On the back of Woolworths announcing the expansion of its convenience offer, Coles are readying to do the same.
According to the Australian Financial Review, Coles is ramping up its convenience strategy.
As part of the strategy, Coles will transform around 200 stores within its network to include a larger focus on convenience, and another 200 low-volume stores to a value format. The move includes adding around 75 new products to its range.
Coles managing director Steven Cain told the Financial Review: “We see the convenience market as being an opportunity to grow another billion in sales over the next five years”.
“It’s high growth and it mainly happens outside supermarkets at the moment,” Mr Cain said.
“Some of it will come from other players in the convenience market, but because it’s value-added it’s also growing the market as well.”
The Financial Review reported Coles had already been testing its convenience format for six months at its Eastgardens store in Sydney with sales rising 10 per cent.
Mr Cain said the company wants “to give people a better opportunity to buy food for now and food for later”.
“It’s really to kick start the whole convenience thing,” he said. “We want to try and get it done as fast as we possibly can.”