Tesco begins trial of in-store Disney zone

James Quilter, Marketing, 21 March 2007, 12:00AM

Tesco has opened a Disney area in one of its stores as it seeks to establish its dominance in the non-food sector.

The dedicated zone is Disney-branded and designed, but will be managed by Tesco staff. It is split into three areas: a boy's bedroom, a girl's bedroom and a nursery. All feature Disney furnishings and toys as well as plasma screens on which Disney films will be shown.

The format is being trialled in Tesco's non-food Homeplus store in Bristol. It is not known how long the trial will last, but, if successful, it is likely to be rolled out to other Homeplus outlets and Tesco Extra stores, which stock extensive non-food ranges.

Separately, Tesco has created a single identity for its homewares range. The design, by Haines McGregor, uses one colour for kitchens and one for bathrooms and a series of icons to unify the line. The revamp, which covers about 1000 products, will roll out this month. The activity comes in response to the recent expansion of Asda's George homeware range.

Tesco has aggressively expanded its non-food range in recent years; its aim is to make it as important as food in terms of sales. Non-food sales in supermarkets are increasing at twice the rate of those for food, according to Verdict Research.

This article was first published on Marketing