Sainsbury’s expands Post Office deal

Sainsbury’s has revealed details of a deal with the Post Office which will allow 200 rural post offices to stock its own-label lines by 2001.

Sub-postmasters will be able to order Sainsbury’s lines in bulk from their local store as part of the deal. It follows an eight-store trial launched through the Village Retail Services Association (VIRSA) last August.

Sainsbury’s will also provide support point-of-sale material, while extra Reward Card points will be awarded to the sub-postmasters who take part in the scheme.

Sainsbury’s claims retailers which join the scheme, called Sainsbury’s Assisted Village Enterprises or SAVE, can earn significant increases in margins compared with branded products by stocking its own-label lines.

It says figures for the trial indicate increases in turnover at stores which entered the scheme of 40 per cent.

However, Sainsbury’s cannot reveal potential sales from the new deal, due to its impending results announcement on June 2. There are 19,000 post offices in the UK, half of which are in rural communities.

Sainsbury’s chief executive Dino Adriano says: “We believe the strength and quality of the Sainsbury’s brand provides village shopkeepers with a real opportunity of improving their overall offer.”