Case Study: CK Foodstores

Our Impact

Smrtspace was subcontracted to support a space optimisation pilot for the convenience food retailer, CK Foodstores. The initiative involved working closely with JDH Solutions to complete a full review of a medium-sized store located in Swansea, Wales.

The review included an evaluation of the layout, assortment, space and merchandising of the store leading to a number of change recommendations to increase the commercial and operational returns from the store as well as improving the customer experience.

Our Client

CK Foodstores, commonly known as CK’s, is an independent Welsh food retailer established in 1988 by Christopher Kiley. With over 30 locations primarily across South-West Wales, the company majors on fresh, locally sourced produce, in-store bakeries, and butchery departments, often operating in partnership with Nisa. CK’s is deeply rooted in its communities, supporting local suppliers and engaging in various charitable initiatives and sponsorships.

Our Approach

Smrtspace visited the pilot store and assisted the management and local team in reviewing several key areas, providing recommendations on how to drive growth. These areas included:

• Store layout – evaluation of the store area, how it was configured, zoning and how best to maximise conversion and customer interest. This included offering a number of alternative layout options.
• Category space analysis – completing an analytical review of the existing category space allocation by measuring linear metres by category and connecting spatial data to key performance data to understand hot and cold areas of the store and where space/range could be flexed to drive sales and margin.
• Fixtures and furniture – assessed the current equipment with advice on practicality, positioning and effectiveness. This also included analysing different fixture density options within the layout proposals.
• Visual merchandising and planograms – supporting JDH Solutions with a full audit and review of range and product space. This included measuring product dimensions, capturing the ‘as is’ implementation and building planograms to reflect what was found during the audit. Planograms were then analysed to understand commercial returns and stock investment.
• Assortment recommendation – looking at the needs state of each category within the store, understanding whether the current assortment met all needs states and then recommending additions, deletions and substitutions based on classic cat man principles and consumer psychology coupled with product level performance.