BP and David Jones have today announced a partnership to create all-new centres of convenience and shape the way Australian consumers shop for food. The partnership combines David Jones Food’s exclusive, high-quality product range with BP’s global expertise in convenience retailing and national footprint, giving customers access to locally-sourced, ready-made meals and other fresh, quality offers at selected BP sites.
The new range will see more than 350 products on offer, including food-for-now and food-for-later options, as well as a diverse range of fresh items such as sandwiches, sushi and David Jones Food’s top-selling free-range rotisserie chicken, plus pre-prepared meals and long-life groceries.
Over the next six months 10 sites, strategically positioned around major arterials and key suburban regions of Melbourne and Sydney, will be transformed to showcase the new offer that has been designed with busy, urban, health-conscious customers in mind.
Brooke Miller, BP Australia vice president sales and marketing said BP was thrilled to be partnering with David Jones; the two companies share a passion for customer excellence and are equally driven to deliver best-in-class, high-quality convenience offers.
“The traditional service station offer of today will not fulfil the retail customer needs of tomorrow. BP’s vision is to transform convenience retailing in Australia, and enhancing our brand via strategic partnerships underpins our strategy to deliver market-leading fuels, technology, rewards and convenience offers to Australian consumers,” Miller said.
The new concept will feature a contemporary design
“The new stores will invite customers to explore the future possibilities of retail convenience in Australia. Drawing on the very best of each partner, the contemporary design will be ideal for our customers to shop the fresh, vibrant David Jones Food range or enjoy BP’s Wild Bean café. Multiple shopping missions will be catered for and BP’s high-quality offers won’t change; premium fuels will be available on the forecourt, the core range of drinks, snacks and café items will remain, and customers in a rush will be able to use the BPme app or a self-serve kiosk to beat the queue,” she said.
Pieter de Wet, managing director David Jones Food, said: “The launch of this partnership marks an exciting new chapter for David Jones Food. Consumer behaviour is changing and demand for fresh, food-for-now and food-for-later options continues to grow. Customers expect convenience and quality to go hand in hand, and our collaboration with BP enables us to share the David Jones Food offering with more customers than ever before.
“This product range combines innovation with freshness and taste to deliver an offering that is both convenient and of the highest quality. We are committed to the ongoing development of the range and together with BP see an opportunity to deliver an experience that fits with the busy lives and changing needs and preferences of our customers”, he said.
The partnership reflects the evolution of convenience retailing and global urbanisation trends. Household sizes are getting smaller and the notion of three seated meals a day and an hour of grocery shopping on the weekend no longer holds for many busy Australians. Customers are eating on the go more frequently and planning their meals in advance less and less.
With Australians doing their grocery shopping via multiple smaller shops, small-format convenience stores are playing an increasingly important role. In fact, studies show 48% of consumers* visit petrol and convenience stores for eating, drinking or snacking options between meals.
Insights garnered from the initial 10 sites will inform the next phase of development for the partnership, with BP and David Jones to expand the offer to additional sites within BP’s national retail network.
*Source: CMA 2017 Shopper Tracker Report
