Loyal customers double-dip in Sainsbury's/Boots trial
UK supermarket chain Sainsbury's, and pharmacy chain Boots The Chemists are to trial Boots' health and beauty offer in six Sainsbury's out-of-town superstores, with the first opening by early 2002. If successful, the trial could lead to a trading agreement covering a substantial number of Sainsbury's larger out of town stores. The agreement will be limited to sites where Sainsbury's wants to provide its customers with a wider offering of quality health and beauty products and where Boots wants to increase its presence.
The Boots range of some ten thousand health and beauty products will replace Sainsbury's existing range of 4,500 products and occupy clearly branded space within Sainsbury's stores. Unit size will range from 2,800 to 4,200 square feet.
Double dip The stores will include a pharmacy and a wide range of health and beauty products including Boots' own market leading brands such as Nº7, Soltan and Botanics. Boots staff and consultants will support these ranges in-store. Customers will pay for their purchases at the Sainsbury's checkouts. They will receive rewards on both the retailers' loyalty schemes - the Advantage and Reward cards - on relevant products.
The trial will incorporate lessons learned from an earlier Boots/Sainsbury's pilot when Boots stores were introduced on a concession basis with separate payment points. There are currently 5 Boots pharmacies trading in Sainsbury's stores. This trial will put the Boots offer in the main trading area for the first time.
Sir Peter Davis, group chief executive of J Sainsbury plc, said: " I said at our results in May that we would be enhancing our non-food offer. Today's announcement of this trial demonstrates our intention to develop new and different ways of offering customers authoritative products throughout our stores."
According to Steve Russell, chief executive of The Boots Company, the company will continue to develop and extend its customer offer in the High Street, but adds "We also recognise that a significant proportion of health and beauty purchasing is now done out of town. This arrangement with Sainsbury's enables us to reach out of town shoppers, in line with our strategy, quickly and cost effectively."
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