symbols.
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