Willy’s - Soft discounter not soft on price and growth

The soft discounter Willys has been one of Sweden's biggest growth stories in recent years. During the 2000s, the discount chain of Axfood has grown from a relatively small chain to challenge even the existing status quo of the Swedish grocery market. Willys has been able to grow with operating margins that keep improving.

One illustrative example of the growth of Willys is how it has been able to outgrow even the dominant ICA Maxi. Maxi hypermarkets consist of the flagship chain of the market-dominating ICA chain. Over the last three years, Willys has outgrown ICA Maxi.

Besides the exceptional Covid times, Willys has outgrown Maxi during every quarter.

What does it look like at Willys?

We went to take a look at what their store looks like in Stockholm, Heron City.

The outside appearance of the store is fresh. No unnecessary tapings are blocking the view inside the store. A clear view of the store gives the store an elegant and a bit high-end touch, which creates an image of the store leaning more towards quality.

One product, one price, big display - Always the best way to sell

On the inside of the store, however, the message is stressed solely on price. A smart thing to do in these days of rocket inflation and customer wallets getting thinner.

The primary concept colour is red, underlining the low price. The gondola ends rise high up in a showy way, creating a sense of large stocks and low prices. The ideology of the gondola ends seems to be “one product and large price label” or the legendary “pile it high, sell it cheap”.

Clarity usually is the best-selling option.

The fruit and veg department is clean. The displays are put up in an efficient rather than inspiring way. The quality of the produce is good, and navigating is easy. There is no need for signage as one can see the whole selection with one look.

Price prints on the gondola ends are prominent, as are the regular shelf labels. Noteworthily there are no electronic shelf labels. Willys trusts print labels are readable and visible. In some places, the print labels give out a restless appearance, as there are many.

Even though the store is quite large, Willys seems to rely on a narrower selection than, for example, their rival ICA. The smaller assortment gives out a few advantages, especially operational ones. Compared to Lidl, Willys can provide the whole basket with more efficient operations in store compared to large selection stores.

The ambient food department doesn’t offer any big surprises. One noteworthy thing is the baby food selection, which has large packages available. They help the retailer to push on prices in this very thin margin category and win precious family customers.