A pick-and-mix dog treat bar is just one feature of the new Coles Local in Rose Bay, Sydney. The Local format is tailored to the area, partnering with local food businesses to meet the needs of local residents.
The first two Local stores opened in Melbourne and have been voted the top retail store in Australia and in the global top 30 in IGD Retail Analysis, Coles said.
The Rose Bay store includes the pick-and-mix dog snack bar; a macaron, mini gelato and Japanese mochi ice cream parlour; self-serve coffee and orange juice station; and one of the largest plant-based ranges of any Coles supermarket in New South Wales.
The company said its research showed Rose Bay residents were more than twice as likely to choose premium products than the average consumer. They were also typically aged between 25-44 and didn’t have kids.
Coles CEO Steven Cain said the Coles Local format had been designed to appeal to local tastes and preferences.
“This is our first Coles Local supermarket to open in Sydney. The store has been carefully designed with cutting edge sustainability features and local partnerships with neighbourhood bakers, butchers and producers.
“We are committed to making a positive difference to the communities in which we operate, and our Rose Bay store helps us to support these small local producers in these difficult times,” Cain said.
The store features an extensive Kosher range, and products from 35 speciality Sydney producers, including family butchery Field to Fork, whose Bondi and Vaucluse outlets were hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
Joshua Horwitz from Field to Fork said the family was happy to be partnering with Coles to offer their range of top-quality marinated meats for customers.
“We are delighted that Coles has chosen our a small, family-run business to showcase our brand in their store,” Horwitz said.
“There was no anticipating the impact coronavirus would have on our industry. We experienced a forty per cent reduction in revenue almost overnight.
“When Coles reached out and brought us on board, it meant that we had a new place to retail our products and not one Field to Fork employee was made redundant and no stock has gone in the bin.”
Coles said Local Rose Bay would champion sustainability, with team member uniforms made from 65 per cent recycled bottles, trolleys made partly from recycled plastic and free reclaimed customer carry boxes as an alternative to bags.
A zero edible food waste policy also means that any unsold food that cannot be donated to food rescue organisation SecondBite will be diverted to green energy generation.
Snapshot
- First two Coles Local stores in Melbourne voted in the top 30 food retail stores worldwide to visit in 2020 by IGD Retail Analysis; number one in Australia
- 500 convenience products covering breakfast, lunch and dinner; 350 of these lines can be prepared in 30 minutes or less
- More than 120 suppliers exclusive to Coles Local, 35 of these based in Sydney
- The largest vegan and vegetarian range of any Coles store in New South Wales, with more than 200 plant-based products, including Nature’s Kitchen and Beyond Meat
- More than 400 kosher products – one of the largest ranges of any store in the country (26 per cent of the Rose Bay community is Jewish)
- Premium sourdough bread and sweets from Sydney stalwart Sonoma, Southeast Asian delights from Roll’d, and pastries from traditional French bakery Noisette.
The redevelopment has also restored the heritage-listed Kings Theatre cinema to its former glory -- and in the process -- revealed the original cinema screen previously thought lost.
