A brand-new supermarket chain is due to open its first store in Warrington next month.
Asco Ltd was founded earlier this year and is the result of 18 months of market research into the UK grocery retail market.
The first store will open on an old Woolworths site in Warrington town centre in mid-October and will be swiftly followed by 35 more over the course of the next 12 months in towns and cities in the north of England and Wales. All the sites are 11,000-26,000sqft.
Dave Humphreys, logistics manager at Asco, told freshinfo: “We are opening on old Woolworths sites and keeping our focus predominantly on north-west England. We will soon also be opening in St Helen’s, Runcorn, Sheffield, Wrexham, Wigan and Farnworth in Manchester. We want to test the market in this area first.”
The new retailer’s royal-blue and white logo bears the strap-line “a real alternative”.
Humphreys explained: “Our offer will be on all the lines you find in other supermarkets: fresh produce, fresh meat, hot and cold food and so on. We will be sourcing from local suppliers as far as possible and already have the majority of them on board.”
As well as looking at individual producers, Asco is also talking to well-known produce supply companies and Humpreys said sourcing on vegetables is still being ironed out.
The retailer’s main point of difference will be its consistency in pricing. Humphreys told freshinfo: “We have carried out a lot of research and pensioners and other shoppers have told us that they are not happy with the layout at the other retailers. They are not happy to go into a store one week and buy their favourite brand or product at a certain price to find it going up the following week. We are working on consistent pricing and to get our message across we have got some very good people on board working on getting the right prices and stable prices.”
Asco’s fresh produce offer is likely to include both pre-packed and loose product and Humphreys said the retailer is focusing on “quality and price”.
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