Costcutter news

Challenger symbol group, Simply Fresh has brought in forecourt retailing veteran Michael O’Loughlin as its new chief operating officer.  As of 31 August he will take on the role currently held by group founder Kash Khera, who himself will move over to become business development director. Most recent experience with MFG Having been a key figure in the expansion of Irish forecourt operator A...

National symbol group, Costcutter is using the value of the Co-op product range, available through its supply chain, to help bring new members to the group.  It is currently offering £1,000 worth of Co-op branded products free to retailers who join and start trading under the Costcutter fascia by 31 August. Co-op brand a key strength during the Covid crisis The access that Costcutter retail...

Talking to trade magazine Independent Retail News, Darcy Willson-Rymer, Chief Executive of national symbol group Costcutter, has shared that the group’s retailers have seen non-tobacco sales up by almost 22% in the four-month period to the end of April.  This comes off the back of a strong full-year performance for 2019 when retailer sales boosted group income by 10% to reach £426m, returning the...

In this article, updated daily, we summarise the latest responses to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the UK: Multiples update: Tesco releases annual results and updates on COVID-19: More normal shopping behaviour has resumed after a surge in demand for certain items in the first few weeks of the crisis caused sales uplifts of c.30%. Grocery home shopping capacity has been in...

Innovative symbol group Simply Fresh has revealed that it is to extend its current one-store trial supply relationship with Sainsbury's to a second site.  This second trial will launch on 26 February in the revamped Kenilworth store that was the first ever Simply Fresh location opened by founders Sukhjit and Kash Khera back in 2009.  The group now comprises almost 90 independently owned, affiliat...

Consolidation and evolving shopper trends are impacting convenience retailers and the channel more widely. In the convenience retailing stream of IGD Live , Costcutter shared the benefits it is realising from ranging for local catchments, while the founder of Thorntons Budgens, Andrew Thornton, discussed his initiatives to remove plastic from its operations. Tailoring range to the needs o...

Major convenience symbol group operator, Costcutter has done a national deal with Uber Eats to enable its 1,500-plus member stores to tap into the delivery service on beneficial terms.  The announcement follows a regional trial across London and the South East in which participating retailers saw sales boosted by £1,500 a-month through the delivery app. Wide range of grocery products to be mad...

This week we visited the latest UK food hall concept to open, the Simply Fresh Foodhall in Manchester’s Stretford Mall. Here we share our thoughts on this latest format and our view on what’s next for foodhall evolution in Europe. A retail / foodhall hybrid The Simply Fresh Foodhall represents an important step forward in foodhall evolution. It’s been developed by Mital Morar, the owner of ...

As reported in Convenience Store magazine, the 2018 accounts (to 31 December) for major symbol group Costcutter show the company's sales fell by 24% to £390m over the twelve months.  This reveals the severe impact caused by the disruption of supply to member stores following the collapse of key supply partner, Palmer & Harvey, in late 2017. Ended year with 1,560 member stores As well as the...

Award winning 'alternative' symbol group, Simply Fresh, part-owned by Costcutter since 2014, has appointed Tim Chalk as its new chief executive.  Kash Khera co-founder of Simply Fresh, who launched the group with his brother in 2009, will remain as chief operating officer.  The group now includes some 90 stores across Great Britain. Chalk brings international experience in convenience Tim C...