Fruit & Veg City — fastmoving.co.za

Document Actions

Introduction

Fruit and Veg City Holdings (Pty) Ltd was founded in 1993 by two brothers, Brian and Mike Coppin. Their common sense approach to marketing fresh produce and maintaining a no frills business that is value driven right down to store level, has allowed the company to grow from a one-store operation in Access Park (Cape Town) to the largest seller of fruit, vegetables and other fresh produce items in South Africa, with a total of over 100 stores and an annual turnover in excess of 2.1 billion.

About two thirds of the company consists of franchises, with an average of 15 new stores opening per year. Fruit and Veg City prides itself on their core values: energy, honesty, transparency and loyalty. The commitment it gives to customers is the widest range at the best prices in town.

Store Formats:

To adjust to changing consumer habits, Fruit and Veg have a variety of formats. Currently there are three different types of store which each aim to satisfy specific markets.

Fresher Food Store
Fresher Food Stores form the core of our business. These stores are in the process of undergoing major makeovers, introducing beautiful earthy colours, modern new fridges and displays and smarter packaging. A range of exciting new departments have also been added, including in-house bakeries, butcheries, dairies, fresh juice bars and dried fruit and nuts. Shortcuts is also a lifesaver, where your fruits and veggies are peeled, cut, diced or sliced at no extra cost while you wait. With all of these added departments, it makes shopping for all of your fresh produce needs possible under one roof.

Food Lovers Market
Food Lover’s Market provides shoppers with an up-market shopping experience and food emporium. This new concept in food retail takes shopping for fresh produce to a whole new level, a sensory experience. Using international trends as inspiration, Food Lover’s Market still offers the best quality fruit and vegetables at low prices, but also offer other specialist departments, such as continental delis and cheese bars, pizza, pasta and Panini counters, fresh fish and sushi, delectable bakeries, butcheries and chocolateries. A limited range of non-perishable groceries are also available in selected stores to make the customer’s shopping even more convenient. Food Lover’s Market – For the love of it

FreshStop
Freshstops are free standing outlets with a focus on fresh, healthy take away meals and smoothies. They are mostly situated in and around malls or other high traffic areas, and can also be found in many of the Fresher Food Stores or Food Lover’s Markets. Free standing stores are mainly found in the Western Cape at the moment, but roll out in the other regions of SA is planned for the near future. The fact that all of the food on offer is made fresh every day, has allowed Freshstop to have a “No sell-by date” policy, as whatever is not sold by the end of each day is donated to Feedback. Here today, gone tomorrow

Group Structure

Group Sales

Store Type	2007	2008
Corporate	24	20
Franchise	64	78
Food Lover's Market	3	12
Fresher Food Store	84	83
Freshstop (Free standing)	0	14
Group sales
Turnover	1.7 billion	2.1 billion

Group Strategy

From the first day of trading Fruit and Veg City knew that getting people in store will largely depend on aggressive pricing, while at the same time offering the best range of quality fresh produce.

At dawn each day, skilled buyers are at the markets around the country choosing the best produce. They then go directly to the growers and procure whatever else Fruit and Veg City needs, before sending everything directly to state-of-the-art distribution centres to be dispatched almost immediately.

Another reason for our success is the stores themselves. Our stores are stocked with loose, bold and colourful fruit and vegetables that customers can choose from. All of the stores have also recently undergone a makeover, with more neutral paint tones, bright and modern fridges and smart, cleaner packaging, using the latest international trends as inspiration. To increase convenience an array of exciting new departments were introduced, including in-store bakeries, fresh butcheries, continental delis, dried fruit and nuts and a dairy counters.

As a quality offering is more than just a good price, Fruit and Veg City is dedicated to ensure that valued customers are continually coming back to enjoy great service too. Each store guarantees freshness, with a policy to reimburse you and replace any produce that you are unhappy with.

International

Our desire to be the best supplier of fresh fruit and vegetables and to stock a full product range 12 months of the year, along with our international expansion in 2005 and the subsequent trading relations, led to the need for an import and export division.

All packing is done by our growers to meet specific requirements. Our growers and packers throughout South Africa are all HACCAP approved and PPECB certified. We store no produce and load directly from the farm to the ship via our approved reefer trucks.

Our buyers oversee operations at the packhouses, ensuring the fruit is cooled at the correct temperature and packed according to specifications. Our logistics staff ensure that the order reaches its destination in the shortest possible time, in finest condition.

We supply overseas receivers with top quality produce complying with the strictest regulations. Our cost structures are kept to a minimum ensuring the best returns for our growers. We provide the best service to our buyers and suppliers and establish long-term relations.

Recent Developments Abroad

In May 2008 Fruit and Veg City opened their first store in Sydney, Australia. A partnership with a Saudi fresh produce retailer has also been established in order to revamp a few of the stores in Riyadh and the surrounding areas under the Fruit and Veg City name. These stores will join the already successful group of outlets beyond South African borders, including 3 in Namibia and a store in Lesotho.

Personal tools

Document Actions