Action is testing a new store concept, which is twice as big as usual: in France, a 1,600 m² store has opened its doors, the largest of the non-food discounter to date.
Self-service tills and space
In Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, south of Paris, France, the world’s largest Action store has opened its doors. The new store covers an area of 1,600 m², about twice the usual surface area. However, the range has not been expanded: shoppers will find 6,000 items in the typical categories of the non-food discounter.
This is a pilot for a new store concept, which is more spacious and gives more room to products. In addition to the eight traditional tills, eight self-scanner tills have been added in order to reduce waiting times and make checkout processes smoother.
Greener image
Another novelty in the concept is more attention to sustainability: Action wants to adopt a greener image. It does this by means of electric charging stations in the car park and recycling stations in the store, where customers can hand in old textiles, household electronics and other products.
More products of sustainable origin can be found in the store as well: these are put in the spotlight in the shelves. “Today, it is quite possible to find sustainably labelled products at low prices,” says Wouter De Backer, Managing Director of Action France, to Business Insider. Whether and when the new concept will be rolled out elsewhere is not yet clear.
