James Convenience Retail (JCR) is to convert a number of Select Convenience and Bargain Booze stores to the Costcutter fascia, following a 30% year-on-year increase from an initial refit in 2022.

Six stores already supplied by Bestway-owned Costcutter are to complete the transition in the coming weeks. They include sites in Derby, Sheffield, Huntington, Leicester, Northampton and Bramley.

Two of the sites will be refurbished as the Costcutter Bargain Booze hybrid, which combines the two brands into one store. JCR recently refitted a shop in Nottingham to the hybrid format.

Bestway to consolidate symbol portfolio into Costcutter, Best-one, Bargain Booze and Wine Rack

The refits come as JCR converted its Budgens site in Cheshire into Costcutter in 2022. Since the refit, the store has seen an annual growth of 30%.

Commenting on the opportunities, JCR founder Jonathan James, said: “By making the change, it gives us recognised convenience brand that shoppers know, understand, and have confidence in. Furthermore, we know that Bestway is making significant investment in the marketing of Costcutter, which we welcome and is a key factor for us. 

“Furthermore, we can now offer our customers a greater range of convenience products and we also have access to the Bestway Wholesale website which is valuable to us – it means our stores can see which products are in a stock at depot, rather than waiting to see if it’s crossed off when it comes up. 

“There are many positives to making this change and we’re excited for the future”.

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