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Speaking at today’s Bargain Booze trade show, held in Liverpool, Bestway Retail director Mike Hollis told retailers: “We are launching a concept where we want to introduce a quality booze offer into a quality convenience offer.”
The hope is that the alcohol section will benefit from the strong footfall generated by the convenience side of the business.
About 10% of retailers attending the trade show were either Costcutter or Best-one retailers looking at including a Bargain Booze franchise within their convenience stores, Hollis told Independent Retail News.
He added: “A typical convenience store booze offer is pretty basic. You would struggle to find a dinner-party wine, for example.
“Having the Bargain Booze offer in-store takes the alcohol offer to a whole new level.”
The sections would be branded as Bargain Booze in-store, he said, while the external fascia would be split 50:50 between the two brands.
Bestway Wholesale managing director Dawood Pervez said the idea had gone down well with retailers as it provided them with a broader offer with which to attack different elements of the market.
Hollis said the group was continuing to trial its BB’s and Tippl concepts, both of which were unveiled last November, although they still needed “as few tweaks”.
He added: “We have learned an awful lot from those shops.”
Those learnings would be incorporated into the Bargain Booze offer, he said. “A slightly different format for Bargain Booze is going to be on the cards soon.”
Pervez said the plan was to open a second BB’s trial store, while the Tippl format could work in the right, affluent location.
He said the group’s 20-strong Wine Rack fascia “has done phenomenally well during the pandemic” as consumers sought to recreate the on-trade experience at home.
“It’s probably the best-performing fascia of the whole estate.” Pervez said.
Bestway also announced today that it would open Bargain Booze sections within 70 Food Warehouse stores.
