Deeside based Iceland set to launch new ‘Swift’ convenience store format

News and Info from Deeside, Flintshire, North Wales

This article is old - Published: Monday, Mar 15th, 2021

Deeside based Iceland is launching a new convenience store format called Swift.

The managing director of Iceland, Richard Walker tweeted a picture of himself stood outside the first trail store which is set to open in Benton, Newcastle upon Tyne on Thursday.

According to trade website, The Grocer, the new store will get double the number of lines of the Iceland branch it replaces, at about 3,000.

The range will cover “the full spectrum of grocery” from frozen and fresh to food-to-go, alcohol and tobacco, a spokeswoman told The Grocer.

The new concept is “entirely new” and “designed to provide a simple, easy-to-shop food store with the watchwords: fresh, fast, local”, the spokeswoman added.

Iceland trademarked the Swift branding last year, prompting reports that the company was exploring a rapid retail concept.

The new concept could allow Iceland to rival competitors such as Sainsbury’s, Ocado and Amazon in offering same-day food deliveries.

Iceland head of space & format development Matt Downes told The Grocer: “This is a really exciting trial of a completely new concept that we think will be ideally suited to this high-traffic location.

“We believe the much wider range on offer, Swift’s commitment to faster and easier shopping, and the leveraging of group buying power to ensure great value, will all make this a convenience store with outstanding customer appeal.”