The Vale Road site by Tunbridge Wells Railway Station will be transformed into a contemporary shopping space, focused on an innovative and wide-ranging, premium fresh food offer, yet still delivering Morrisons’ great value, the company said.
Morrisons has embraced more flexible store formats since Dalton Philips, the group’s new CEO, joined the business last year. The supermarket claims that value, affordability and freshness remain Morrisons’ key differentiators. In the ‘store of the future’ this is now coupled with a premium range of gourmet foods and high quality culinary produce.
Morrisons’ ‘store of the future’ will offer up to 450 different lines of fresh produce including an array of exotic fruits and vegetables. The Tunbridge Wells store will be modelled on its Kirkstall store near Leeds where it sells ten different types of Chinese greens, nine varieties of loose tomatoes and ten lines of loose mushrooms, including Italian black summer truffles – a first for one of the four big supermarkets.
Morrisons has more people preparing more food in store than any other retailer and the Tunbridge Wells store will have fully trained fishmongers, butchers and bakers – all with expert knowledge of their product areas, the company said.
Andy Newton, format director at Morrisons, said: “We are delighted to be opening one of our first ‘stores of the future’ for the South East in Tunbridge Wells. This store will bring together all the best innovations in fresh produce from the UK, the US and Canada.
“Until now Morrisons has not had a format that would be right for Tunbridge Wells. With our ‘store of the future’ we can provide the town with a premium offer, including the widest range of fresh ingredients alongside other innovations we have trialled in our concept store in Kirkstall, Leeds.
“This is Morrisons as you probably have never seen it before, with more surprising produce and an exciting layout but still highly affordable.”
Source: Morrisons
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