Western Grocer Serving the industry since 1916
By Carolyn Camilleri
Rotisserie chicken, freshly made salads, and all-butter croissants baked daily in-store are not your typical convenience store fare. But that’s what customers find waiting for them inside when they fuel up at the new Sobeys Express, open 24/7 at 124 Beech Hill Road in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
Launched last December, Sobeys Express is a fresh take on the traditional convenience offer and features tasty, on-the-go meal solutions and easy one-stop fuel options for travellers.
“Consumer research has shown us that customers are looking for more fresh food options to meet their on-the-go needs. They also want a one-stop shop for food and fuel,” says Valerie Ryan, vice-president, convenience and fuel, Sobeys Atlantic. “Our Sobeys Express location meets those customer needs in a larger and brighter store.”
Sobeys express carries a broader assortment of traditional convenience items; however, the new format focuses on the customer looking for fresher, healthier alternatives to typical convenience store snacks and meal ideas. With Sobeys Express, being on the go doesn’t mean compromising nutrition and healthy eating.
With a selection of 14 signature and all-butter croissant sandwiches, Sensations hot soups in three different sizes, and cookies and baguettes baked fresh daily in-store, customers can enjoy the same quality and freshness they experience at their local Sobeys and Foodland stores.
There is even a meal deal especially created to appeal to travellers. The purchase of a sandwich, drink, and snack rewards customers with two cents off per litre on a subsequent fuel purchase at Fast Fuel and Shell locations across Atlantic Canada. To complete the offer, Sobeys Express customers receive AIR MILES® reward miles on purchases made in-store and at the pump.
Deciding on the assortment of food offerings for Sobeys Express was the result extensive research on the needs and preferences of on-the-go customers. The options and the concept were also developed to help drive the Sobeys’ company-wide mission to inspire Canadians to discover new foods, products, and recipes and to help them Eat Better, Feel Better, and Do Better.
“We understand how important it is to offer a better-for-you option for our convenience customers,” says Ryan. “We will continue to refine our offering by staying current with trends and listening to our customers’ feedback.”
At 2,400 square feet, the new store is larger than many of the current Needs stores, which are about 2,000 square feet, says Ryan, adding that a typical Sobeys store is over 40,000 square feet.
Customers familiar with Sobeys Inc.’s IGA Express in Quebec will notice some similarities, particularly the approach to a fresher offer, leveraging the same products as the full-service format, and the use of the private label program, as well as similar design elements.
“We will meet the needs of the on-the-go customer and have options that should meet a broad spectrum of customers,” says Ryan. “We intend to attract Sobeys customers with the branding and continue to build the value loop for the customers between Sobeys and Sobeys Express.”
Headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, Sobeys has been in the Canadian food shopping business for 108 years. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Empire Company Limited (TSX:EMP.A), Sobeys owns or franchises approximately 1,500 stores in all 10 provinces under retail banners that include Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, and Lawton’s Drug Stores, as well as more than 350 retail fuel locations. Sobeys and its franchise affiliate operations employ more than 125,000 people across the country.
The Needs Convenience chain developed out of a series of small acquisitions by Sobeys, beginning with the TRA wholesale business in Middleton, Nova Scotia. By the mid-1990s, Needs stores were being branded throughout the Maritime Provinces and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Currently, there are 159 Needs convenience sites in Atlantic Canada, with the newest Needs opening in January 2016 in New Glasgow. Additionally, Sobeys has 19 Shell sites, each with its own Needs c-store. With approximately six staff per store, Needs employs almost 1,000 people.
The new Sobeys Express has 10 on staff, including manager Kathy Nicholson, a former franchisee at a Needs location in Antigonish.
“[The number of staff] is slightly higher than our typical Needs store due to the expanded fresh offer and as it is a 24-hour store,” says Ryan.
Whether the Needs c-stores will be converted to Sobeys express has not been determined yet.
“Our focus at this time is to ensure the success of our first Sobeys Express store and ensuring we are providing customers with the right assortment of better-for-you convenient products,” says Ryan. “Current stores will be assessed as we review markets to determine what format is appropriate and best meets our customer needs.”
While Needs convenience stores are typically run as franchises, because Sobeys Express a new brand is being managed corporately.
“We will look at opportunities to franchise following an assessment of the business,” says Ryan, adding that anyone interested in obtaining information on convenience and/or fuel franchises with Sobeys can contact Craig Pardy, director of franchised operations by email at Craig.Pardy@Sobeys.com.
Expectations are optimistic for the new operation.
“We won’t share sales targets for this store but can tell you that based on our customer focus groups, we expect this format to do well, and we expect sales to shift to less reliance on traditional convenience store categories,” says Ryan.
“Sobeys Express is a new concept for convenience shopping in Atlantic Canada,” adds Ryan. “We know customers want better choices when they are on the go and Sobeys Express stores will set us apart from the traditional convenience retailers in this regard.”
Sobeys Express is a new way of looking at convenience, and with fresher, healthier options so readily available, it may well help to change how busy people look at eating on the go.
