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Kwik Save is a discount Supermarket chain in the United Kingdom . It sells both "name" and generic brands. OVERVIEW Kwik Save stores are small to medium sized High Street supermarkets and are mainly located in areas with below average incomes. Kwik Save became part of the Somerfield group in 1998 when Kwik Save and Somerfield merged and operated as a trading division of Somerfield Stores Ltd. Following the merger Somerfield's Food Giant discount supermarkets were re-branded as Kwik Save. Just prior to Somerfield taking over the chain, Kwik Save had itself bought out the Isle Of Man based discount supermarket chain Shop Rite . In February 2006 , Somerfield sold the brand and around half the stores ''(see below for details)''. Kwik Save has struggled to make profits in recent years as superstore operators such as Tesco and ASDA have introduced their own budget brands, and other discounters such as Lidl and Aldi entered the market. In 2004, the company announced the closure of more than half of its stores in Scotland and the conversion of the remainder to the Somerfield fascia. BRAND IMAGE AND STORE FORMATS The off licence sections of Kwik Save stores were in a seperate department known as Liquorsave and the fruit and vegetable sections and butchery counters were usually run by local franchisees under the name of Colemans. Also some stores rented out space to non-food retailers. During the 1980s some Kwik Save stores incorporated a frozen foods section which traded under the name of Arctic Freezer Centres. In an effort to modernise the Kwik Save brand the company undertook a programme to renovate its stores which included new staff uniforms (a black and white chequered shirt which replaced the red t-shirts), new 'ASDA style' shelves to replace the wooden warehouse racking (referred to as 'boards and beams'), new floors, checkouts, colour schemes and lighting. Renovated stores devoted more space to fresh foods, introduced new features, such as bakeries, and removed the requirement for customers to pay for carrier bags which, for many years, was symbolic of the Kwik Save business model. Around a third of the Kwik Save estate was transformed, with each store having between £300,000 and £1,000,000 invested in the improvements. Sales figures from renovated stores suggested that the public did respond positively to the new look, although the profitability of these stores still doesn't meet that of unrefurbished Somerfield fascia stores. BRANDED GOODS At one time Kwik Save was unusual among British supermarket chains for not having own brand products but in the 1990s the chain launched its popular ''No Frills'' brand, offering cheaper generic products for people on a budget. This was replaced by Somerfield branded goods shortly after the two companies merged in 1998. Later, this was joined by ''Manager's Specials'', a varied range of low price products, . In around 2003, Kwik Save re-introduced its range of own-brand goods, replacing both Somerfield branded lines and ''Manager's Specials''. The new range consisted of two sub-types, the first of which was Kwik Save's own brand which used glossy packaging similar to that used by Somerfield. The second sub-type was called Kwik Save ''Simply'' and used a format similar to the Somerfield ''Makes Sense'' value range, with red, white and light purple colours instead of Somerfield's white and yellow. The second sub-type was introduced as the ''cheapest on offer'' and marketed to budget-conscious customers, whilst the first was designed to compete with other branded goods on the shelf. In March 2006 , the new owners of the chain ''(see below)'' announced that it would no longer sell own-brand goods, switching instead to well known household brands at discount prices. It was also announced that goods would be sourced locally whenever possible. SALE OF STORES After the takeover of Somerfield in 2005, it was reported that the new owners found the Kwik Save chain was losing £40m per year. As a result, they speeded up the conversion of stores from Kwik Save to Somerfield. On . Subsequent to the initial sale, a further 19 Kwik Save stores have been acquired by BTTF, including some of those included in the Competition Commission investigation ruling into Somerfield's purchase of 114 Safeway Compact stores in 2004. MEDIA LINKS |
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