The club warehouse system has resurfaced in a different form. Will it be first of many? When Sainsbury bought the three Cargo Clubs from Nurdin & Peacock it believed planning and trading permissions would be adjusted to allow supermarket trading. But, so far, the membership proviso is still in place. The London, South Croydon site was sold, Wednesbury lies empty, and Bristol reopened this week, trading under rules originally set by the local development corporation. The 40,000 sq.ft. area can be described as a JS discount operation, carrying the full range. Customers pay #5 a year for membership, but they get an associate card, and can bring two guests. They will come from an agreed geographic location, marked on an in-store map, roughly 20 minutes maximum drive to the unit. As most people drive about nine minutes to their nearest superstore, there is no problem for JS. The discounts on total purchases are about 10% below normal Sainsbury prices. And there are bulk packs. The idea could be a limited goer. Some, with age and memory, will remember the Fame-Allways store in the heart of Manchester launched in 1965. It was a membership discount operation that charged 10 shillings (50p now). But, in spite of the 30,000 members, it lasted just a year. The JS route is very different and may be enough to inspire even more loyalty than its Reward Card, which is also on offer. There is nothing to stop any large store group from gathering national members. Passing customers could sign up with their fivers as they entered. But the quid pro quo would be costly: guaranteed very low prices. Shareholders, and the City, would not be happy. The JS isolated experiment, launched through necessity, may be a pattern for a few more such stand-alone ventures, but retailers fearing a new wave of discounting can cease to tremble. This one-off is not likely to herald a new retailing format. But it does throw into relief how price still matters, perhaps more than ever.

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