When my wife and I go shopping in Bangkok, well often visit our local Tesco superstore its actually branded Tesco Lotus since the UKs biggest supermarket bought up the Thai chain.
Its not just Tesco itself there are other stores inside, including a pharmacy, a bank, a photo shop, a number of restaurants and coffee shops. In fact, weve even been to one that had an amusement corner for kids.
Tesco was moving into the same kind of thing in the UK, both by expanding its own services and in partnerships with others, but its current travails have put all that kind of thing on the back burner while it struggles with its basic business.
Jessops Photography Store
Meanwhile, Sainsbury (LSE: SBRY) (NASDAQOTH: JSAIY.US) is stealing a march on its larger rival, after announcing a tie-up with Jessops.
The deal, revealed on 8 October, heralds the roll-out of Jessops Photography Store outlets inside Sainsburys superstores. The first was scheduled for opening in Newport, South Wales, on the day of the announcement so by the time you read this you might have already been one of its first customers. There should be a second opening in Waterlooville in December, followed by a Maidenhead store in January.
The move is part of of Jessops recovery plan after the iconic chain was rescued from receivership by Peter Jones of dragon fame prior to this new development, the relaunched brand had 28 of its new format stores open across the UK.
Is it a good move?
Its surely good for Jessops, with printing services, passport photos, accessories, batteries, memory cards and the like in big demand and exactly the kind of products that sell well in similar overseas superstore locations. And the more open format of in-store stores lends itself to a friendlier, pop-in, kind of atmosphere. Youll also be able to pick up of any Jessops photo products at the in-Sainsbury stores, with Mr Jones telling us that any Sainsburys customer who buys a camera will get a free tutorial.
What next?
It seems like a bit of a coup for Sainsbury, with Jessops goods and services making a nice match with its more upmarket image though weve yet to see any effect on the share price, which is staying stubbornly down around 230p after losing 40% in the past 12 months.
But what next? Mobile phone stores selling pre-pay time, SIMs etc do well, and other electricals perhaps theres scope for Dixons Carphone to do a similar deal?
With the supermarkets lagging badly, which investments are beating the index these days?
Well, since May 2011 the Motley Fool’s Champion Shares PRO service, which has invested 100,000 of real money, has returned 37% compared to a FTSE All-Share Total Return of 28%.
And what’s more, for a limited time only, our experts are offering a free small-cap idea each week. Click here to get your first one now, while it’s still available.
Alan Oscroft has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK owns shares of Tesco. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.