(15 August 2022) Yesterday, Pick n Pay in Eerste River, Cape Town, officially unveiled QualiSave, a network of supermarkets that is very different from its mother brand and will target consumers in the expanding middle class. The new store clearly distinguishes itself from the classic old-style Pick & Pay locations. For instance, a sizable section of the store is devoted to commonplace commodities, including oil, wheat, maize, and beans, which are sometimes offered in quantity to maintain competitive pricing.
Another illustration is the fresh meat department, which allows customers to purchase single sausages and other smaller quantities to accommodate lunchtime business. A sizable section of frozen food is also included. Shopping is made simpler by the exceptionally well-presented pricing and all products.
For example, the Eerste River branch of QualiSave sells chicken feet, which might not be offered at a Constantia Pick n Pay store, as well as the yellow raisin bread that is especially well-liked in the neighborhood. Each QualiSave store is distinctive to its region in terms of some of its products.
“You can’t cut and paste a QualiSave branch from the Cape and put up the same store in Limpopo. Products at each store cater for their specific communities, and can also change with changes in shopping patterns,” retail executive Gustave Möller at the launch yesterday.
The 55-year-old retail group announced in May that it intended to reorganize into two brands, Pick n Pay serving more affluent customers and the new brand that was launched yesterday, following extensive conversations with customers that included, for example, interviews with more than 7 000 people in October and November, as well as large-scale data accumulation and interpretation of product sales and trends.
Before introducing the brand, the 1300 square meter store in Eerste River has already been open for two months for assessment purposes. The store is 1300 square meters in size, and it now draws about 2000 consumers each day. The average basket size is R140.
Möllerstated that the objective is to concentrate on customers in the expanding middle market by offering cheaper costs coupled with good quality and customer service. Contrary to the old traditional Pick n Pay strategy, which attempted to serve all types of clients, a differentiated product would better serve customers. Pieter Boone said“We are hugely excited by the positive customer response to the Pick n Pay QualiSave pilot stores. Our sales have increased, and customers are shopping more often with us. This tells us that we are getting it right on the range, quality, price, and service.”
The new brand, according to Pick n Pay chairman Gareth Ackerman, is a component of a plan to “completely reinvent the company” that began about ten years ago. He said 160 of Pick n Pay’s current “Red stores” will become QualiSave stores, which is 40 percent of the group’s entire retail store chains, although franchisees have also expressed interest in the stores. The new store offers customers a range of about 8,000 products, much less than a traditional Pick n Pay store of about 18 000 products, and the emphasis of the new stores is on “unbeatable meat, fresh produce, and bakery, as well as a keen focus on essential commodities.”
About 40% of the company’s Pick n Pay locations will become QualiSave stores. In addition, Pick n Pay is the owner of the network of discount supermarkets known as Boxer. Pick n Pay QualiSave “fully represents exactly what these stores will offer amazing discounts for quality goods alongside a high-quality shopping experience,” said Pieter Boone, CEO of Pick n Pay Group.
“We have done an enormous amount of research to understand exactly what customers want and need. We concluded that we could not successfully meet the needs of all our customers with just one Pick n Pay brand”. All customers have non-negotiable standards for freshness, value, and customer service, but they wanted their favorite retailer to be better suited to their individual requirements.
He claimed that the group’s three current banners, Boxer for aspirational customers on a tight budget, Pick n Pay QualiSave for the expanding middle market, and Pick n Pay at the higher end would all be better served by the new brand, which would place a renewed emphasis on the best goods and services.
Careful consumer modeling has revealed the nationwide locations where Pick n Pay QualiSave will be sold. The new brand name will be used starting in September 2022, and Pick & Pay QualiSave stores will gradually undergo changes to let customers clearly tell them apart from regular Pick n Pay stores. The strategy entails a brand-new store design, eye-catching inside signage, and a product line that is especially targeted at the expanding middle market consumer base. Over the past three months, six Pick n Pay QualiSave locations and four Pick n Pay stores have already undergone renovations, according to Boone. These changes have produced successful sales.
The shop portfolio of Pick n Pay, a multi-format and multi-channel retailer, is adaptable and versatile. Pick n Pay offers a variety of goods and value-added services, including an online offer, and operates on an owned and franchise basis. Pick n Pay is an open-minded company that welcomes all consumers, from the wealthiest to the least wealthy members of society. The company is committed to expanding its reach into places where it is underrepresented, notably through more compact convenience stores.
in returning to the community The Pick n Pay School Club, which has been functioning since 2003 and has grown to be one of the most significant and active public-private educational programs in South Africa, has been supported by Pick n Pay in a significant way. The Club works with over 3000 schools and provides the most vulnerable students with crucial educational materials.
Pick n Pay is the biggest retail donor to the food security agency FoodForward SA (formerly FoodBank). Through our partnership, FoodForward has been able to provide food to more than 4450 beneficiary organizations across the country, which in turn provide more than 11 million meals a year. The food donations are distributed over six months, ensuring we are able to provide beneficiaries with a varied basket of nutritious foods.
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