Tesco’s two newly-refreshed Metro stores in Upton Park and Canary Wharf in London show how the grocer is tailoring its offer to its catchment area.

The refreshes, which form part of boss Philip Clarke’s plans to overhaul the UK business, show that Tesco is not just creating one blueprint for any particular format, like it previously did.

Tesco managing director of London Andrew Yaxley said the decision on the type of Metro store it will open starts with working out whether it is an “on the move” or a “neighbourhood” store.

He said: “Once we have decided what type of store it is, we then drill down to demographics of customer. This matrix then gives us hundreds of combinations which make up the building blocks of our shops.”

The Upton Park Metro is a “neighbourhood” store while the Canary Wharf Metro is an “on the move” shop. He also said its Clubcard data is vital in building demographic profiles.

He said Tesco starts by looking at the best use of space, then range.

Speaking at the Upton Park store, Yaxley explained that the store refresh there reflects the local demographics. “90% of the demographics in the area are Asian or Black so we have reflected that in what we sell. World foods are dominant in the store, along with larger packs, and halal and fish counters.”

The Upton Park Metro has a large display of herbs at the front of the store and bulk buys of produce such as onions. Larger packs of products such as oil and sugar – which previously would only be available in larger Extra stores – dominate the store, along with a fridge freezer full of butter, from which many of its customers make ghee. It also has less self service tills and more manned tills, as its customers prefer the interaction with staff.

The Canary Wharf store is an “on the move” store and has been designed with convenience in mind. Yaxley said Canary Wharf is one of its “upmarket” stores with a focus on food to go. 35% of the shop is dedicated to fresh food to go and most of its tills are self-service.

“With all these refreshes it is about scalability,” added Yaxley. “So while any store won’t be replicated exactly, many of its elements will. There are 92 other stores where elements of Upton Park will now be rolled out.”

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