Supermarket of dreams

If you build it, they will come

With the habits and desires of today's shoppers changing so quickly it is sometimes difficult for supermarkets to keep pace with customers' ever growing expectations … particularly when stores are often forced to operate in older premises.

It is no wonder then that the chance to design a brand new store, especially when it is in a prime location, creates great excitement among the organisations given the opportunity to do so. Certainly, the design team at SPAR Australia relished the challenge of creating a store in the heart of bustling Byron Bay on the New South Wales north coast, and of incorporating all of their knowledge of the latest shopper trends as they did so.

The result is an outstanding retail offer that combines the best of convenient shopping with a comprehensive product range. SPAR's flagship Byron Bay store opened a few months ago and all the indications are that the tourists and locals alike are loving what they find.

"It was a significant challenge to design a store that suited the layout of the existing building, provided two entrance ways and ensured easy access to the underground parking," said SPAR Australia Chief Executive Officer, Leigh Carson.

"The process involved input from SPAR International's design team – the same team behind the design of SPAR's store in China which recently won the prestigious International Convenience Retailer of the Year Award for 2009."

The new store features high quality polished stone flooring, a blackened ceiling and the latest in lighting. It's also the only major retail complex in Byron Bay with underground parking, which is a real bonus considering the area's notorious parking problems and it will also provide shelter for customers shopping with children.

The new store occupies 1400 square metres, with 950 square metres of that trading space. In the upper levels of the building it occupies are backpackers and hotel accommodation which obviously helps sales figures… but SPAR's Sales & Fresh Food Manager, Steve Blamey, says this is only part of the equation.

"Backpackers are predominant in the area and tourists in general are obviously very important to what we do, but we target the locals as well," he said. "This is very much a seasonal town and when most of the tourists go home there are the locals ... they are here the whole time."

Response to local demand

And Mr Blamey says it was in response to local demand that SPAR created the store in the first place.

"They had been screaming out for something like this here," he said. "And the fact that we are already getting between 9,000 and 14,000 customer s a week proves that … it is trading to expectations and obviously we are working hard to get more business."

Mr Blamey says that when the decision was taken to open a new SPAR in Byron Bay they wanted a building that would sit in well with the town.

"We wanted an attractive ambience, we wanted upmarket décor, good lighting that would highlight the attractive features, and a top of the range sound system to enhance the experience while not being too commercial," he said. "We wanted it to be a good place to shop, where customers could feel comfortable."

But a good and successful store is about a lot more than making shoppers feel comfortable. The service has to be excellent and the range has to be right. SPAR feels they have achieved both aims in Byron Bay.

The range and the ambience

Along with first-class store design, SPAR Byron Bay also offers a comprehensive range of organic and healthy foods, and boasts a gourmet deli, meat department and SPAR's Treehouse food-to-go coffee and light meals. The store has the best of a European offer with a fresh food market feel. It stocks a full range of grocery, dairy, freezer, fresh meat, deli and bakery lines, as well as more than 3,000 health and organic products.

The store is a full range supermarket with more than 10,000 grocery lines … but it is its emphasis on the local that SPAR hopes will give it the edge. It is hoped that customers will appreciate SPAR's dedication to sourcing locally produced products – including locally supplied organics.

"We really wanted to source local produce as much as we possibly could," said SPAR's Steve Blamey. "It is good for the local economy, good for the local growers we use and - with us able to achieve lower prices which we can pass on - it is good for the consumer."

The store currently stocks local coffee, meat, nuts, bananas, lettuce, yoghurt, gelato, honey and lots more, and all local products have proved a big hit with consumers.

"We want to offer something different to the competition as we seek to increase basket size and attract the weekly shopper," said Mr Blamey. "We also employ about 70 local staff, both casual and permanent, so we have really become part of the local community."

Support for the local area

SPAR is keen to show its support for the Byron Bay area as much as it possibly can and has already done so with a $5000 sponsorship of the surf lifesaving club and is currently looking at other local sponsorship options.

Its willingness to listen to local voices and possibly adjust its offering accordingly is proven by the fact it is now considering a kosher range in response to requests from the local Jewish community.

So, while Byron Bay is very much a tourist town and holiday makers will no doubt appreciate the feeling that comes with shopping with a familiar brand, SPAR is desperately keen to ensure that locals also enjoy the benefits of the variety, quality and convenience on offer.

And the locals, it seems, are voting with their shopping baskets, proving that if you build it – and build it right – they will come.