The list of retailers and brands joining forces with the big four supermarkets has only grown in the eight months since the pandemic struck, with the likes of Deliveroo and Uber Eats, in particular, leveraging the growth in online.

Although a trend that was coming to the fore at the back end of last year, the growth of partnerships between food delivery apps and the big four grocers has been hugely accelerated by the pandemic. 

However, while the rise in online demand has been front and centre of many partnerships, the last year or so has seen grocers also looking to strike more traditional shop-in-shop partnerships as retailers across categories look to capitalise on growing supermarket footfall figures.

Tesco

Tesco partners

The most recent partnership struck by Tesco is with formerly pureplay electronics retailer AO.

As revealed by Retail Week, Tesco opened the first of five agreed AO shop-in-shops last week at the grocer’s Extra store in Middleton, Greater Manchester.

The 2,000 sq ft store will allow customers to order larger electricals, such as washing machines, fridges and TVs, for home delivery while smaller items will be available to purchase off the shelf.

AO boss John Roberts says the new format will allow the electricals specialist to tap into the growth of consumers looking for convenient one-stop shopping during the pandemic. 

Tesco’s range of other partnerships cover clothing, accessories, healthy food and sports and leisure, as well as other useful services:

  • AO.com (electricals)
  • Next (fashion)
  • Arcadia (fashion) 
  • Claire’s Accessories (girl’s accessories)
  • Holland & Barrett (health food)
  • Pets at Home (pet supplies)
  • Vision Express (optometrist) 
  • Costa Coffee and Costa Express (food to go)
  • Harris + Hoole (coffee supplier) 
  • Timpson (dry cleaning) 
  • Max Spielmann (photo shop)
  • Giraffe (restaurant)
  • Nando’s (restaurant)
  • Yo! Sushi (restaurant)
  • Shazans (halal food counter)
  • Gould Barbers (hairdressing)
  • My Dentist (dentistry)
  • Supercuts and Superbeauty (hairdressing)
  • Jet Wash (car wash)
  • Rollover Car Wash (car wash)
  • Xpress Centre (car repair and maintenance)
  • ByBox parcel lockers (click-and-collect deliveries and returns)

Since Retail Week last looked at the big four’s concession partnerships in June 2017, Tesco has been the most active player in the market, adding 12 new partnerships. 

This includes an in-store partnership selling Next clothing, which was piloted at the end of 2017. 

Tesco also partnered with a number of national restaurant chains, including Nando’s, when it began selling Nando’s meal kits, condiments and sauces, which began in late April 2019. 

Asda

Asda partners

While, in comparison with the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury’s, Asda continues to have a much smaller portfolio of concession partners, it has recently made some interesting moves in this space. 

On October 14, the supermarket chain announced it had reached a partnership agreement with toy retailer The Entertainer.

As part of the new partnership, The Entertainer will take over the toy aisles in five of Asda’s largest supermarkets and transform them into branded concessions.

The new-look toy sections will stock a larger range of products from brands such as Disney, Lego and Paw Patrol, and The Entertainer will have full control over ranges, merchandising and pricing. 

The concessions will open at Asda superstores in Watford in Hertfordshire, Slough in Berkshire, Roehampton in London, Darlaston in the West Midlands and Pudsey in West Yorkshire from next February. 

This follows on from an announcement in September that the grocer had agreed a partnership with home and DIY retailer B&Q

Four Asda supermarkets will carry B&Q shop-in-shops, starting with stores in Dagenham, London, and Sheffield, Yorkshire, from the end of the year. 

Again, B&Q have been given free rein to manage the concessions and prices will be set the same as they are in the warehouse-sized store.

  • The Entertainer (toys and gifts)
  • B&Q (home and DIY)
  • Claire’s Accessories (girl’s accessories)
  • Decathlon (sporting goods)
  • Uber Eats (online grocery delivery)
  • Music Magpie (electronics)
  • Royal Mail (in-store Post Offices) 
  • McDonald’s (food to go)
  • Greggs (food to go)
  • Panku (street food)
  • Sushi Daily (sushi counter)
  • Timpsons (dry cleaning)
  • Max Spielmann (photo shop)
  • Johnsons The Cleaners (dry cleaning) 
  • Rug Doctor (cleaning service) 

Since Walmart confirmed the sale of Asda to the Issa Brothers, founders of forecourt operator EG Group, on October 2, the grocer’s new owners have also looked to expand the retailer’s convenience credentials. 

On October 12 it launched its first ‘On the Move’ petrol station forecourt store in Primley, West Midlands.

The pilot calls for a further two forecourt stores to be added but, given that Asda’s new owners own EG Group, it would seem likely that far more than three will be rolled out. 

Sainsbury’s

Sainsburys partners

In terms of partnerships, Sainsbury’s has been the busiest over the last few years in its mission to continue subsuming Argos standalone stores into store-in-store concessions. 

In June 2017, when this article was last published, 63 Argos stores had been bought into Sainsbury’s supermarket. In February of this year, the grocer celebrated opening a “milestone” 300th Argos concession in one of its supermarkets. 

Sainsbury’s first installed Argos concessions within stores in 2016, after Argos’ parent Home Retail Group agreed to a £1.4bn takeover by the big four grocer. 

In February this year, the retailer also unveiled its first ‘food-on-the-go’ store at London’s Mansion House.

The near-3,000 sq ft shop was the first Sainsbury’s c-store to feature a Sushi Gourmet concession and a pizza counter. An orange juicer, self-service coffee machine and hot food area add further choice at the front of the shop for customers seeking to get in and out quickly.

  • LloydsPharmacy (pharmacy and subscriptions)
  • Timpson (dry cleaning) and Barbershop by Timpson
  • Sushi Gourmet (food to go)
  • EE (mobile phone services)
  • Specsavers (optometrist) 
  • Explore Learning (education)
  • Johnson The Cleaners (dry cleaning)
  • Clarks (footwear)
  • Jagged Edge (barber shop)
  • Beauty Bar (health and beauty)
  • Regis (haircare)
  • So Me (beauty and wellness)
  • Fat Face (fashion retailer)
  • Sushi Daily (food to go)
  • Wok Street (food to go)
  • Rug Doctor (cleaning services)
  • ByBox parcel lockers (click-and-collect deliveries and returns)

In response to social distancing limits due to the pandemic, Sainsbury’s has also been piloting the Ufirst queuing app at five stores in London’s Uxbridge, Pimlico and Newham Royal Wharf, Leicester North and the Dome Roundabout in Watford. 

It has also rolled out its SmartShop mobile payment technology to more than 100 Sainsbury’s Local stores since the end of July. 

Morrisons

Morrisons partners

In the main, Yorkshire-based grocer Morrisons does not have the same kind of excess space its mainstream rivals are working with.

The retailer’s average store size remains around 28,700 sq ft, meaning it has fewer holes in its trading area to plug and less space for shop-in-shops or concessions.

To that end, Morrisons has been more focused on using partnerships to keep pace in the growing ecommerce arms race taking place in the grocery space. 

In mid-August it was announced that Amazon and Morrisons would be ramping up their existing online partnership. 

Amazon installed a Morrisons platform on its main website, enabling shoppers to purchase groceries that way for the first time.

Morrisons chief executive David Potts said: “Morrisons on Amazon will build on our partnership, making our good-quality, great-value food even more accessible through Amazon.co.uk and the Amazon app.”

Earlier, at the beginning of April in the midst of the national lockdown, Morrisons also unveiled a partnership with food delivery app Deliveroo

Morrisons grocery products would be made available for home delivery on Deliveroo from 130 stores across the UK. 

  • Timpson (dry cleaning)
  • Next (click-and-collect fashion)
  • Autoglass (window repairs)
  • We Buy Any Car (car buying service)
  • Car Park Valeting (valet parking)
  • Amazon (click-and-collect deliveries and returns)
  • Fexco (bureau de change)

Since 2017, Morrisons has expanded the number of Amazon lockers on its estate to more than 1,000. 

While the pandemic has not been without its challenges for the grocers, the rapid growth in online and the central role that supermarkets and convenience stores have played in helping to feed the nation have made food retailers even stronger partners than before.