Sainsbury's Announces 10,000 New Local Jobs, Opens 500th Convenience Store

Last week Sainsbury's reported nearly 20 per cent year on year growth for its convenience business with over half a million extra customers shopping in these stores since the start of the calendar year. In September, it was named Convenience Retailer of The Year for the third year running at the Retail Industry Awards.

22 Nov 2012 --- UK retailer Sainsbury's has announced it will create 10,000 new job opportunities in its convenience business over the next three years.

The news is released on the day Sainsbury's opened its 500th convenience store, in Southsea, Hampshire, and one week after it announced a total of 20,000 temporary roles will be created to serve increased customer demand across its total business over the coming Christmas.

Last week Sainsbury's reported nearly 20 per cent year on year growth for its convenience business with over half a million extra customers shopping in these stores since the start of the calendar year. In September, it was named Convenience Retailer of The Year for the third year running at the Retail Industry Awards.

Sainsbury's has plans to open one to two convenience stores a week and opened 49 in the first half of the year.

Simon Twigger, Sainsbury’s Director of Convenience, said: "Opening our 500th store is a real milestone in our plans to create a scale convenience business. The business is going from strength to strength.

Our stores often have upwards of 10,000 customers a week, mostly walking to the store, living or working nearby and making a huge contribution to regenerate high streets across the country. Bringing our great food offer closer to hand, delivered with the service that Sainsbury's colleagues are known for, is a winning combination.

We make sure we recruit locally. Our colleagues, like our customers, are local people committed to serving the local community.

The jobs announced today will range from managerial and team leader roles to customer service. Work in our convenience business is particularly fast-paced and flexible, with great opportunities for progression. It's one of the best possible starts to a career in retail and many of our convenience store managers have worked their way up into the role.

We see people continuing to shop little and often, using local 'top up shops' to help them manage their budgets, reduce the need to travel to out of town retail parks and minimise the amount of food they waste."

Sainsbury's interim results, announced last Wednesday showed it growing faster than any other major supermarket based on the success of its own brand (basics, by Sainsbury's and Taste the Difference). Its market share of 16.7 per cent is the highest it has been for a decade and follows 31 successive quarters of like for like sales growth