“Super-Willys” wants to open in Sundsvall

The Willys discount chain wants to open a “Super-Willys” in Birsta shopping center in early 2007, if the municipality approves the detailed development plan. The new “Super-Willys” will be one of the chain’s largest store in Sweden.

“A ‘Super-Willys’ is a natural progression from the already successful supermarket concept, and the prospects for the success of the new establishment in Birsta are excellent. The area is regarded as an expansive retail center and the supermarket has an excellent location from the viewpoint of road traffic,” says Anders Quist, Acting President of Willys. Willys has extended its store concept. “Super Willys”, as the larger store concept is called, is supported by non-food items such as household utensils, media, textiles and toys. Willys' business concept, Sweden's cheapest bag of groceries, has also been extended to the price profile of these new product categories. The trend in the retail food market is increasingly towards one-stop shopping. "Super-Willys" marks an effort to meet this demand in the discount segment. By providing access to attractively priced media, electronics, textiles, toys etc., Willys aims to create a practical and convenient discount store where shoppers can find just about any household item. The “Super-Willys” in Birsta will have a total of 5,400 square meters of retail floor space, with 450 parking spaces. Willys is today Sweden’s largest discount food chain, with a wide range of products and a special focus on fresh products such as fruits and vegetables, meats, and dairy products. The stores have an offering of some 7,500 items (excluding the non food range), covering 95% of consumers’ annual food purchases. Willys’ grocery prices are among the lowest in Sweden. The main factor behind the low prices is that the stores are run highly efficiently with low overhead. This efficiency is achieved, among other things, through purchases of large volumes by a central purchasing organization. The Willys chain consists of a total of 106 stores, and further expansion is planned. Axfood also includes 48 Willys hemma stores, which is the Axfood low price chain of smaller stores. For further information, please contact: Anders Quist, Vice President, Willys AB, tel +46 (0)70-828 42 82 Anders Lundmark, Axfood AB, +46 (0)703-222 450 Kenneth Wall, Acting Director of Corporate Communication, Axfood AB, +46 (0)703-124 122