The UK's number two supermarket chain is plotting both a revival of its Savacentre brand in stores aimed at lower-budget consumers, and a separate concept that will use technology to improve the shopping experience.
The Savacentre name, which Sainsbury's began phasing out two years ago but still exists in a handful of locations, will appear on a store in Birmingham offering both food and non-food products.
Brand consultancy The Fourth Room has been working on the concept, which Sainsbury's hopes will allow it to highlight a distinctive value-based positioning for customers who rarely buy premium products. The trial will gauge whether Sainsbury's can recapture customers lost to Asda by promoting a no-frills offer.
The technology concept store will go on trial in Cheshire and will feature internet terminals to allow ordering from the Sainsbury's To You web site.
Other facilities will include the ability to collect goods ordered online at the store and a personal shopping service. Sainsbury's hopes the format will appeal to cash-rich, time-poor consumers and boost its e-commerce offer to compete more effectively with Tesco.com, which makes more than 3% of all revenues online.
Both stores are set to open next month. Sainsbury's assistant managing director Sara Weller, who is responsible for store format development, was unavailable for comment. AMV Advance, which handles store communications for the firm, refused to comment.
The store trials come as Sainsbury's attempts to regain some of the ground lost to Tesco over the past decade. Its market share fell slightly between April 2001 and April 2002, and the firm now claims 17.5% of the grocery market, (Taylor Nelson Sofres).
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