Pick n Pay has unveiled its new flagship store in Cape Town. The Waterstone store in Somerset West will be the model for what customers can come to expect at all revamped Pick n Pay stores in the future.

This follows the announcement earlier this year that Pick n Pay would  be organised into two brands under its new Ekuseni strategy to serve customers better. Pick n Pay QualiSave was launched in August, and is dedicated to customers who want Pick n Pay quality at exceptional prices. 

The rejuvenated Pick n Pay format focuses on delighting more-affluent customers with a premium experience, providing unbeatable quality, freshness and innovation across a range of 18,000 products.

In developing the new Waterstone flagship store, the Pick n Pay team has worked closely with a top design house to produce a more modern and premium experience. 

The Waterstone store took over three months to renovate, and the changes are immediately clear. All stores boast a new coffee bar, and customers are welcomed with an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables, creative and curated product displays and spacious aisles. These Pick n Pay branded premium stores are now the home of the company’s new premium private label, Crafted Collection by PnP, with more innovation expected to launch in the coming months. 

Most of the signage in the store has been converted to digital screens, and there is an interactive screen to help customers pair their wine with the extensive cheese selection on offer. New equipment in the store, such as the most energy-efficient refrigeration plants and lighting, will see the store reduce its energy usage by around 30%.

Faithful to Nature products are also being stocked at selected stores to complete Pick n Pay’s growing Live Well health range. 

To match the premium experience, all store staff have undergone intensive training, and this extends to hiring the services of industry experts. A well respected South African cheese guru will train the in-store cheese-mongers to become experts on its extensive range of over 500 local and international cheeses.

Pick n Pay CEO, Pieter Boone, said:

We are very excited to reveal this impressive, revamped store. Our Waterstone store is the new look for our Pick n Pay stores and stands as a blueprint for what customers can expect. These revamped stores will fulfil our customers' aspirations for an incredible in-store experience, complete with high-quality products to match their exact needs, at affordable prices. Our investment in staff training also means our customer service levels will match our new and improved store experience. 

We announced our Ekuseni project in May following months of extensive research with our customers. They were clear on what they expected of us and how we needed to provide what was relevant to them. Our net promoter scores in our revamped stores have grown impressively and our customers have told us they love the new stores. Revamped stores are experiencing double-digital growth, we have more customers visiting our stores, and they are shopping bigger baskets. These proof points show us that we are on the right track.

Given the success of the first revamped stores, Pick n Pay is accelerating its refurbishment programme, and the company aims to have fully revamped 130 Pick n Pay and QualiSave stores by February 2023