Il Gruppo Arena (VéGé) consolida in Sicilia il format SuperConveniente e inaugura un secondo centro commerciale a Catania, come raccontato su Gdoweek. Lo store è il più grande della Sicilia con i suoi 4.120 mq di area vendita. Ampia l’ortofrutta, sviluppata su sei isole a doppia pendenza, ed estesa su circa 200 mq.
Il reparto ortofrutta
L’offerta comprende circa 340 referenze per l’80% provenienti da produttori locali e con una buona presenza dei due marchi di fantasia Terrabuona, che presidia la linea entry level, e Borgomagno per la fascia premium. “Il legame con il territorio è fondamentale per noi -spiega Alfio Mancuso, coordinatore ortofrutta del gruppo-. Non si tratta solo di una scelta strategica, ma di un vero e proprio tratto distintivo e motivo di orgoglio per un’azienda radicata nell’isola, che fa della produzione locale lo zoccolo duro del proprio assortimento. Ma il localismo, da solo, non basta; serve l’innovazione. È in quest’ottica che nasce l’Orteria, un servizio interno al punto di vendita dove vengono preparate artigianalmente vaschette di frutta e verdura di quarta gamma. Una scommessa “fatta in casa” che sta dando grandi soddisfazioni, affiancata da soluzioni pratiche come l’Ananas Express, un sistema self-service automatizzato che permette ai clienti di sbucciare e affettare l’ananas direttamente in negozio“.
A dare ulteriore spinta al reparto è lo sviluppo della mdd che oggi ha raggiunto una penetrazione del 30% all’interno delle circa 340 referenze totali del reparto. “Entrambi i marchi coprono categorie che vanno dalle zuppe alla quarta gamma, fino alla frutta secca –prosegue-. Il format si differenzia nettamente dalle strategie delle insegne Decò, dove l’assortimento varia dalle 200 referenze dei formati Local fino alle 380 degli Iperstore. Qui si gioca molto sulla segmentazione e sulle size dei prodotti, offrendo vendite a collo e mini bauletti. Infine, non mancano le nicchie ad alto valore aggiunto: un angolo biologico da 14-15 referenze e una scommessa sul nickel-free, che con le sue 10 referenze risponde a un bisogno specifico di molti consumatori“.
La comunicazione
La comunicazione interna gioca un ruolo di primo piano perché comunica la presenza dei prodotti biologici e nickel free, fornisce le ricette e gli ingredienti dei piatti proposti nelle vasche refrigerate e guida il consumatore lungo il percorso di spesa. Non ultimo, evidenzia le offerte che in questo format assumono un’importanza specifica e distintiva.
Super Conveniente: Local Products Account for 80% of the Offer
The shop at the L’Arena shopping centre in Catania stocks Orteria, Ananas Express and organic and nickel-free ranges
‘SuperConveniente’ formula proposed by Arena Group (VéGé) is firmly continuing its development path in Sicily, strengthening a business model focused on private label products with fictional brands, designed to effectively respond to the relentless rise of discount stores in the region. The latest opening, at ‘L’Arena’ shopping center in Catania – this group’s second one after Misterbianco – perfectly reflects this brand’s philosophy, while also introducing innovative layout choices aimed at a more seamless shopping experience.
In this store, the fruit and vegetables section, unlike many other modern retail stores, where it greets customers at the entrance, is located after the bazaar, non-food, and grocery aisles. This layout allows the department to open up to the fresh produce section, extending over approximately 200 square meters within the 4,120 square meter total.
The cornerstone of Arena Group’s strategy is the enhancement of the local area, which translates into a concrete operational choice and not simply a marketing campaign. Eighty percent of the suppliers in the fresh produce department are Sicilian, as Alfio Mancuso, technical coordinator and product innovation buyer for the Arena Group, explained: ‘Enhancing a local approach is not only a source of pride for a company operating in this region, but also represents a real competitive advantage in terms of freshness and traceability’.
An equally strategic role is played by private label products, which in this department are represented by Terrabuona brands, dedicated to the entry-level line, and Borgomagno for the premium selections. Overall, the branded offering in this category proposes 65 products: 15 for dried fruit, 20 for such basic products as apples, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, and mushrooms, 20 for the fresh-cut range, and 10 for both brands for premium ready-to-eat recipes, including vegetable purees, minestrone soups, and the typical Sicilian ‘macco di fave’, prepared with dried fava beans. This project, launched a few years ago, has allowed the group to achieve 30% market penetration within this sector, with the prospect of further expanding the range to enhance a lever considered highly distinctive for the brand.
Alongside local production and private label offerings, the store invests heavily in services to optimize the consumer shopping experience. Among these services, there are ‘Orteria’, an internal area where trays of fresh, ready-to-eat fruit and vegetables are prepared by hand, and ‘Ananas Express’, an automated self-service system that allows customers to peel and slice pineapples directly in-store.
Understanding customer needs also means carefully calibrating the assortment by including healthy, high value-added products, such as organic and nickel-free products, placed in dedicated spaces and supported by targeted communication. The nickel-free segment, in particular, stems from a concrete need for safety for consumers with food intolerances, allowing the brand to differentiate itself from competitors and address specific niches with 15 organic products and 10 nickel-free products. The management of dried fruit also follows specific criteria: the fruit and vegetables department only manages loose products, while industrial dried fruit is proposed in the grocery section.
SuperConveniente’s positioning is clearly different from that of this group’s other historic brand, Decò. While the latter varies its assortment based on square footage – starting with around 200 items in such proximity formats as ‘Decò Local’ and ‘Decò Supermercati’, up to 380 in the Hyperstore, where the offering is extremely extensive – SuperConveniente pursues a strategy focused on convenience. Here, the focus mainly concerns sales formats, such as box sales or mini-cases, prioritizing a less defined segmentation than Decò, but designed to cover each product category with maximum efficiency.
