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By Laura Durham

A 9 000m2 store is big. But, says owner of Save Hyper,

Moosa Noorgat, that’s not big enough yet!

Save Cash & Carry has been rebuilt, refurbished and rebranded in bright pink and green, and the new Save Hyper is Pietermaritzburg’s first hypermarket. Despite its size, the hyper has been designed with the customer in mind – incorporating the convenience of a daily shop in a hyper environment.

Fresh design Leon Freislich of Freislich Design

Consultants was given carte blanche

over the store concept and design. The

result? One of the biggest multi-million

investments by a local business in the city

in 2011 – and a whopping 9 000m2 of

retail excitement.

Converting a cash & carry warehouse

feel to a retail space took detailed planning

and extra care was given to create the soft

look of the new store. “We didn’t want

customers to notice the roof structure

of the shed as they walked in, which we

achieved by suspending lights throughout

the store and creating wide aisles and high

shelving,” says Freislich.

Andrew Bailey, director of First Storage

Concepts KZN says that 80 bays of long-

span shelving were incorporated into the

gondola shelving layout as it offers a more

suitable and subtle way of merchandising

heavy bulk products, other than using the

heavy type racking that is normally used in this type of store. The entire layout of the store was designed to maximise stock holding (shelves were made 2.4m high versus the standard 1.8m) and to maximise the shopping experience for customers. For example, an average supermarket aisle is 2.2m – the aisles at Save Hyper are 3m. Signage has also been kept to a minimum and point-of-sale material is minimal to avoid aisle clutter.

Freislich says that all systems – air conditioning, refrigeration, lighting and equipment – were chosen as being eco-friendly as possible without compromising on display quality.

As customers go through the entrance they are met with a brightly lit store and walk through a florist (registered with Interflora) and party supplies before reaching an array of departments with an open invitation to explore and indulge.

A lot of thought also went into creating different lighting moods throughout the store. “Because they wanted to change to the retail market and relaunch the store accordingly, they wanted a very stand-out

19SUPERMARKET & RETAILER, JANUARY 2012

S T O R E WA T C H▲

At 9 000m2, Save Hyper is a serious contender in the supermarket game in Pietermaritzburg and beyond.

Store: Save Hyper

Transactions per day: 4 500

Trading area: 9 000m2

Staff complement: 500 – 600

Tills: 52

Opening hours: 7am – 7pm Monday – Sunday

From Cash & Carry to elegant hyper

The making of Save Hyper, Pietermaritzburg

adds Noorgat. Customers can therefore

choose a number of routes, depending on

their shopping mission: Explore the service

departments on their right, head straight

to the frozen, chilled and dairy section with

walk-in coolers for bulk packs, go left for all

dry groceries or travel upstairs for gadgets

and general merchandise.

STOREWATCHlighting effect that would differentiate

themselves in this new segment and to

eventually become known throughout the

country,” comments Klaus Ritschewald, MD

of Euroconcepts.

He adds that lights, sourced from

Germany, were carefully selected for each

department to accent the particular area

and food product on offer.

Focus on shopping experienceAlthough a hyper, the store is geared

towards easy everyday shopping. The

carefully chosen fixtures and lighting make

the very large store still have that “look

and feel that one would associate with

a smaller, gourmet-style supermarket of

around 1 000m2,” comments Ritschewald.

So, the dairy, frozen and service depart-

ments have been strategically positioned

at the front of the store for customer

convenience. “This allows customers to

get their daily bread and milk and leave

through the express tills, instead of having

to walk miles through the store,” he says.

“And that’s the beauty of the whole shop

– we’ve got a store within a store concept,”

Two level storeIn South Africa, multi-level stores don’t

seem to work but Save Hyper’s mezzanine

level is disproving this theory completely.

The mezzanine level is accessible by a

lift, staircase and specially built travelator

and holds an impressive range of general

merchandise. From small and large

appliances, linen, beds and a dedicated toy

shop – Save Hyper has it all. They also have

a Vodashop, their own travel agency – Save

Travel – and a range of Apple products on

offer since they are a licensed reseller.

Noorgat says the general merchandise

turnover has increased 60% since the

move to the mezzanine level. The travelator

is situated near the entrance to invite

customers up to explore, trolleys and all.

Freislich says the mezzanine level used to

house the group’s offices (now moved to

Victoria Country Club) but the walls have

been knocked out to open up the level to

the entire store.

In addition to the general merchandise

above, the store also has a full DIY and

gardening range of power tools and

lawnmowers, as well as a sophisticated

clothing section.

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Cape Quarter Spar

Save Hyper tried to keep most departments in-house but those where superior skills are needed, like the butchery, have been outsourced.

The fully stocked dispensary enables

customers to get prescriptions filled and

make use of the infant immunisation and

wellness tests offered by the clinic sister

on-site. The pharmacy is conveniently

located near the express checkouts, next to

the lift and facing onto the health section

of the supermarket area.

Each department is run as a stand-alone

business and this motivates staff to work

hard and to keep pushing the envelope.

The store has nearly 600 staff members

from the surrounding areas and they will

be going on regular training programmes to

keep them learning and improving. Noorgat

says there are also 30 staff members on a

learnership programme at present.

Hyper hubSave Hyper has become a destination

store for Pietermaritzburg, as well as the

surrounding small towns of Howick, Mooi

River and Greytown. The store is

strategically located on Victoria road, less

than 2km from the N3 highway. Noorgat

says there is a growing black middle class

in Pietermaritzburg and these aspirational

shoppers are looking for top quality

products and added value – exactly what

Save Hyper offers its customers everyday

from 7am to 7pm.

The 52 checkouts, including the express

tills, ease congestion and the NCR system

in place makes scanning much quicker

than normal. “Because the faster you get a

customer out, the faster you get another

one in,” says Noorgat.

Catering to all tastesThe store has an extensive home meal

replacement (HMR) offering under its

‘indulge’ concept. From crumbed chicken to

Asian stir-fries to hot Indian curries,

customers can have it all. There is also a

pizza station where customers can tailor

make their own pizzas. The 40-seater

restaurant gives customers a comfortable

space to relax with a cup of coffee or quick

meal in-between or after their shopping.

The whole HMR area has been designed

as a theatre of food, with the wok and

grillers situated on the shop floor. They

will also be introducing wet demos on

weekends so customers can sample

everything on the menu.

New to Pietermaritzburg, the store’s fish

shop is doing extremely well and they are

getting fresh fish deliveries from Durban

everyday to keep up with the demand. The

head of the department is very experienced

and offers advice to customers on how best

to prepare their chosen seafood.


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Fresh and locally sourced fruit and vegetables are drawing customers to the fresh department.

Thembekile Phungula says the most popular confectionery items at La Baguette are cake slices and doughnuts.

The store has an extensive home meal replacement (HMR) offering under its ‘indulge’ concept. Customers can sit at the 40-seater restaurant or take away from the deli or pizza station.

STOREWATCHThe fresh department is also doing very well, says Noorgat, with a strong presence of Indian vegetables that are locally sourced. The next addition to the offering will be prepacked chopped vegetable packs.

The butchery offers a range of Halaal, prepacked and counter meats, as well as a full biltong bar. Save Hyper tried to keep most departments in-house but those where superior skills are needed, like the butchery, have been outsourced. “We didn’t have the skills so we decided to get the best to do it for us,” Noorgat explains.

60% of the store’s offering comes from Save’s 20 000m2 distribution centre (DC), which also services the three Save supermarkets in Northdale, Truro Plaza and Dalton. Management hopes to build their own bigger DC in the near future, as they are currently leasing the DC warehouse. Save Hyper has some house brands in the commodities section, with ‘Real’ (house brand) outselling the leading maize brand. They also have their own milk label – Simply Fresh – which is packed by a dairy in the Midlands.

The 530m2 bakery department runs along the back right corner and the freshly baked range is extensive. Noorgat says they first brought in the expertise of a French baker who was supplying products that were then baked off in-store. Now, the bakery staff have learnt from his recipes and are trying out scratch baking – with delicious results! Cinnamon buns, stone ground breads, doughnuts and gateaux slices are doing extremely well with the new retail customer base.

Change in customer profileFrom trading as a cash & carry to a hyper, there has been a noticeable change in the customer base of the store. Traditionally, customers were LSM 4-7 but now there are many more affluent shoppers coming to the store. The focus on retail means that single units are predominant on shelves but customers can still buy bulk packs should they wish. Although some customers stopped shopping at the store during its renovation, many are coming back as they are loyal to the Save brand. “We’ve just given the LSM 4 customer an aspirational shop that is tiled, air conditioned and well lit. But the value proposition on which the business is built is still there for them,” says Noorgat.

He says one of the challenges that has faced management since the reopening


▲

Aspirational phrases throughout the store relate to customers’ positive shopping experiences at Save Hyper – no doubt aided by the 52 tills and novelty of a travelator up to the mezzanine level.

The 530m2 bakery department runs along the back right corner and the freshly baked range is extensive.

New to Pietermaritzburg, the store’s fish shop is doing extremely well and the head of the department offers advice to customers on how best to prepare their chosen seafood.

in October is ranging and merchandising

– which obviously needs to suit the new

hybrid customer base. Save Hyper runs on

SAP and this fully-fledged system gives

reliable on-time data to head office. “It

lets us keep our finger on the pulse,” he

says. Moosa’s son, Mohamed, joined the

family business in 2004 after completing

his degree and CA articles at KPMG. It was

his vision to move into retail and as finance

director, he has been responsible for the

roll-out of the supermarkets and hyper

to date. Another challenge the store has

faced – and continues to face – is the lack

of parking space, although this did increase

from 200 to 300 parking bays during the

revamp. In addition, two entrances to the

lot were created from Greyling Street and

Victoria Road and the pavement areas on

both streets were upgraded; at the group’s

own cost.

Promotions draw feetSave Hyper uses the local press extensively

for marketing and promotions and Noorgat

says the leaflets each week draw in the

crowds for weekends, their busiest trading

period. They have also introduced the

‘Think Pink’ promotion each quarter, which

rewards every customer who spends R400

or more in the store with a R50 cash-back

immediately after handing in their till slip.

They also run a Christmas promotion with

the Vodashop whereby every person to sign

a contract during that period would get

one of 1 000 plane seats to Dubai.

Save Hyper contributes products, stock

or computers to the community, depending

what’s needed, to a number of orphanages

in Pietermaritzburg and beyond.

Save at the seaNoorgat says the store is still “small”

and there is room to bring in more

departments, such as sporting goods and

jewellery, in the future. But at the moment,

the focus is on getting each category to

excel. Save will continue to focus on its low

margin, low operating cost business model

to ensure it meets customers’ expectations

of a value-for-money shopping experience.

There are also plans to revamp the Save

Supermarket at Truro Plaza and to open up

new stores in Durban by 2013.


The general merchandise turnover has increased 60% since the move to the mezzanine level, which is accessible by a lift, staircase and specially built travelator. From small and large appliances, linen, beds and a dedicated toy shop – Save Hyper has it all.

The 9 000m2 store is characterised by bright lighting, wide aisles and high shelving – all of which contribute to a pleasant shopping experience.

The fully stocked dispensary enables customers to get prescriptions filled and make use of the infant immunisation and wellness tests offered by the clinic sister on-site.

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