Southern Co-op has entered the “next stage” of developing its Welcome franchise, adding zones to differentiate categories and new tools to support stores with standards and tackling retail crime.
Welcome’s site in Canary Wharf, London, was one of the first to receive a refreshed interior design. It followed a store in Bristol, and more sites are to follow.
The Canary Wharf store features different coloured zones to help attract customers and help them identify different categories. For example, food to go has a red colour scheme. Alcohol is orange, while fresh is green. Southern Co-op head of franchise Mike Fitton told Better Retailing the design is part of “the next stage” of its development of the franchise.
Some flagship Welcome sites have also gained additional footfall by stocking products from growth categories, such as US and Asian soft drinks, viral ramen brand Buldak and halal sweets. Franchisees have no restrictions on ordering outside of the Southern Co-op supply chain, as long as the products aren’t already stocked centrally.
Overall, Southern Co-op has 75 Welcome franchises. However, Fitton said rapid expansion was not part of its agenda. It would rather focus on quality of support than store numbers.
New apps designed to help retailers
Southern Co-op has also developed a number of tools to support retailers with retail crime, auditing and upcoming legislation.
Fitton said: “We’re making an app developed by UK Partners Against Crime available to franchisees and it enables them to report crime quickly on their phones. They can attach photographs and add important details.
“Every report creates a heatmap. There was a trial in Bournemouth where they found a heatmap in one area outside a shop. They discovered there were benches outside and, once the council removed them, they saw a reduction in antisocial behaviour. It will be free to franchisees.”
Auditing support is also available to stores through a specialised app. For example, Welcome reps will be able to check and log issues with equipment such as card machines, with problems sent straight to support for a quicker response.
Support from Southern Co-op on upcoming legislation
Asked how the company is helping franchisees manage legislation such as the upcoming disposable-vape ban on 1 June next year, Fitton said: “It’s about education. Some suppliers might take stock back, but retailers have to phase it through. They have got more than six months now.
“We will be educating our retailers and providing them with reminders constantly. We will be reminding them that they must sell through stock.
“Each franchisee gets ACS membership, so they also receive guidance from the trade body.”
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