future of supermarket - Sunka

All Photos from Lovemarks

Source: Lovemarks – the future beyond brands
Written by: Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi

When most people talk about the future of the supermarket, they talk technology. Wireless neon signs, infra-red signals, handheld scanners, smart shopping carts, radio frequency identification.

All fantastic innovations, but they are not the future. One by one they will become tablestakes just as freezers and barcodes and conveyor belts did before them.

The only way to spring the commodity trap is with Mystery, Sensuality, and Intimacy. I have seen this future and it is called La Sala Sunka, an inspired concept springing out of Lleida, near Barcelona in Spain.

The Pujol family’s chain of neighbourhood food stores didn’t panic when the powerful hypermarket formula started to bite. Instead they created Sunka.

The Pujol’s research said “demanding and stressed people” made up 33 percent of consumers, mostly couples with kids who were under pressure at work and at home. Sunka was created for them.

Not a specialty store, but a store focused on special shoppers.

In defiance of all the rules, Sunka’s first spaces don’t sell, but introduce a deceleration zone. To wind back the stress levels, the work of local young artists is hung, framed by haiku and insights.

Then the concierge. Leave your clothes to be cleaned, shoes to be mended, photographs to be developed. There’s a fax, access to the Internet, a photocopier. Solutions for everyday frustrations like home repairs and day care.

Fresh fruit comes first, with wonderful fragrances and colours. Aromatherapy! Then flavour therapy in the prepared meals. Forget the usual convenience meals where it’s the convenience of distributors and retailers that counts and enjoy the next evolutionary step: foot kits.

Think TV dinner and then forget it. Yes, the complete meal is here but it’s not processed beyond recognition. These kits include all the fresh ingredients for a proper meal. Recipe included. And if you want the fish steamed – no problem. Free of charge and done to perfection.

The prices are in line with any other supermarket with the message: forget about price. Our job is to match our competitors. Your job is to enjoy shopping.

And once you’re done, get it delivered. You’ve got until 11PM – this is Spain after all.