Coles has opened its 800th supermarket at Aurora Village shopping centre at Epping North in Victoria, Australia.
The new market-style supermarket features an in-store bakery with flatbread made daily, a continental delicatessen with a large selection of cheese and fresh seafood, and a meat counter with a slice-on-request service. The new store also features a self-service olive bar, ‘scoop and weigh’ station and an extensive fresh produce area with fruit and vegetables displayed on ice.
“The whole team can’t wait to show off the new shopping experience to the local community,” said Ranjith Fernando, store manager. “Our service will extend beyond the checkout, with the store committed to supporting a range of causes close to the hearts of customers and team members.”
Coles announced it has created 115 new local jobs and in addition to the 115 new recruits, 25 team members will transfer from other Coles stores in the area, bringing the total team to 140.
Earlier this month, Coles parent company Wesfarmers opened its third Bunnings Warehouse store in the UK and Ireland in Hemel Hempstead, Buckinghamshire.
The new store, on the site of the former Homebase at Apsley Mills Retail Park, continued the hardware retailer’s play at the UK’s £38billion-a-year home improvement and garden market.
The Hemel Hempstead store is over 64,000 square feet and employs 111 people. It stocks over 27,000 different home improvement and garden lines, including paint mixing services from Johnstone’s Trade, Crown and Dulux and a new tool shop offering brands such as Ryobi and DeWalt.
Wesfarmers plans to invest up to £500million rolling out Bunnings Warehouse stores across the UK and Ireland over the next three to five years.
