Sainsbury’s opens ‘experimental’ Selly Oak superstore

Sainsbury’s has opened a new 67,000 sq ft “experimental” store in Selly Oak, Birmingham, featuring its first eat-in food market.

The supermarket is located in the recently regenerated Selly Oak Shopping Park and offers customers a choice of food, general merchandise and fashion.

Alongside a wide selection of food and groceries, Selly Oak offers a range of ready-to-eat food-to-go that is freshly made in store, including pizza, self-serve coffee and freshly-made baguettes. In addition to a bakery and a patisserie, fresh food counters serve fish, meat, deli and sushi.

Selly Oak also includes some Sainsbury’s experiments, including the first eat-in Food Market. Customers can choose authentic dishes from Wok Street, Little India Kitchen and Fresh Kitchen. Fresh sushi and teppanyaki from Sushi Gourmet as well as hot pasties from the West Cornwall Pasty Company are also available.

Alongside the food offering, the supermarket has also revamped its Beauty and Wellness ranges, with brands such as Korres, Essie and Tisserand on offer.

In an experimental store layout, Argos and Habitat are fully integrated into the store, not sectioned off into separate units. In addition, Argos and Habitat products are displayed in room settings, making it easier for customers to browse the ranges.

The store also features Sainsbury’s own clothing range Tu as well as popular fashion brand  Oasis as part of an ongoing trial. Argos jewellery and watches are also prominently displayed in the clothing area, making it easier for customers to accessorise their outfits.

The new store has created 180 new jobs for the area, with new team members joining the 160 colleagues transferring across from the old store on Chapel Lane.

Tom Balay, Sainsbury’s Selly Oak store manager, said: “Our new Sainsbury’s at Selly Oak has been ten years in the making and it’s wonderful to see it come to fruition, providing our customers with a fantastic new store. Our team of colleagues – many of whom are new to Sainsbury’s – have worked really hard to get the store ready and are now excited to welcome and serve customers.

“Sainsbury’s distinctive food is at the heart of our store and we hope people will try out our new Food Market. It’s also exciting to be a test bed for some new formats in beauty and wellness, Argos and Habitat, as well as introducing the popular Oasis fashion brand. We’ve always been part of the Selly Oak community and we look forward to continuing and strengthening that relationship in to the future.”