Select & Save has launched its first ‘Drinks Lab’ concept in partnership with independent retailer Manraj Sidhu.
It is located at a newly relaunched 1,600 sq ft store in Immingham, north east Lincolnshire, which the retailer formerly operated under Unitas’ symbol group fascia Today’s.
The Drinks Lab is an enclosed 400 sq ft chilled room that houses alcohol, soft drinks, and mixers in one area of the store, holding up to 500 SKUs.
Select & Save, which consists of 88 independently run stores, said it can be adjusted to fit any size store for prospective retailers looking to adopt the concept.
It aims to create “in-store theatre” and offer a bigger range of drinks to consumers wanting immediate consumption, while also helping retailers reduce their energy bills, the symbol group added.
“The Drinks Lab enables the retailer to have all of its adult drinks in one place,” Select & Save sales director Barry Coleman told The Grocer.
“The local community have absolutely loved this in the new store. Alcohol sales over the opening weekend alone were 35% up compared to the weekend before the refit, and this will only grow even more.
“We will be rolling this out across our estate as we continue to refit and rebrand our stores. This will also be offered and planned into all new stores going forward.”
The store has also debuted an extensive drinks-to-go offer, including a Smokin’ Bean coffee machine, Slush Puppy, and Reece’s Hot Chocolate machine. It also features food-to-go machines, such as Rollover Hot Dog, an on-site café offering sandwiches, wraps and curries, and grocery, chilled, and frozen ranges supplied by Booker.
Select & Save switched its supply deal from Bestway to Booker earlier this year, revealed exclusively by The Grocer, entering into a new five-year agreement.
It meant retailers could now take advantage of Booker’s 1,600 fresh and chilled lines, an extensive frozen category, and its Euroshopper and Jack’s own-label brands, with a minimum 30% margin across the range.
In 2021, Booker launched the first ‘Beer Cave’ concept as part of its Latest Thinking format for Premier retailers, which was followed by the launch of a ‘Pop Cave’ concept for soft drinks.
Fellow wholesaler Parfetts has also been rolling out a ‘Beer Cave’ concept across its Go Local estate which has been boosting alcohol sales for retailers.
No comments yet