On Friday April 3th, 2009 the Retail Innovation Award 09 shortlist became public and the winner will be awarded at the World Retail Congress in Barcelona (May 7th, 2009). Aquí é is the unique Spanish store in this shortlist.

Aquí é is a new-generation supermarket that is based on a contemporary philosophy, targeting neighbourhood customers looking for many things, and wanting all of them just now, because they make sense, as its claim shows (Where everything makes sense). The chain is located in the North-West part of Spain and belongs to the Cuevas Group, sharing the shortlist with other five projects from France, USA, Turkey and Germany.

The Aquí é concept was devised by m+f=!, (martinez + franch, specialists in innovative retail business models). They worked together with company’s executives during the creation process.

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Aquí é project: a philosophy-based supermarket

Chain name: Aquí é
Company: Cuevas Group
Shop format: Neighbourhood supermarket (900 m2)
Location: Ourense (Galicia, Spain, Europe)
Opening. Pilot shop: October 29th, 2008. The second one opened on March 25, 2009.
Results: Sales are 23 % above neighbourhood supermarkets average.
Summary: One of the most effective ways of innovating in retail is to draw inspiration from philosophy, cultures or other human-rooted topics. Aquí é is an example of a new-generation supermarket that is based on a contemporary philosophy, and subtly uses technologies to give shape to its concept.

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The innovation process
The Cuevas Group is a solid business holding in the North-West part of Spain. Led by Manuel R. de la Fuente, the company’s executives are known for ‘thinking out of the box’. In the retail side they only had 9 small supermarkets, so they decided to create a new shop formula able to boost their sales.

The Aquí é concept was devised by m+f=!, (martinez + franch, specialists in innovative retail business models). They worked together with company’s executives during the creation process.
m+f=! held some focus groups to uncover clues about what ‘grocery shopping’ really means. They found a source of inspiration: grocery shopping and cooking are such repetitive activities that they lead to tedium. As a result, many people find themselves asking: ‘What should I make for lunch or dinner today?’. The team decided to create an anti-tedium store that would not only help shoppers answer to this issue, but also link it to other expressions of contemporary philosophy.

Once defined the concept other specialists joined the team and they were briefed in order to translate the concept ideas into their disciplines (nutrition, architecture, advertising, lighting, etc.).

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A meaningful shopping experience
The chain therefore decided to sponsor the nutrition professorship at the University of Vigo. The university faculty develop daily menus based on ingredients that are at their peak – that is, when they are at their most flavourful, their most nutritious and also their most affordable. They also try to use local Galician products in order to reduce transport pollution. Each day, in a special section of the supermarket, the “QFH” (“Qué facemos hoxe” meaning ‘What should we make -for dinner- today?’) shoppers can read the recommended menu and print out the day’s recipes from an easy-to-use touch-screen. And all of the necessary ingredients are located nearby, as are the pre-cooked version of the same day’s menu. Every day, the proposed menu is different.

The products at Aquí é supermarkets have electronic labels that ensure that there are no discrepancies between the shelf price and the price charged at the till. Furthermore, the scales are calibrated to make sure that customers don’t end up paying for packaging as if it were gourmet food.

The layout of the supermarket allows customers to shop in various ways: a quick trip to pick up some daily essentials, or a major purchasing route to fill the shopping cart for a longer period. Moreover, Aquí é doesn’t use the typical tricks like putting high-demand products at the back of the store, as this does nothing but annoy the customers.

When they’re ready to pay, the customers form a single queue leading to six tills – that way they never get stuck in the slow queue.

The chain also strives to be environmentally aware: customers who don’t ask for a plastic bag get a discount of 3 cents. New generation fridges allow 26% savings in the electricity consumption. Plastic bags are oxo-biodegradable. Closer suppliers have preference due to lesser transportation pollution.

And it does all this while maintaining its good prices and its sensory experience -even with poetry on the walls-, as well as the flavour and healthfulness of its food. Aquí é prefers to stimulate new customer visits than a higher amount of products per trip. In this way the customer has fresher products at home and less wasted food.

In short, Aquí é offers a more authentic way of shopping. Its claim -‘Where everything makes sense‘- reflects this sentiment.

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Success with a solid foundation
An average of 1,250 customers visit Aquí é every day. This new generation supermarket has had a spectacular media impact. It has proven capable of withstanding the crisis through innovation based on a contemporary philosophy. Due to its success, a second store was opened on March 25, 2009, less than five months later than than the first one.

The retail business model was devised by m+f=! (Martinez + Franch consultants) www.martinez-franch.com
Other specialists in the project: Alcántara, Jos de Vries, Garrofé and Microlights.

Related links:
Mercado futurista (La Sexta)
Consells per fer la compra (Televisió de Catalunya – TV3)
‘Aquí é’, un súper sin trucos y con menú (Expansión).
Un supermercado de Galicia, finalista de los Premios Mundiales de Retail (ADN).
El supermercado ourensano Aquié, nominado entre los centros más innovadores del mundo (La Región).
Los supermercados ourensanos ‘Aquié’, entre los seis finalistas de un premio de tiendas más innovadoras en distribución (Europa press).
Aquí é, finalista en los World Retail Awards’09 (Distribución Actualidad).
Aquí é, único proyecto español finalista en la categoría de “Retail Innovation” en los World Retail Awards 09 (m+f=!).
Reportage: Aquì è, convenience con menù bilanciati e più percorsi (GDOWEEK 2feb2009).
‘Aquié’ abre el primer supermercado que facilita la alimentación sana y la compra amena (La Región).
El grupo Cuevas abre en Ourense el primer establecimiento de una red que extenderá por toda Galicia (La Región).
Grupo Cuevas reinventa el supermercado.