Coles has opened its most “innovative and tailor-made” supermarket yet, with an offering that is tailored towards its local customer base.
The new concept, which has opened in Chatswood, Sydney, is an expansion on the Coles Local model, which opened in Rose Bay in May.
With Chatswood being an area that is heavily populated by the Asian community, one of the features of the store is the largest Asian offering in the country, with more than 600 products on the shelves.
The new store has a strong sustainability focus and debuts an in-store refill ecostore station where customers can refill shampoos, conditioners, body washes and laundry liquids, using bottles made from recycled and sugarcane plastic.
Coles Chief Sustainability, Property and Export Officer Thinus Keevé said each Coles Local supermarket is uniquely tailored to the specific needs of the local community.
The Chatswood store has been tailored to the needs of the local Asian community and features more than 200 plant-based food products, ice cream for dogs, a premium coffee and orange juice station, a macaron, mini gelato and Japanese mocha ice cream parlour, and a dedicated aisle with the largest Asian range in the country.
It also features more than 800 ready to eat products designed for busy Chatswood residents. And it has employed 25 bilingual team members, making life easier for customers where English is not their first language.
“As we make progress on our mission to be Australia’s most sustainable supermarket, we’re increasingly looking at new and inventive ways to reduce packaging on certain products.
“This new ecostore station is a first for an Australian supermarket, which we hope will resonate well with customers.”
Ecostore Managing Director Pablo Kraus said this was the first time the company had installed a refill station in an Australian supermarket to help reduce packaging waste.
“After successfully launching over 80 Refill stations across New Zealand, we are thrilled to bring the first in-supermarket ecostore Refill Station trial for home and personal care products to Australian customers, at the new Coles Local Chatswood store,” he said.
“People are used to bringing in their reusable supermarket bags; now they can also bring in their reusable ecostore refill bottles to conveniently refill their home and personal care products at the supermarket.”
Coles Local Chatswood has opened at Westfield Chatswood. A new Coles Local store is also set to open in Manly later this year.
