Beauty facelift at Oldbury Sainsbury's to take on Boots and Superdrug
A Sainsbury's store in the Black Country is playing a leading role in efforts to take on Boots and Superdrug with a major makeover its beauty range.
The superstore in Freeth Street, in Oldbury, is one of just 11 nationwide that will launch a completely revamped range of makeup, health and beauty products across a larger department store layout.
First launched as a Savacentre back in 1980, the store has a shop floor of around 75,000 sq ft including an Argos outlet and a Lloyds Pharmacy.
It will now be part of a pilot makeover for a select group of stores, as Sainsbury introduces specially trained beauty experts to eight stores and more than 1,500 new products from premium and exclusive brands, including favourites such as Mane & Tail, Burt’s Bees, Essie, Korres and Dr PawPaw.
The beauty advisers will also be kitted out with black tunic and trouser uniforms to make sure they stand out in store for customers.
The West Midlands is also seen as a prime location for another element of the new strategy, as Sainsbury opens counters for The Fragrance Shop in two of its stores, with top brands from Chanel to Calvin Klein.
The first is the Sainsbury in Purley Way in Croydon and the second will be a new supermarket set to open in Selly Oak later this year.
Sainsbury’s is also relaunching its own Boutique cosmetics range as the UK health and beauty market is set to reach £27 billion by 2020, with annual spending set to soar from £73 to £487 per shopper.
Paul Mills-Hicks, Sainsbury’s commercial director said, “We think customers will love our beauty makeover, which creates an alluring space where customers are inspired to browse the new ranges and try before they buy.
"Shopping for beauty and cosmetics is a very personal experience and we’ve transformed the look and feel of our beauty aisles to enhance the environment for our customers.
"We’ve also invested in specially trained colleagues who will be on hand to offer advice and share their love of the amazing new line-up of exclusive and distinctive brands including our re-launched Boutique beauty range, which offers customers top quality cosmetics at fantastic every day value. Our range of brands is designed to suit every need and the alluring environment and convenient locations mean we’re now a compelling beauty destination which challenges the old way of shopping.”
If the makeover proves successful in the chosen stores Sainsbury’s will roll the new concept out to more supermarkets next year.
