Scotmid Co-op has boosted its presence in the Edinburgh area with the acquisition of eight former Alldays stores from the Co-operative Group.
The deal takes its food retail estate to 76 stores, although overlap with its existing estate meant that the Alldays store in Drumbrae and a Scotmid store in Nicolson Street would have to close, said chief executive Colin Bird. He added: “This deal will bring significant growth to the Scotmid project.”
The rebadging programme will begin in late February and should finish by late June.
The deal brings the total number of Alldays stores sold by the Co-operative Group to 84. However, no further sell-offs were planned, said a spokeswoman.
The Co-operative Group converted 171 Alldays stores to its Welcome convenience format last year and plans a further 160 conversions in 2004, leaving 41 more to be rebadged in 2005, she added.
The first Balfour stores will start switching to the Co-operative Group’s Welcome format in April.

Topics